Luna awoke just as she did every other day, or night. It was 8:00pm and night court would start in an hour. She slowly arose, took a bath and started to brush her mane. As she was leaving her room a night guard came up to her at the door, it seemed as he was waiting there until she came out.
“Princess Luna,” he said bowing low before continuing, “Princess Celestia has called off night court and awaits your presence in the throne room. She says it important that you come.” After he finished delivering message, he gave Luna another bow and left to resume his night watch.
This is odd, Luna thought to herself as she walked to the throne room, Tia hates calling off court. Wasn’t she the one that opened up the court at night so that the ponies that now work or have time off during this time could come and ask the Princesses for advice or money? Besides, she usually likes to finish her work before she goes to sleep. Luna continued to walk down the hallway that connected her room to the throne room. Upon entering the vast room, she sees her sister sitting the throne on the left reading some pieces of parchment that probably contained the highlights of the day. Curious about what is going on and still waking up, Luna walks toward her sister.
“Evening, Tia,” Luna says through a yawn. “I heard that you called off the night court today.”
“Good evening to you, too” Celestia said getting off her throne and levitating the papers to where she was sitting. “And yes, I did, but I remember telling you yesterday that I wanted to talk to you this evening. Did you forget?”
Still not fully awake, Luna tried to remember what her sister told her. Now that she thought about it, she did remember her sister telling her something about needing to talk. “Yeah, I do remember something about it. But can it wait; I still haven’t had my coffee yet.” As soon as she finished talking, one of her servants came into the room with a cup of hot coffee and a pastry on a silver tray. Setting them on a nearby table with his usual ‘evening, Princess’ he left and walked back to the kitchen. After Luna finished blowing on her drink, Celestia resumed the conversation.
“Luna, it has come to my attention that it has been several years since your return.” She was now taking small parts of the pastry, knowing that Luna couldn’t do much with her using her magic to hold up the coffee mug. “And in that time, I have seen you transition into Equestrian society and have watched over the night, just as I have watched over the day.” Luna, who was now awake, set her mug down onto the table and started to eat her pastry. “But I have noticed one thing that still needs to be done.” With her mouth full of food, Luna couldn’t respond with her question but looked at her sister with surprise. Quickly forcing herself to swallow the food in her mouth, Luna was freed to talk.
“What’s that?”
“You’re still missing a student, or an apprentice of sorts. I have had the joy of being able to teach Twilight, and before that I helped Cadence through her transition to being a princess,” Celestia then started to have a look of nostalgia upon her face. Luna coughed loud enough to her sister back to reality. “What, oh yes. Well, the time has come for you to pick somepony to come and learn under you.”
“Do I need to? Really, there isn’t much need for me to have to teach someone about being a Princess of the Night. Equestria is in a time of peace and everything is going surprisingly well.”
“Perhaps at the moment everything is going well, but we both know that can’t last forever. Sooner or later Equestria is going to need another princess and we could need to have two alicorns that function better in the night to help fight that. When I chose Cadence, everything was peaceful but we now see how much benefit we have gotten off her. We couldn’t foresee Sombra’s rise to power or the need to have a ruler in the Crystal Empire.”
“Point taken, but why couldn’t you just pick another student? You’ve picked two of the current princesses and they both have proven to be capable.”
“I could, but I think you would benefit from this experience more so than me. Besides, I would like to focus on my own work without having to worry about having a student. Having a student is tiring; no matter how happy it makes me. Also, Equestria has seen a dramatic increase of ponies that started to have nocturnal lifestyles. Since your return, the nights have become safer and more ponies are awake during your night. Surely you have noticed.”
“I would be lying if I said I haven’t. And with that, it is getting harder to get through everypony that comes to the castle for night court. As well as it’s getting more tiring to do everything by myself.” Luna thought for a minuet about what she is saying. Could I be ready to take responsibility for teaching another pony what it means to be the Ruler of the Night? What if something were to happen, just like what happened to Sunset Shimmer, could I take that responsibility? Celestia got through it and found a new pony to teach, but what if I’m not that lucky? Though, having an apprentice does seem like a fun idea, maybe she could have a bond like that between Twilight and Celestia. With the pros and cons racing through her head, she forgot that Celestia was still standing there.
“Sister, don’t be so anxious. I have made my fair share of mistakes, but no pony seems to remember them.” Luna looked at her sister wondering how she knew what she was thinking. “And yes, the bond between a student and a teacher is one that I would never give up for anything in Equestria. Though the decision is up to you entirely, I urge you to consider it.” She turned and started to walk out of the throne room toward the hallway where her bedroom is. “The papers with today’s events are on my throne, if you need anything I will be in my room. Have a good night, sister.” Leaving Luna alone in the room, she just noticed how dark it started to get. She didn’t feel tired at all though; she was on a night schedule so that at least her sister or she would be wide awake and ready to help whenever there was trouble. Luna walked to her throne and sat down and started reading Tia’s notes. To make sure both princesses knew what was going on and how little time they had together; they started to write out what has happened while the other slept or finished up on their work. This proved to be a good system, but it did have its downsides. The two sisters had seen each other less and less now days. They only got to spend time together during diplomatic meetings and celebrations where it’s essential the public see them together.
Luna started to read through the notes that her sister wrote. There really wasn’t anything interesting: numbers of ponies that came, dates set for different reasons, money that her sister chose to spend and things of that nature. Although the list was long and boring, it was supposed to be through so that the other sister could approve of how the governments money was being spent and the other sister could override and stop the money going to a certain place. It hardly ever happened now, but it was a good system. Near the end of the papers, a note at the bottom caught Luna’s attention, ‘Get Luna to go and visit Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns.’ It didn’t take too long for Luna to figure out why this was here, Celestia has already made a time so that Luna could go and see if she wanted any of the ponies there to become her student. The thought of having somepony looking up at her as a teacher made her smile. Maybe she could be ready for this.
“Your Highness,” A member of the Night Guard came into the throne room and swooped into a bow just has the other pony done. “Are you ready to start your duties for the night?”
Luna now had to push the thought of having a student out of her head. “Yes, I suppose so.” The guard gave another bow and left. Luna sighed and got off her throne and followed the guard out of the throne room.
The night has passed with little matters. Luna met with the captain of the Night Guard and discussed how training was going, created a few different consolations, and met with several business ponies in Manehattan. While doing the routine work, Luna started to think about life with having a student. Having a student would make this more fun and it would be nice to be able to spend the night together with somepony else. And Tia is right, if a mistake happens, no pony will remember it forever. After she finished all she needed to for the night, she wrote a similar paper to Celestia’s and started to lower the moon. Although Celestia didn’t officially start her duties for a couple of hours, they still switched the moon and the sun before they actually switched places.
Luna was reading over what she wrote when Celestia came into the room having the same sleepy face Luna had.
“Good morning, sister. Did you sleep well?”
“Morning and it was very restful. Did anything happen last night?” Celestia asked with a yawn.
“Not particularly, just a few meetings, nothing major.”
Luna got off the throne and made her way toward her sister. “Did you consider what we were discussing last night?”
“I did, and I decided that it would be fun to have a student. Do you have anypony in mind?”
“I might, but I would want you to look for yourself before I create a bias for you. We could head over to the school now if you don’t have any work.”
“No, I finished all I had to before so that I could make room in my schedule to go and visit.”
“Excellent, I will be ready to leave in about 10 minutes, are you ready to leave?” Celestia was now putting her necklace on and fixing her mane so it would fall just right.
“I think so just let me get another cup of coffee. I believe this will be much better if I’m fully awake.”
After the sisters got ready, they made their way out of the castle. It was a beautiful day; everypony was up and moving around Canterlot. Every time the sisters were seen together on a normal day, there usually was a certain buzz in the air. The high class ponies were whispering together, trying to figure out why the sisters would be out. But whenever the Princesses would get near to anypony, the ponies would go into a bow. Some ponies from the newspapers started to take photos and ask the Princesses why there were out or their current take on today’s political issues. Thankfully, the guards looked intimidating enough to make sure nopony got too close to the princess. They could have easily flown to their destination, but it looks better if they are seen walking around and staying close together. As they reached the school, the crowds that gathered started to walk away and go back to whatever they were doing before the princesses came.
