Luna opens a summer camp, but the campers who sign up certainly aren't who she expects.
A sequel to 'Hiatus' - Spurred on by her sister, Luna decides to open a summer camp dedicated to the arts and sciences in an attempt to become further involved with the daily lives of Equestria's citizens, hopefully improving her reputation in the process. The campers that sign up prove to be more than what the Princess of the Night was expecting, however. 'Camp Counselor' certainly wasn't supposed to be part of the royal duties.
The Cycle of Days (Luna's Lullaby) - Written by Ariamaki Featured on Equestria Daily! Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, and commented!
"Luna, I thought of something the other night before I fell asleep. Care to hear it?"
The Princess of the Night sighed and took another bite out of her donut. It was morning in Equestria, and though this was essentially bed-time for Luna, she had stayed up so she could have breakfast with her sister. It was hard to believe that it had already been two years since her return, yet the calendar in her room clearly said 'June' on it. The young Princess lifted up her glass of orange juice with her magic and took a quick drink before setting it back down upon the table. "Go ahead and tell me, 'Tia."
"Well, I know how eager you are to improve your reputation, and based on what Twilight Sparkle has told me, you enjoyed your time mingling with the citizens of Ponyville." Celestia took a bite out of her own donut, washing it down with some coffee before continuing. "So I figured that perhaps my little sister should do something that combines both of those!"
"And that would be... what, 'Tia?" Luna shoved the rest of the donut in her mouth and slowly chewed it while she listened to the rest of her sister's announcement.
Celestia giggled and grinned. "It's simple. You open a summer camp!"
Luna's eyes shot open and she nearly choked on her donut before quickly spewing the rest of it out onto her plate. "A summer camp?! Celestia, I... but... please tell me you're joking."
"I'm not. Given your situation, little sister, it'd be perfect. You open a summer camp, socialize with some of the citizens of Equestria, and your reputation gets a nice little boost in the process."
"Look... 'Tia." Luna sighed and rubbed her forehead with one of her hooves. "I appreciate you trying to help, and I know you mean well by it. But... a summer camp? I don't even know what a pony does at a summer camp, let alone how to run one. It'd be a complete disaster."
The elder sister took a quick drink from her mug, which was amusingly enough emblazoned with '#1 Co-Princess', and shook her head. "You need to stop being such a pessimist, Luna. Sometimes you just have to take chances, get messy, and make mistakes. That's how you learn. Besides, it's not like the press could try and write it off as being some 'devious plot by the Equestrian Royalty to spirit away your foals! More news at eleven'!"
"...you've been practicing that, haven't you?"
"Maybe. What I'm saying, little sister, is this - I know you're hesitant to do anything that's outside of your comfort zone, but it couldn't hurt to try. Just think about it! If you do a good enough job running the camp, then all the little foals will go home and tell their parents about how wonderful Princess Luna was, and then those parents will tell their friends, and so on. It'd be a fantastic way to improve your reputation."
The younger sister sighed and took another drink of orange juice. "Yeah, I guess. Just... I dunno, 'Tia. This could just as easily hurt my reputation instead. If I screw it up, then all those little foals might instead tell their parents about how I can't do anything right, and then it's just a matter of time until the press is talking about how I'm not fit to help run the kingdom. And then what?"
"Luna, I'm not saying you have to do this. It's just a suggestion, nothing more. I'm simply trying to help you." Celestia stood up and made her way over to her sibling, leaning down to give her a quick nuzzle. "I've got to interview some applicants for the castle staff, so I need to get going. Just go to bed and sleep on it, alright?"
"I will." She stood up and returned the nuzzle, turning towards her sister one last time before leaving for her quarters. "Let me know how the interviews go. Good morning, 'Tia."