Celestia was the first to walk in, closely followed by Luna, and was met with several adult ponies bowing toward them. The headmaster of the school was the first to rise himself from the bow.
“Hello Princess. Hello Princess,” he said enthusiastically, looking from one princess to the other.
“Hello Alden. Lovely day isn’t it?” Celestia said keeping her proper stance, though Luna could see that Celestia was excited to see him as he was to see her.
“One of the best I’ve seen for weeks. How do you do Princess Luna?”
“Fine, thank you,” She was caught a little off guard and spoke a little more quickly then she would’ve liked. Alden didn’t seem to notice.
“I supposed you two would like to see the students now? And would either of you like anything to drink, we just received some cider before you came.” They were now walking down a corridor, moving pass classrooms where the teachers and students all were looking out of the windows to get a better look at the Princesses. “I took into account what you asked for Princess Celestia and chose a few students myself. Princess Luna, I do hope that you find a student to your liking.” He started to look mainly at Luna now while Celestia was just looking back at the ponies in the windows and giving some of them a wave. “I remember when Princess Celestia came in to examine the students and found Twilight, oh my, she seemed so happy…” He trailed off into a story that seemed like he told many times. They turned several corners and went up a flight of stairs. Finally they reached a room with three ponies waiting with their parents. “…and so I hope that you find a student you like, Princess” He finished telling the story as they stepped in.
All the ponies in the rooms went into a bow as the Princesses walked in. The three ponies seemed to be the best fit for Luna according to Celestia and Alden and she trusted their judgment.
“Princess may I introduce to you our three top students. Rose,” The pony in the middle walked forward, she had a light brown coat with a black mane. “Tiberius,” The pony standing on the left walked forward, he had a light blue coat with a deep red mane “and lastly, Aysel.” The pony standing on the right walked forward, she had a white coat with a blond mane, mixed with highlights of blue. “Now that we have established names, it’s time for the examination. Don’t forget, it isn’t just the magic power that counts, but also how you act and present yourself. Now, if I could have you all wait outside, I will call you when we are ready. Rose, you’re first. The rest of you, please wait outside.” As the ponies left Luna saw Rose’s mother give her one last tight hug before Rose was left in the room. “Rose, whenever you like to start,”
Rose then took a bow before she started and talked about herself, her background and then she took a plant from the windowsill and made it grow into a fairly large tree. Luna enjoyed listening to her and was impressed at her level of magic, but she couldn’t see the pony ruling beside her. “Fantastic job, Rose. Could you please go and get Tiberius, thank you.” Alden was smiling, feeling proud of his student. Tiberius came in and or his demonstration he made the room seem twice as large as what it was before. “Excellent, could you fetch Aysel, thank you.” Tiberius left and Luna, as she was with Rose, felt a strong sense of magical talent but not a ruler. Aysel finally walked in and automatically get Luna’s attention. Now that she got to see the students separately, it dawned on Luna that Aysel was wearing more of a semi – formal clothing, whereas Rose and Tiberius wore what seemed to be the fanciest thing they owned. She introduced herself and told Luna her background. Rose and Tiberius both came from well-known families, even to the Princesses. Aysel’s parents abandoned her when she was just a filly, and was taken into the Canterlot orphanage. She proved to be talented in magic so she started to board at the school. For her act of magic she made a mirror copy of herself. Although it only lasted around half a minute, Luna was already captivated by her: her life, her ambitions, and her talent.
After she finished, Luna came close to her and looked into her eyes, trying to see if there was something she was missing or hiding. There was something, Luna knew it. She tried looking into her eyes more, but the pony was trying very hard to hide it. Luna left her gaze and took a step back, looking once more at her.
“Aysel, how would you like to become my personal student and study under me at the Canterlot castle?” Luna could tell that Aysel was extremely happy, but did her best to hide it.
“Really? To study under you would be a dream come true.”
“OK, Aysel, go and pack your things and we will send a chariot to come and pick you up later today.” Celestia said with a smile toward her. Aysel burst out the door and ran toward her room. Alden left to go and tell the other ponies that the choice was made, but the Princesses were impressed with each of them. Once no one was in the room but the two sisters Celestia spoke, “Luna, I know that you felt something wrong in her, I did too. Are you sure that she can handle this?”
“No, sister, I’m not sure. But I do know that she will try with everything she has.” Luna then looked at a clock and realized the time, she was supposed of been asleep hours ago.
Celestia stayed with Aysel at the school while Luna flew back to the castle. It was the early afternoon and she had to wake up in a few hours to resume her Princess of the Night roll. Did I make the right choice? Maybe I should have talked to Tia before I chose her. And she was right; I did see something was wrong with Aysel, so why did I choose her? Why was I so drawn to her? Was it because I saw part of myself in her? No, that can’t have been it. Luna glided down onto the balcony outside her room. She drew the curtains to stop as much light from coming in, but it was no use. She was usually asleep by now and the sun didn’t wake her up, but it was nearly impossible for her to fall asleep during the day. Luna got up and walked around her room to try to calm herself down. It was a big room: the celling was painted to mimic the night sky, the bed was as soft as a cloud and the rest of the room followed a similar theme. After walked around, she went to take a warm bath. Soaking in the water, Luna went back to entertaining her previous thoughts. Maybe I’m over-reacting. She probably is just hiding her feelings about her parent, that’s it. I would expect someone who has gone through that would keep their feelings hidden. But shouldn’t I know what is going on in my student’s life? If I’m going to be her mentor and teacher I should try to connect with her, just like Celestia and Twilight…
Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud thumping on the bathroom door. Quickly, and a little annoyed, she slipped out of the bath and magically wrapped herself in her towel.
“Yes, who is it?” She asked a little more harshly then she intended, still trying to dry her hair.
“It’s Tia, do you have a minuet?” A soft voice came from behind the door. Luna knew this particular kind of voice, Celestia only makes her voice sound this way when she either wants something or wants to talk about something hard but doesn’t want to seem like she does. Sighing, Luna came out of the bathroom, coming up with possibilities of what her sister might want.
“I was actually just in the middle of trying to relax, can this wait?” Already knowing the answer, Luna sat down at her desk. Although she knew that this talk was inevitable, she didn’t want to help her sister get to the subject.
“It can’t wait, really,” Celestia said, “I wanted to talk to you about Aysel,” Luna made a little groan noise, she knew this would be one of Celestia’s long talks where she will continue to talk until she has finished what she wanted to say . “She came to the castle about an hour ago and was quite eager to start her learning. From what I’ve deduced from talking with Alden, she has spent her most recent years trying to be the best she can be. But it has come with the cost of her not having any close friends. She is popular in the way that most of the ponies at the school like her, but she tends to shut them out.
“I’m telling you this so that you become not only her teacher, but also a friend. She is strong, but she won’t be able to keep all her feelings and emotions in for eternity. If she opens up to you, accept her. You know more than anypony I know how it feels to be alone.”
Once Celestia finished her talk, Luna remained still trying to fully understand what Celestia was saying. Celestia was always good at reading ponies, even if they tried to remain closed. This is, according to Luna, the way Celestia seems to know what ponies are thinking and how she can predict the way they will react. As Luna was still processing what she was just told, she didn’t notice Celestia get up and walk out of the room.
After Luna snapped back into reality, she got up and opened her curtains. Rubbing her eyes from the blinding light coming into her room, she decided that she wanted to visit her student before she officially came back into her royal duties. As she opened her door, she accidentally bumped into the pony she was planning to meet. Picking herself up, Aysel went back into a bow.
“I’m so sorry, Princess Luna,” She rushed, “I didn’t mean to. Princess Celestia said she was here a little while ago and said you probably weren’t going to be able to sleep. So I decided to see if I could come and see you.”
A little amused about how the pony in front of her was acting, Luna tried to hold back a laugh. “It’s fine, don’t be so worried. And don’t be so formal, just call me Luna.”
“Ok, Prin—Luna.” Aysel caught herself.
“Very good. Now, did you want something?”
“No, well, yes. I was wondering when we would start our lessons.” Aysel was so nervous asking Luna for something that her body was slightly shaking.
“I’m not busy at the moment. In fact, I was just about to come and talk with you.”
“Did I do something wrong?” Aysel face went blank, hiding all sense of emotion and feeling. Luna was taken back by this sudden disappearance.
“Not at all, I just wanted to make sure you moved in alright.” Luna stated, she didn’t want to upset Aysel, but she was curious. Could this be a way that Aysel hides herself? But before she could finish her thought, the small pony went back to her usual self.
“Oh, yeah, I moved in alright. I never knew how large the castle was until I came.”
“I’m glad to hear you did. As for your lessons, they won’t be like what you were doing in school. I’m not going to stand up and teach you something while you take notes. You’re going to learn by watching me.”
As Luna said this, a certain spark lit up in Aysel’s eyes. “Do you mean that I get to watch you while you hold court and go to diplomatic meetings?”
“Yes, to a certain extent. Obviously there are somethings that I cannot take you and some meetings you aren’t going to be able to sit on; but for most things, yes.” Luna was now walking down the hall into the throne room to get to the kitchen. Although she didn’t physically need sleep, it was relaxing and peaceful. And since she couldn’t get that during the day, a well-made meal would suffice. Aysel didn’t seem to wonder where they were going, but seemed lost in her own thoughts probably, Luna suspected, about what kind of meetings she would be able to sit down in. “But there are a few things that you should understand when you are my student. First, princesses will act differently in different situations. For example, while in a diplomatic meeting I might seem stern and non-emotional but while holding court I will seem caring and loving. This doesn’t mean I’m lying to the other diplomats or the ponies, but a princess knows what is expected of her and must live up to that expectation.” Aysel was now fully fixed on every word Luna was saying, not wanting to miss a single detail. Luna continued, “Second, princesses know their place in respects to other ponies and know how to act. We don’t look down upon our civilians, but we have to understand that we are their rulers. This is why we allow other ponies to bow at us. Even if we don’t like it, we know it’s something that needs to happen.” They were now in the throne room and made their way through a smaller hall on the side. “Lastly, there may be times where I say one thing to one pony and say something else to another pony. Yes, this happens,” Luna added when she saw Aysel quickly look at her, “We do not lie for the fun of it, but sometimes the only way to deal with a situation is to make everypony think they are getting what they want. We try our hardest to do what is right by them but most ponies don’t understand the big picture of what’s going on.” They went into a large kitchen with several chiefs already in the process of making Celestia’s dinner. “I don’t tell you these things to frighten you, but to prepare you for what is going to happen. Being a ruler is difficult, but I’m sure you can handle it.” Luna gave her student a warm smile while the chiefs bowed toward her.
“Hello, Princess Luna. Isn’t it a little early to be awake?” The head chief asked while the other chiefs continued their cooking.
“I agree, it is early, I didn’t get much sleep.” Luna replied with a yawn, being around the sweet aroma of food is making her realize how much so wanted to be asleep right now. “I would like to make a request for a hot soup.” The chief nodded and then started to cook with the other chiefs . Luna focused her attention onto her student. “Would you like something to eat? You probably haven’t had anything to eat since lunch”
“Now that you mention it, I am a little hungry.” Aysel confessed as she started to look at the food being made before her.
“You don’t have to be afraid of asking for things you need. If you feel hungry you should say something.”
“Yeah, I know. But I generally don’t like asking others for he---. I mean, I would like something to eat.”
Aysel caught herself but it was too late. Luna gave her a look, as if determining whether or not to push her. Luna made a mental note to ask her about it later, but for now, she acted as if it didn’t happen. “Chief, could you also make another soup for Aysel, thank you.”
As the chief brought their soups over, Luna started to ask Aysel about herself. This proved to be as informative as Luna’s brief talk with Celestia. After their talk Luna decided that it was time to officially start her night. Aysel was thrilled at the idea.
“Are you going to raise the moon now and open up night court?”
“I am, would like to watch me raise the moon, I honestly don’t know how much you would enjoy it?” Luna said truthfully, to her it was a routine she did.
“Yes, of course. I used to wait outside to watch the sun go down and the moon rise.” Aysel said softly, as if embarrassed by what she had just said.
“Well, just follow me to my room; it’s much easier to raise the moon in a comfortable place. That way, you can focus more of your attention on your magic then what’s going on around you.
Once they got to their room, Luna went and stood on the balcony. Although she had done this countless times, it felt different with somepony watching her. It wasn’t a bad feeling, but the feeling one gets when somepony else expects it to be amazing when it really isn’t. Luna pushed the thoughts out of her head, even after all these years, she still needs to be able to focus her un-divided attention to the heavens. She used her magic to feel for the moon and once she has hold of it, she starts to lift it higher and higher into the night sky. The stars follow the moon, so they don’t really cause her any trouble. She stands back and looks at the night sky, thankful that she knows that ponies now work through the night and get to see the amazing work she has created.
“Am I going to learn how to raise the moon?” Aysel broke the silence and interrupted Luna’s thoughts.
“In time you will learn. But that will be much later. Alicorns aren’t immortal but we do live for an extraordinary amount longer than normal ponies. When I am about to die, then I will teach you, but not until then. It’s not a smart idea to have a large amount of ponies that can raise the moon and sun,” While Aysel was contemplating what she has just heard, Luna walked around her and started to talk to one of the guards posted outside her bedroom.
“Yes, Your Highness.” And a bow brought Aysel back to reality and came over to where Luna was.
“Well, in a little while I officially start by night and open court.” Luna said, knowing how tired Aysel must be. Although Luna would like Aysel to have her rest, being able to stay up through the night would help her get into a nocturnal sleeping pattern. “I know you’re tired, but trust me. Being awake for the first night will be the hardest and will help you have a better sleep cycle.”
“If you say so.” Aysel said, trying to keep her eyes open. “But could I get some coffee first, I think I’m going to need it.” As soon as she finished her request, the guard came back with two cups of hot coffee. “What, how did you do that.” She said looking at Luna.
“A princess should always try to be as forethoughtful as possible.” Luna replied, thanking the guard. “So, shall we?” She motioned Aysel to walk toward the throne room.
“Yes, we shall.” Aysel said back, coping Luna’s language. Both of them laughed as they walked toward the throne room.
As Luna and Aysel entered the throne room, Luna caught a glimpse of Celestia looking over at them wearing a smile she hasn’t seen on her sister for a long time. Celestia often has to smile but Luna could tell that this was genuine. She continued to talk with Aysel, who was now asking about the first time Luna held court.
“Sister, Aysel, did you both have a pleasant day?” Celestia asked as the two neared the throne. “I would imagine you couldn’t sleep, is that why I smelt soup as the chiefs brought me my dinner?”
“We did, and it was,” Luna replied back, “How was your day?”
“Long and more bothersome than I would have liked, but it’s over now and I can’t wait to relax.” Celestia then turned her head toward Aysel, who hasn’t made a sound since Celestia started to talk. “How about you, excited for court? I would assume you are feeling quite tired at the moment,” Celestia closely at Aysel mouth, which had a bit of coffee on the side “but I can already see that you have had coffee.”
“Yeah, I am a bit tired,” Aysel spoke nervously. Luna suspected this was due to the fact that she hasn’t had the chance to converse with Celestia as much and might still feel the need to speak formally, “but the coffee has helped a bit. But how did you know?”
“An alicorn’s senses are much more acute than most ponies.” Aysel started to look around for a mirror and, upon seeing herself in the reflection of the stain glass windows, started to wipe her mouth vigorously. “I wouldn’t worry so much, you look beautiful.” Aysel quickly looked down at the floor, trying to hide her smile. She has been called beautiful before, but never by anyone but her peers.
“Anyway, I finished writing the day’s notes and I believe night court will be open soon. I’m in much needed sleep and relaxation. Have a good night, you two.” Celestia proceed to walk down the hallway leading to the royal bedrooms. Aysel waited until she was alone with Luna until she spoke.
“I thought alicorns didn’t need to have sleep.”
“We don’t need it because we don’t need as much rest as most ponies. But we still need to rest and take a break every now and then if we want to perform our duties to the best of our ability, which is another reason we decided to do our day and night shifts like we do. It keeps us at our peak.” Luna walked over to the steps that lead up to her throne. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Aysel stop part way up stuck between asking Luna were she should sit and wondering if she should just know. Luna purposely didn’t tell her where she would sit just to see what Aysel would do.
“Luna, where do I sit?” Aysel finally decided to ask as Luna was getting settled on her throne.
“I have made arrangements for this platform to be extended so that you can sit down beside me. It was what Celestia did with Twilight when she was learning about being a princess.” Luna’s horn lit up and with what looked like ease, extended the platform and another seat to emerge from the extension of the platform. Aysel proceeded to sit down on her new ‘throne’. It wasn’t really a throne, but it was larger than a normal chair and was in the presence of two other thrones, but it lacked the glamour that the Royal Sister’s had. Luna looked to her side to face her student.
“Aysel, do you remember what I told you on our way to the kitchen, especially the part where I said that we have to look at the big picture and let other ponies take care of the day-to-day needs?” Luna wasn’t really asking if she remembered, but she did want to stress the point one last time. “No matter what I say or how I act, you are not allowed to tell any other pony or say anything during court. You are to listen, take mental notes and voice your thoughts afterwards. Do you understand?”
“Yes, of course.” Aysel replied with a confident voice. She now sat up with her back straight and looked so confident that it was almost intimidating. Luna could have blinked and missed the change, it happened so fast and so naturally that Luna suspected that she spent quite a bit of time looking this way.
“Court will start in about half an hour; I need to read over the paper my sister wrote for me.” The papers floated toward her with the dark blue light that was coming from her horn.
“Can I read it as well? I think it would be beneficial if I knew what was going on.”
“You may, though I must warn you, most of it is exceptionally boring.” Luna read over the first page than gave it to Aysel, who read through it. This process continued until Luna has finished reading through all the notes and waited for Aysel. Luna knew when to skip a few words and read through it fast, but she noticed that Aysel was reading it word for word. Slightly amused, Luna waited patiently until her student finished. “So, how was it?”
“Some of it was quite interesting, especially when Celestia sorted out the dispute with the Griffins. But as you said, most of it was boring; just numbers, dates and facts. Is it always this detailed?
“Yes, it needs to be, as the rulers we can’t afford to not know what’s happening. It takes a little getting used to, but you will soon learn to read quickly and efficiently,” Luna saw Aysel getting ready to say something, but a guard came and spoke first.
“Your Highness, court is ready to being.” The guard went into bow and lifted his head to await his instructions.
“Thank you, please tell the first pony to come in.” The guard left the two ponies on the platform. “Remember,” Luna whispered to her student, “don’t say anything, and tell me your thoughts later.”
A pony walked into the throne room. He was tall, lean and seemed to carry himself with dignity but bowed nevertheless as he approached the platform before he spoke. “Princess Luna, may I make a request to the Royal Sisters?”
“You may.” Luna spoke; it was an automatic response instead of actually giving permission. This is how everypony is supposed to ask for a request, no matter what it is.
“I would like to request that we raise the brackets for tax percentages. I feel that this would increase the amount of revenue that the richer ponies give in to the Royal Treasury, while giving the ponies of a lower class more chance to earn a better living.” The stallion went into a bow, “The decision rests with the Royal Sisters.” He stated as part of the tradition of making a request during court.
“Your request has been heard and will be considered.” Luna spoke with strictness and power, “Thank you” She said, also being part of the tradition.
The stallion left though didn’t look satisfied. As soon he was out the door another pony came in, who repeated the process, and another and another. Luna, who was used to it, was able to stay awake and attentive during each of the request but noticed that Aysel was starting to zone in and out. Luna told the guard to tell the remaining ponies that she wished to take a five minuet break. She didn’t’ need it, but asked another guard to get a cup of coffee for Aysel. Her student, noticing what was going on, spoke a word of thanks toward Luna, who merely waved it away.
As soon as the five minuet break was over a mare come in. By what she was wearing, Luna knew she lived in the high class area of Canterlot, and wanted to show it. She strutted toward the throne, gave her bow and started to make her request.
“I would like to request that we decrease the size of the orphanage. For it to continue running and growing like it is, it will take away a large portion of hard earned money of the humble ponies. I would also like to suggest that we move the orphanage to a small, town nearby so that the space the orphanage is taking up can be used to become a store and create more jobs.” She made a little bow before adding, “The decision rests with the Royal Sisters.”
Luna started to feel a change in the air. It wasn’t physical but magical, and looked around for the source. She soon found that the source was coming from her left so she turned. When she finally saw Aysel, she knew something was happening: there was so much hatred and contempt coming from her that Luna was surprised the mare standing below the platform didn’t notice. Knowing that her student probably wouldn’t be able to hold back what she wanted to do, she dismissed the mare.
A guard came in after she left the room. “That was all the ponies that came for court tonight.” Luna thanked him quickly and told him that she doesn’t want to be disturbed and that nopony should come into the throne room. “Yes, Princess.” And with a bow, he left.
Luna took a deep breath and sighed before she spoke. “Ok, tell me what you think of night court.” She was bracing herself to hear screaming.
“What do I think? What did she think? She can’t just walk in here all high-and-mighty and try to get rid of the orphanage. Who does she think she is?” Aysel was taking deep breaths between insults so she could still breathe. Luna knew that this would probably happen, so she allowed her student finish venting before she decided to speak.
“Well,” Luna started once Aysel ran out of mean things to say, “she was completely in her rights. Anypony is allowed to request anything during court and as the official ruler during the night, I have to listen to each request. I don’t always like listening, and yes, sometimes ponies can ask for selfish things that would end up hurting others. But it’s not our place to disregard what they have to say. I’m very glad that you didn’t burst out while she was still here, but I have to confess to being a little shocked on how easily you allowed yourself to be angry while she was still here.“ Luna knew what kind of reaction she was going to get in return, but she felt that Aysel needed to hear it.
“But she’s wrong for even thinking something like this. You know it, I know it, and the whole entire population of Equestria knows it.” Aysel quickly ran out of breath again, giving Luna the chance to speak.
“I understand why would feel this way. But as a ruler, you cannot inforce your own beliefs and preferences. That would make you a tyrant, a dictator.”
“Maybe that would be better if that stops ponies from asking for stupid things and keep getting away with it.” Luna sat still, not letting her eyes leave her students. She didn’t want to believe what came out of Aysel’s mouth. Luna’s mind was racing with thoughts, trying to connect what she just heard with all the small things she noticed. The look in her eye when she first met her; Her ability to make a sudden switch between nice and kind to confident and intimidating; her constant strive to have more and more knowledge and power. But before Luna could finish processing her thoughts, Aysel quickly spoke, “No, I didn’t mean that. I just…got carried away. I’m so sorry, it just came out.” The switched happened again, she now seemed so innocent.
“I forgive you, but you must learn how to properly vent your frustrations. If you do need to vent, it will be best if you do it to me only, when no other pony is around.” Luna was trying to seem sympathetic, but she was still worried. Luna didn’t know whether it was a slip of the tongue or something she actually had to be concerned about. She decided to make a mental note of talking to her sister about it later, but for now she would continue as if it never happened. “Well, I now have a meeting with the Captain of the Night Guard. Care to join?”
“The Captain? Is there some threat that Equestria is facing?”
“No, it’s just a routine checkup that I like to do as often as possible. Usually there isn’t much to talk about, but sometimes he would like to advise me on what to do next or ask for my opinion. As I said before: I’m supposed to look at the big picture while other ponies deal with the details."
Aysel gestured that she understood and asked where the meeting was going to take place. Luna had the feeling that Aysel would try to agree with everything she said because of the slip.
“Not too far away. It’s good to try and set up all the meetings within the castle for safety and convenience. If I had to fly everywhere, so would the guards and that would take too much time and effort.” Luna started to walk out of the throne room and up two flights of stairs. They walked down a corridor and into a large room. In the center of the room there was a detailed map with several flags on it, the walls were full of different banners and other maps mostly of Equestria but of some different countries with marks all over it, all the ponies in the room where wearing amour though of different styles and colors. They all bowed as the Princess walked into the room.
“Your Highness, I trust you are having a good night.”
“So far so good, Captain.” Luna replied. The other ponies around the map separated, leaving a large space next to the map for Luna and her student. “Is there anything I should be concerned about?”
“There is a certain problem that we would like to discuss with you, yes. But it might not be best to talk about it,” his eyes glanced over at Aysel for a brief moment, “in present company.” At this, all the other ponies looked over at Aysel, then quickly looked away.
“What is the security risk level?” Luna asked, her voice hard and confident. She didn’t want to exclude Aysel from anything if she doesn’t need to, but she knew there might a good enough reason the Captain didn’t want to say anything.
“Level 3, Princess.”
“She may stay,” Luna then looked over at Aysel, who she thought was holding up quite well for having so many ponies looking at her as if she was a threat. “You are not to say anything that is spoken in this room to anypony else."
“I understand.” Aysel said, making sure she didn’t seem weak or clueless in front of the guards.
“That settles it then. Captain, please give your report.” Luna took sternly at the Captain, not giving him the choice of saying anything further.
“Yes, Your Highness.” He said, still giving Aysel a hard look. “We have found and captured three griffin spies. They were trying to sneak into Canterlot, but we’re not sure why at the moment. They are being detained in the prison under the castle and we have waited for your command.”
“I see,” Luna was thinking about what she had read a few hours ago, about the Celestia solving a dispute with them, she wonder if the Captain knew about it. “Try to get any information out of them as you can. I want a report giving to me two hours before I retire for the night.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Apart from that, there is nothing else to talk about.”
“Thank you, Captain, and good job.” Luna turned without another word and started to walk back to the throne room, Aysel following just behind her. Luna made no notion to speak until they were back and alone.
“So, what do you think?” Luna finally asked her student. Luna wanted to see how well she could make connections and come up with conclusions. They were now alone in the throne room again.
“Well, I think it can’t have been a coincidence that this happened the night after Celestia sorted out the dispute. From what I could remember, the dispute was about us not giving them all the information we had about the new army that our neighboring countries were raising, so I think they were trying to steal any documents we had on it.”
“Good job. I too was thinking that. My sister and I usually make treaties with the countries we can so that we are less likely to be attacked, but to make a treaty, we usually have to give up something that we don’t want to. Part of our agreement with the griffins was to share the information we have with different countries related to militaries. Do you think that we have information regarding militaries that we haven’t shared with them, which breaks our agreement?” Luna asked casually, curious about the kind of response she will receive.
“Yes, but for good reason. Our nation wants to promote peace, but if you’re seen to have knowledge about foreign militaries growing and aren’t seen taking action against it, then it will make our nation seem like we’re ok with it. From what I read from Celestia’s notes, the griffins also are known to use unnecessary military force, so we don’t want them to have any reason to declare a war, which both parties would expect us to join.” Aysel finished her thoughts, and looked toward Luna for confirmation whether or not she was right.
“You are correct. Do you think it’s wrong that we do it?”
“No, because it is helping ponies.”
Luna was satisfied with this answer and continued on with her night plans. “Would you be interested in making consolations? Since we have a bit of time left where we have to be on duty but we don’t really need to do anything.”
“Yeah, I could do that. How do you choose your consolations?”
The two ponies talked in Luna’s room for the rest of the night until it was nearly their time to retire for the day. While the two were finalizing a certain star pattern, somepony knocked on the door.
“Yes, who is it?” Luna asked through the door. As she waited for the reply, she moved a few stars so they were perfectly in place.
“I have a note from the Captain relating to what you discussed with him earlier tonight.”
“Please bring it in.” Luna’s voice suddenly went from a light and happy to hard and cold. “Leave it on the desk, thank you.” The guard gave a bow and then left the note on the desk and left. Luna walked over toward it. Floating it so that it came to eye level, she read it and passed it to Aysel; who read it and placed it back on the desk.
“So they were able to get information from them, that’s a good sign, isn’t it?” Aysel said as she walked towards Luna.
“Yeah, it is. But it’s at what cost we got it. If the griffins don’t get their spies back, then there will be big trouble. And now that they are dead, that won’t happen.” Luna sighed, this is not how she envisioned her first night with her student, “I have to write the highlights, then it’ll be a good idea to have a much needed rest." Luna quickly wrote the highlights, as well as writing to her sister some notes she noticed about Aysel that day.
“Goodnight, Aysel” Luna said, getting into her bed.
“Goodnight, Luna.” Aysel replied, heading towards the door. “And Luna, thank you for today.” And with that she left the Princess’s room.
A few weeks has passed without too many issues. Celestia and Luna had meetings with the griffons and found a compromise between the purposeful deceit by the griffons and the accidental death by the Royal Sisters.
Luna, once again, wanted to see how far she could push Aysel. She wanted Aysel to go the meetings with her and her sister, but the griffons wouldn’t hear of it, so she was left to roam the castle while the meetings were taking place. Luna could feel her student’s bitterness and frustration boil up, and wanted to find a way to allow her student to feel like she still involved. After waking up a thought popped into her head.
“Aysel,” Luna’s voice called, causing her student to come to her, “how would you like to hold court tonight?” Luna knew it was unorthodox, maybe even against some laws to allow somepony not a part of the royal family to hold court.
“Without you?” Luna could see the signs of nervousness growing inside Aysel: stepping backwards, legs shaking, a quiver in her voice and Luna could tell that her heart was racing faster and faster.
“I will be sitting in the back and will only intervene when I think it is completely necessary. You shouldn’t be so nervous, you’ve watch me do it plenty of times.” Luna voice was like a flood that washed away any signs of anxiety that Aysel had.
Aysel gave Luna smile, not like her usual forced smile, but the one most ponies give when they are trying to appear strong in the midst of a problem. Both ponies walked toward the throne room toward the platform. The thrones have been rearranged so that Aysel’s seat was in the middle with Luna’s on the side. Resting on Aysel’s seat were the notes written by Celestia. Aysel looked for confirmation by Luna whether or not she was supposed to read them before Luna, who at the moment avoided the eye contact and gracefully sat on her throne. Aysel read the notes which were pretty ordinary, but at the bottom there was an encouraging word from Celestia. The guards brought them their coffee and went to open the doors to court. Aysel took one last glance toward her teacher, who just smiled and motioned toward the door, which already had a pony coming through it.
Aysel started to get nervous again, not knowing who would come into the room or what their request would be, while Luna was acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary and had a night off. From the far end of the room, a pony that Aysel had never seen before came before her and took the custom bow.
“Princess Luna’s student, Aysel, may I make a request to the Royal Sisters?” Not to her student’s knowledge, Luna asked the guard to put up a sign saying that her student would hold court tonight, so as to not confuse the ponies wanting to make a request.
“You may.” Aysel was trying to keep her voice steady and did so almost successfully; thought Luna heard a small shake
“I would like to request that the train from Canterlot and the Crystal Empire does so more frequently. It would be a help to all the ponies who have business and travel.” He took a bow, “The decision rests with the Royal Sisters.”
“Your request has been heard and will be considered.” Aysel said, following Luna’s example word-for-word. “Thank you.” And with that, the pony left the way he came. When he was far enough away, Aysel let out a breath that she apparently was holding during the session.
One after another, ponies from all different parts of Equestria, social status and views on life came, made their request, and left. The variety was the best Luna could have hoped for, though she started to notice something. The more Aysel listen and did the custom, the more her voice and countenance changed, and not with just getting used to it and being confident; no, she was starting to show the side that Luna keeps getting glimpses of. Luna didn’t want to believe it but she thought that Aysel was enjoying the authority she now has, the power, the influence, everything. Luna didn’t want to disturb the court so she kept quiet, all the while wondering if she could possible catch Aysel when she becomes the darkest side of herself.
Court finished, though Luna didn’t really notice, she was too wrapped up in her own thoughts. Aysel stood in front of Luna for a few seconds, shaking her hoof in front of Luna’s face. Snapping back to reality, Luna wanted to continue to push the side of Aysel that has now vanished from her.
“You did well.” Luna pondered what would bring out the side of Aysel for a long enough time that she can clearly see it and decide how much of a threat it really is. “But as a princess, you have to be able to interact the right way with all different kinds of ponies. One of those kinds is the government officials. Yes,” Luna explained as the look of bewilderment came upon her student’s face, “we must, as we say, ‘play nice’ with them. Although most ponies think that the Royal Sisters have nearly unlimited power, the Lords and Ministers actually have a say in what goes on. My sister and I have experience and popularity when it comes to governmental matters and could get away with doing pretty much anything. But if Cadence or Twilight tries to do something they don’t like, they probably wouldn’t be able to. When you become a princess you won’t start off with the amount of influence that you see me wield.
“Tomorrow night, there will be a convention where you will meet some of them. Mainly the ones that are biased toward me as the Princess of the Night, the newer ones because they will more likely take a liking to a new princess and those who I think you will get along with. You will have to talk with them, discuss and maybe even debate. I don’t expect you to be able to convince any of them to change their views, but I want them to see you being intelligent. This is what will get you influence and power.” Luna purposefully added this last part just to watch out for the reaction and she wasn’t disappointed. As if she couldn’t control it, Aysel’s face gave a hungry look to it for a second then faded.
“What topics should I know about?” Asked Aysel as she started to walk off the platform with Princess Luna, “Is there a controversial issue that they would want to know my views on? Should I change my answer for different ponies, or would they notice?”
“There currently is no issue that is hugely controversial. Though, as you are training to be a princess, they might want to know what you would want to do as a princess. Most rulers will have a focus when they come into power and will be judged whether or not they do carry it out.”
“What was your focus when you came into power?”
“Mine? Well, my sister’s and mine were to stop Discord and bring harmony and peace to Equestria. Because of the timing we didn’t really get to choose a very political focus.” They were nearing the War Room where they went for their regular meetings. Luna stopped before going through the door. “Guard,” The closer of the pair of guards that were stationed outside the door bowed and asked what Luna wanted. “Please go inside and inform the Captain that Aysel will be heading tonight’s meeting, I wish her to have the experience. That is all.” As she finished her instructions, the guard bowed again and left his stationed area to go inside and do what was asked. Luna stood waiting in complete silence as she awaited the response. She was also wondering what was going through Aysel’s mind. Wondering what was going through other’s mind was something Luna did quite often, she could easily use her magic to read the minds of those around her, but she felt this was an invasion of privacy, but she still likes to entertain the thoughts. The guard came back and said that the Captain advised against it, but summits to the Princess’s wishes. “Thank you, well, go in first Aysel.” The guards opened the doors and allowed Aysel passage into the room. All the ponies in there started to watch Aysel and see what she would do, but Luna didn’t mind that. Luna wanted to mainly watch Aysel to see if the dark side will come out again and how she would react to being throwing into a situation she is unfamiliar with. Luna was surprised to see that Aysel didn’t show the slightest sense of uneasiness or nervousness. She walked calmly and confidently toward the table and took Luna’s usual spot.
“Captain, is there anything to report tonight?” Aysel adopted the voice she used while she was getting used to hearing requests during court earlier.
“There has been a rise in threats by some ponies that we suspect to be a part of a gang. There have already been several muggings in the streets of Canterlot and several unconfirmed reports from neighbor cities. I suggest that we increase the patrol arounds the lower class parts of the city.”
Aysel didn’t reply straight away, and appeared to be contemplating the situation. After a few minutes of silence she lifted her head, which was facing the ground while she was thinking. “Have we caught any of the offenders?”
“As of yet, we haven’t. Though, through several reports from the victims, we have a high probability of knowing who at least one of the offenders is, though because we don’t have enough evidence to have him arrested.”
“If we know, then why can’t we arrest him? It seems like the responsible thing to do.”
“Because that’s not how we work. We can’t go around arresting anypony we want, even if we think they’re guilty.” Aysel looked as if she was going to argue her point, but thought better of it.
“I guess. Is there anything else?”
“No, that’s it for tonight.” The Captain then gave her a bow, which was considerably smaller than the one he usually gives Luna. Luna and her student say good bye and leave, with Aysel leading. As the two walk out and walk down the hall, Aysel turned to her teacher.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Luna detected a hint of bitterness and annoyance in her voice.
“What would you have liked me to say? And besides, I was examining you, not there to be support. You seemed to be doing fine, why should I have intervened?” Luna knew that this wasn’t the response her student wanted, but it wasn’t supposed to be. Luna wanted to continue to test Aysel.
“You could have just let a pony that should be in jail go free. You don’t see something wrong with that? You could have used your authority to have him tried for what he did.” Aysel seemed to no longer care about keeping her voice professional as she did just a few minutes earlier.
“No I couldn’t have. First, I was observing. It would be a pretty poor way to see how you improved if I did all the work. Second, a princess doesn’t actually have the power to imprison anypony they want. Arresting falls under the authority of the public branch of the military. I have power over the national level and with international affairs. As I said before, there are large amounts of restrictions that most ponies don’t know about.” They were now nearing the throne room and because Luna didn’t have anything else to do tonight, she allowed the argument to continue.
“I think it’s wrong that you are powerless to stop criminals. The safety of the ponies down there,” Aysel pointed her hoof to a window looking down on the night covered Canterlot, “is your responsibility, yet you can’t do a simple thing to help their safety. Why wouldn’t ponies like a leader who can do something?”
“At one point in time, I could. During times of crisis ponies are willing to give up certain freedoms they didn’t before. When Discord was ruling my sister and I stood up to him, but Equestria wasn’t in a good state. We then made a version of a monarchy to regain control over Equestria so that it could become harmonious again. There have been threats, yes, but they were defeated pretty easily. At the current moment there isn’t a threat big enough to take more control than what is needed. Why should we have power we don’t need?” Luna concluded with asking a question, just as Aysel did. The difference however is that Aysel didn’t have an answer, or at least an answer she thought best unsaid.
“Well, onto the next part of the night. I don’t believe I have ever taken you into the dream world before, correct?” Aysel made a shaking motion with her head. “I think it’s about time that you do, it is one of the main roles of a Princess of the Night. And like most things, there are some rules you must follow. First, you cannot tell anypony, not even Celestia, what you see or do in other pony’s dreams. Dreams are uncontrollable and often times private. They have put their trust in me that I will keep it a secret. Second, we cannot seek out a certain pony just to watch their dreams, if they don’t need help, then we keep away. Lastly, remember that what happens in a dream isn’t real, it never really happened. When we help them, we weren’t really there or really said anything. If they try to hurt us, say something or do some other things that are counted as wrong or illegal, they can’t be held responsible for it. Do you understand this?”
“Yes, of course.” Aysel then thought of a question, “Luna, have you been doing this. You usually have me around most of the night and I’ve never seen you do it.”
Luna chuckled a little at this question, not because it was funny but because she realized how it must look from her perspective. “Yes, I have been, sometimes when I go to bed. Granted, I’m not doing it as frequently as I would like. That is one of the reasons I wanted to do it with you.” While Luna was talking several guards brought out pillows and snacks and laid them in the middle of the room. Luna walked over and lied on a few leaving a comfortable amount of room for her student. Seeing the questioning expression on her face, Luna explained what this was for. “While in the dream world, it’s good to be as comfortable as possible. The pillows are to relax on and the room makes it easy for guards to come and wake me if something is going wrong.”
“What’s the food for, then?”
“Oh, I just like to eat snacks. Shall we?” Luna motioned toward the pillows that were unoccupied. Aysel walked over, took part of a cake that was there and got comfortable. “Now, I’m going to cast a sleeping spell on you, you will ‘wake up’ in your dream and I will come and get you. I must warn you though: it might be a weird feeling.” Aysel nodded and then rested her head on a pillow stack she made and closed her eyes. A soft glow emerged from Luna’s horn and a tiny blue orb escaped from the tip of the horn and floated toward Aysel and once it touched her head, she went into a deep sleep. Satisfied, Luna forced herself into a sleep.
Luna opened her eyes to a familiar feeling. Everything around her had a ghostly feel to it; if you didn’t look directly at something it will change or evaporate into the surroundings. Luna then used her magic to make what seemed to be a tear in the world. As she expanded it she walked into a place that seemed like it should be completely black, except there were thousands of star-like sphere of light all around. Luna closed her eyes and focused on Aysel and within a few seconds one of the spheres floated toward her. She opened her eyes and touched the sphere with her horn. Upon the impact the light then opened before her, revealing Aysel’s dream. Luna didn’t look around at what her dream was like; it was none of her business. Luna then caused the dream to stop so the dream space was just white besides her and her student.
“What? Hey, what are you doing here?” Aysel screamed at her. Luna knew this would be the response that her student would give. Ponies often forget they’re dreaming while they’re in their dream.
“Aysel, I led you into the dream world so that we can help ponies. This is currently your dream.” Luna stated patiently. From her experience she knew it wasn’t smart to make somepony mad at you in their dream.
“What? Oh, right, I remember. Sorry.” Aysel looked down as if she was embarrassed for making a mistake.
“Don’t feel bad, I don’t think anypony was able to remember when they purposefully went into a dream. The first time I was taken here I accidentally sent magic at my father, he was the one that taught me how to do this.” Luna gave a soft smile to Aysel as her partner gave a small smile back. “Getting back to the purpose of this, follow me through the tear.” Luna walked toward the tear while Aysel started to look around. Now knowing where she is, she back very interested in what possibilities this place holds. “Are you coming, or just enjoying the sights?” Luna asked with a hint of humor. Coming back to reality, Aysel briskly walked toward Luna and into the new environment. Aysel gasped when she saw this new place. “Do you like it?”
“It’s beautiful; like a cloudless night sky filled with thousands of stars.”
“I guess it is. All the ‘stars’ are dreams. If the dreamer is in need of help the light will become open if we get near them.” Luna explained as she started to pass the lights with Aysel following.
“Are there usually a large number of ponies?”
“There usually is pattern of the number of ponies. At the moment there isn’t many. But that doesn’t mean,” Luna stood still and watched a light break open, “that there isn’t anypony who wants it.” Luna stepped into the tear with Aysel followed behind her.
They waited to see the owner of the dream. The dream was pretty normal expect for the fact that everything was in black and white. The only thing standing out was the brown pony near the middle of what seemed to be a large city. He looked sad, worn and tired. He continued to walk along the street, and only slightly looked up every now and then. When he finally spotted the two other colored ponies he started to back away.
“Who are you?”
“I am Princess Luna, the Princess of the Night. And this is my student, Aysel. We are currently in the dream world helping ponies. What do you need help with?” Luna finished talking and waited in silence for his reply.
“Well, I guess I could talk to somepony about it.” And he continued to share his problems with not feeling fulfilled with his life. As he talked, Luna noticed that a faint shade of color was coming back into everything. She offered her advice and gave him encouragement before she left. “Thank you so much Princess, it was truly an honor to get the chance to talk with you.” He bowed as she and Aysel left.
“So, what do you think about what I do here?” Luna asked casually as they continued walking.
“Well, it’s definitely a good thing. But does it actually help their real lives? It might make them feel better here, but does it actually transfer over?” Aysel answered.
“That is a good thing to think about, and honestly I think it does. I sometimes go back to the same ponies to have a checkup and it does look like it helps. Celestia may seem like she helps a larger number of ponies everyday than me, but she often does it in groups. Just between you and me, and because we’re in the dream world I could literally get away with anything I say, I have more personal interactions with ponies.” Aysel nodded in understanding. Luna decided that it was time to leave. Although they only helped one pony, it seemed to be the only one around. Luna then casted a spell, not unlike the one she used to put Aysel into this sleep, to wake her up. Then Luna used a similar one to wake herself up.
They both awoke and got up from the large group of pillows and started to stretch. Although they were asleep, doing work like that doesn’t give a pony the rest that a normal rest does. Still rubbing her eyes, Luna walked over toward the window and saw that it was nearing day. Luna got a guard to give her a quill and parchment to write the night’s highlights to place on Celestia’s seat. After writing it, Celestia walked in with her usual sleepiness and cup of coffee. After a mumbled good morning, Luna and Aysel walked back to their respective rooms, both wanting the peace of being able to relax. It had been a long day for the both of them.
Luna woke earlier than usual; making sure that she had plenty of time to get ready for the convention. She wrote a note to her sister so that she may attend. Luna also had court cancelled and purposefully planned to have no other meeting to be held tonight. After she performed her royal duties of raising the moon, she went to get ready. Taking a bath, putting on more appropriate attire for this event and doing her make-up, she left her room. As she neared the door of her students, she paused for a minute. Contemplating whether or not to go in or wait for her outside, wishing that she would know the outcome of the night before it happened. She had written a letter to a few of the ponies in the Chambers that Luna wanted to make sure that they had the opportunity to meet Aysel. While standing idle outside her student’s room, the door swung open reveling its occupant. Dressed in a deep, dark blue with a silver tiara, Aysel was fixing the last part of her mane.
“Hello Luna, are you ready?” Placing the last part of her mane behind her ear Aysel trotted out of her room, closing the door behind her.
“Yes I am. The ponies that were invited should be coming in around ten minutes, so we have a little bit of time to relax. And remember, you will be around me for the first little part, and then the Ministers and Lords will probably want to see you privately.” Aysel nodded toward her mentor.
As the pair entered the Throne Room Aysel started to move toward where the thrones were usually positioned. Finding that there wasn’t a single throne Aysel turned to Luna. “We take the thrones away for occasions like this. First, it opens up much more space. Second, we shouldn’t flaunt our power and authority around. Nor are we waiting here like royalty, we go and greet them in the entrance of the castle.” Luna moved toward the main entrance of the room while Aysel was catching up. Upon their arrival at the Entrance Room, they met up with Celestia. Used to being around her now, Aysel didn’t give her a bow but still greeted her.
“This is a big night for you, isn’t it? Are you nervous?” Celestia asked with her usual caring and soothing voice. All Aysel could do was nod in agreement before a guard came towards them.
“Princesses, the guest are ready to come in.” He reported with a low bow then left the three ponies alone again.
“Well, here they come. Don’t slouch.” Luna suggested as the first of the ponies started to pile in. There must have been several hundred ponies coming in, all dressed in tailored suits, talking about the high life in Canterlot, and some political matters. Luna started to walk about the room, stopping to say a few words to some and longer talks with others. Upon noticing that Aysel wasn’t following her around, she prematurely ended a conversation to go and look for her apprentice. The search, however, was short. Luna took no time in finding the pony in the mists of a group of Lords and Minister. Luna drew closer by getting into nearby conversations, not wanting to disrupt her student’s conversation but close enough that she could hear it and step in when needed.
As the time passed, most ponies get into groups and started to discuss a various amount of topics, though the height of most discussions was Aysel. Luna didn’t know how to respond to the amount of attention that her student was getting. On one hoof, she liked the fact that there has been an interest about her, but on the other she didn’t like everything that was said. Upon hearing some negative comments about her, Luna felt the need to jump in and try to save Aysel face from the crowd. Luna knew this would only make the negative comments worse by allowing them to think that Aysel still couldn’t defend herself, so Luna controlled her urges and continued with the discussions she was a part of.
“Princess Luna,” A voice came out of the group surrounding Aysel, “Won’t you come over?” It was coming from a colt that Luna recognized to be one of her supporters. Excusing herself from her current conversation, she walked over.
“Yes, Minister?”
“Why have you not introduced Aysel to us earlier? Such a mare like her shouldn’t be hidden away inside the castle.” Luna gave him a little laugh. She knew he wasn’t mad at all, he just had a very bubbly personality that could come off as mean to somepony who doesn’t really know him.
“Well, this is why I’m hosting this night, so I could introduce her to many of the Lords and Ministers that I work with. However,” Luna gave a quick smile towards Aysel, “it doesn’t look like she needed me to introduce her.” Aysel then gave Luna a smile back. Luna then spaced out and started to think to herself. She was quickly brought back to reality and was just able to make out the last of the Minister’s words.
“…and soon enough, she will be working with all of us.” He concluded with a proud voice. This was an odd thing for him to say, Luna thought to herself, shouldn’t she be the one to decide when Aysel would start her role as Princess? Luna found Aysel’s eyes and Aysel returned her an awkward glance. “But I must insist you meet some of the other Lords and Ministers here, Aysel, they are dying to meet you.” Before Luna could blink, her student was hurried off toward another group of ponies anxiously awaiting her. Luna, now left standing there with the ponies that didn’t follow Aysel, and started to talk about political mattes that started to come up.
The rest of the night went off without any problems. Though Luna didn’t get to talk with Aysel during the convention, she had multiple ponies come up to congratulate her on who she chose to be her student, and how refreshing it was to have a younger pony who has new political beliefs coming into office. The continual comments about new ideas was concerning enough to her that she sought out Celestia.
“Celestia, there you are.” Luna said, pardoning herself for interrupting the conversation. “May I talk with you for a minute?” Upon hearing this, the rest of the ponies within earshot started to disperse and find new groups to join.
“Sister, what is the matter?”
“I was just wondering if you have had a chance to talk with Aysel tonight.” Upon hearing this, Celestia’s face changed and it seemed as if she knew what Luna was really asking.
“Not one on one but in a group, yes. And I did make a mental note to ask you about some of the things she has said.”
“I thought as much. Many of the ponies here have come to me and only briefly mentioned how different her ideals are. Should this be a concern to me?”
“I’m not sure. She does express two major beliefs that I believe neither you nor I hold. But she does seem to have done her research and she is appealing to many of the ponies in this room. She believes that the government should hold more power over the lives of its citizens. She wants the Lords and Ministers to be able to make and enforce laws without the approval of the Princesses. She also believes that the wealth is too unequally divided the ponies and should be more evenly dispersed between them.
“Sister, her beliefs are not invalid. She has put time and effort in coming up with the ‘why’ to her values, and because of her background we can see where the belief of having a more evenly distributed wealth comes from. Being an orphan to living in the Royal Castle is a huge transition and she still holds some of the beliefs that most poor ponies do. But I must ask you this one thing. You are still sure she still is striving to become a Princess?”
Luna was listening and taking everything in. She didn’t respond straight away because of the fear of what she now really thinks; Aysel wants to become a Lord, not a Princess. She wants authority and power and now knows exactly how to get it. “Sister, I am not entirely sure what she desires to become in the future, though I don’t think it is what I planned for. Should I try and stop it, or just let future events unfold themselves?”
“I – ” Celestia paused for a moment, contemplating her answer, “I am not sure, either. I would like to see her become one of us, but I’m afraid that that is going to become nearly impossible. If she manages to convince enough of these ponies that they should have more power, it could untimely ruin the monarch that we have worked so hard to make.”
Luna nodded in agreement. “I know, if the monarch falls, then even the Lords and Ministers won’t be able to control Equestria. Oh, sister, what are we to do?”
Celestia didn’t answer her, but just looked down casted. Luna took the hint that she shouldn’t push the subject any further. As the night progressed, many of the ponies came toward the two Princesses and said their farewells and departed from the castle. Once everypony left, apart from the two sisters and Aysel, Celestia quickly went to her room leaving Luna and Aysel alone together.
“Did you enjoy tonight, it looked like you did?” Luna asked naturally once the two were in comfortable talking distance.
“Oh yes, I did. I learned so much from them. I never really knew how much power was divided between you and them.” Aysel then started to talk in a rushed sort of way about the different ways the power was shared. Luna tried to listen, but it started to hurt too much, knowing that her student might give the unwanted answer to the question she had.
“Aysel,” Aysel stopped talking and looked at Luna, “do you want to become a Princess or a Lord?”
The air around the two of them went completely still; the silence engulfed them, not allowing either of them to make a peep. Each stared at the other, never breaking eye contact. Aysel finally gave into the question.
“Well, you see – I just want to – I think that – it’s hard to explain.” Aysel finally managed to say. “I want to be where I can be most useful, where I can have the most impact to help the lives of the ponies in Equestria. And after meeting with the Lords and Ministers tonight, I realized how they can have far reaching effects in Equestria. Not that I don’t you and your sister don’t, of course. I think you both do amazing work, please don’t misunderstand me. But I think if I was a part of the collective body of the House, I could do more than if I became a Princess.” She said this in a very politically rushed kind of way that is used to say something so quick, that the other pony doesn’t have time to register everything said, but Luna was far too experienced for such a political moved to be played on her.
“Do you think that the Houses at as one body?” Luna didn’t want to lose her student, not when they have become so close. Maybe subtly pointing out flaws in the Houses will make Aysel not want to leave her position as Luna’s student.
“At the moment, I think they are looking for a pony to unite them all, somepony they can all stand behind. I think once that pony comes along, they will be stronger than what they are now.”
“And you think that you are going to be that pony?”
“After tonight, they all seemed to like me. And if they chose to stand behind me, then I’ll have no choice but to be that pony.” Luna saw her student’s face turn to the power hungry face she saw before, but it wasn’t going away this time, it just seemed to grow.
“Aysel, don’t start looking for power and authority. They might look tantalizing now, but be rest assured, they will end up destroying you. Once you start looking for power and find a little, you won’t be able to control yourself, you have to stop before it begins.”
“I’m not looking for power; I’m looking to make a positive difference in the lives of all the ponies out there. And if I need a little bit of support to make the changes possible, then I should be able to have it if enough ponies agree with the changes I want.”
“Every tyrant started out with a difference they wanted to make and a group of ponies following them. Most of them never wanted to become rulers like that, but they fell into the cycle of striving for more and more power. All I can do is ask that you be forethoughtful enough to realize that is what will happen if you continue down this path.”
“So what are you going to do about it? You’re not allowed to stop me from getting pulled into the House and working my way up to become a Lord. You’re just afraid of what will happen to you once Equestria no longer needs the monarch.”
“As acting Princess of Equestria, I have no choice but to stop any threat that could possibly destroy Equestria.” Luna was getting incredibly worried now that Aysel would continue to take this further until she would have to stay true to her word and defend Equestria.
“Oh, so are you going to banish me to the moon?” Aysel said in a mocking tone, “If you have to stop all threats then why hasn’t your sister returned you to the moon? Equestria is a lot safer without a tyrant, isn’t that right? Well, here’s what I think of your power.” Aysel’s horn started to light up, but Luna was quicker and casted a spell on her student before she could attack.
“Please, stop this nonsense. I don’t want to fight you, but I can’t allow somepony whose goal it is to gain power to be placed into a position where she could easily slip.” Luna started to walk over toward Aysel, who was recovering from being pushed into a wall.
“You were the one who attacked me. How dare you tell me to stop! I only wanted to bring a new era of peace and more equality to Equestria, but you care too much about your crown and title. You want me to not have authority? Then why don’t you give yours up and see what it feels like.” Aysel heaved herself up and glared at Luna. From the bedroom corridor, Celestia came running out, but paused when she realized what was happening, she also motioned to the guards to not interfere with what was going on. Aysel then sent a beam of magic out which hit Luna. While trying to get up, Luna realized she now had a circler burn mark upon her chest.
“It’s not too late, you can still stop this. Look at what you’re doing, and see if it would really get you where you want to go.” But Luna’s plea was not heard and her student continued to send all the magic attacks she could toward her mentor. Luna was now ready for them and was able to fly to avoid getting hit again. But the constant destructive spells that Aysel sent out was starting to damage the castle, and finally the wall leading outside broke off, revealing the starry night sky with the moon shining brightly against the black.
Luna looked toward the moon then toward her student, who was now fighting against her with all her might. Luna knew what she had to do, but didn’t want to. She gave one final try to help Aysel.
“Please, I’m begging you Aysel. If you don’t stop, I’m going to have to stop you. Not for me or my sister, but for the good of everypony in Equestria. Can’t you see what you’ve done to just the inside of the castle, imagine what would happen if you had even more power. Please, just stop.” But as expected Aysel kept on fighting and fighting. Luna took a deep breath and felt a sense of power, not unknown to her, that only came when she has forced to stop a threat. She collected all the power she had within herself, not from hate or anger, but from the love and care that she felt for each one of the ponies she has been entrusted to help. With that power she released it all and directed it at Aysel. Once the spell hit Aysel everything seemed to go into slow motion: Luna’s eyes started to form tears, Aysel’s eyes went from anger to shock to regret. They both knew what was going to happen and both would have, in that moment, given anything to change it. Aysel stretched one hoof out to make a grab for Luna, and Luna tried to lift hers but she felt the weight of the world come down upon her, stopping her from doing anything but watch. Aysel started to scream at the top of her lungs, but no noise came out. Luna was just able to mouth out ‘I’m sorry’ before Aysel was out of sight.
Once Luna could stand back up she ran toward her room, not stopping to talk to the guards or her sister. She locked her door and collapsed onto her bed. She looked toward the moon that was visible through her balcony window. The moon’s face now bore a slight resemblance of her former student, and all Luna could do was face her pillow and weep.