"Good morning, Luna." Celestia smiled and watched her sister depart, and the white alicorn soon made her way towards the throne. When Luna had first started using 'Good morning' as her own form of 'Good night', it had initially thrown both Celestia and the entirety of the castle staff for a loop. It did make sense, however - as everypony was waking up, Luna was going to sleep. The elder sister had soon adapted to it, and the staff caught on not long afterwards. It was an unorthodox way to greet and bid each other farewell, but it was theirs. That's what counted. As Celestia took her seat upon the throne, the list of applicants was brought to her, and the parchment was long enough to cascade down the steps to the throne itself. "...guardsman, just how many applicants are on the list?"
The stallion who had brought her the list snapped her a salute and quickly replied. "Four-hundred and sixty-eight, your Majesty. We uh... we actually counted."
Celestia sighed and brought a hoof to her temple, gently rubbing it before turning to the guardsman once more. If this was going to take a while, there was likely going to be one more thing she would need to get through it.
"Bring me another cup of coffee, please."
-----
The next night, Luna certainly kept herself busy during her share of the royal duties, surrounding herself with various books and guides about camps of all kinds. There was one book in particular she had been hesitant to use, but nonetheless found herself returning to it time and time again - Camping 101: All you ever wanted know about camping but were afraid to ask. It was written by the same author who had made Slumber 101, a book Twilight Sparkle had personally advised her to never use, due to 'prior experiences'. Regardless of how mediocre the writing was, Camping 101 had still proven to be fairly useful, and Luna further augmented this knowledge by asking her very own guards. The Princess set down the book and turned to look at the closest guard. "Guardsman, I have a question for you."
The stallion turned in place and saluted her. "Ask away, Luna."
"Ah, good. You remembered." She smiled, pleased that he had actually remembered to forgo the title. "Anyways, I wish to know more about camps. What do you do at a summer camp or something of the sort?"
"Oh! Well, uh... when I was younger, I used to be in the Colt Scouts. 'course, our camps were a bit more 'practical' than most other camps you'll find."
The Princess raised an eyebrow at him. "Practical? Like what?"
"Just survival skills and the like. Making campfires or shelter, preparing food, that sort of thing."
"I see." She frowned and lowered her head, tapping a hoof to her chin as she thought. "That doesn't sound very... fun. No offense or anything, guardsman."
"None taken, your Majesty." The stallion chuckled and turned back around, resuming his duties and leaving Luna to think of some better alternatives. The Princess requested a parchment and quill, and after it was given to her, she began to compile a list of activities she thought other ponies might consider to be fun. It took her much of the night, but before she was due to lower the moon, Luna had finally finished her list. Pleased with herself, she showed it to the other guards, asking for their opinions. Most of them curiously eyed the list, and one of them eventually spoke up.
"Um... Luna?"
"Yes, guardsman? Do you have a question about the list?" She blinked at him, and he nervously glanced about before replying.
"You... you only put four things on the list."
"But that's impossible! I filled the entire parchment!" She pulled it backwards and began to look over the list, unsure of what could have possibly gone wrong. She had spent the entire night on this list, and she knew she had filled it. Luna frantically scanned the document, and she let out a groan as she realized her mistake. "Oh you have got to be kidding me..."
The Princess of the Night had indeed filled the parchment completely, but she had listed the same four things over and over again without even realizing it.
Astronomy Drawing Painting Reading
With a huff, she threw the parchment to the ground and stared out one of the windows present within the throne room. These weren't things other ponies did for fun - these were things she did for fun. Worst of all, she truly didn't even know what ponies normally did during their free time. The only other ponies she had any true experience with were the ones within Canterlot and Ponyville. Canterlot didn't really count, as almost all of them were snobs and spent their free time at art galleries or galas. Ponyville would have been a better example, but Luna had only been there once, and on a holiday no less. She sighed and slowly stood up from the throne, making her way down the stairs so she could begin the spell to lower the moon. At the very least, she would see her sister in just a few minutes. "Celestia will know. With all the time she's spent around the citizens of Equestria, she simply has to know what they do for fun!"
Upon reaching the bottom of the steps, Luna gently rubbed her face with her hooves. "I hope she does, anyways..."
Lowering the moon was suddenly the least of her worries.
-----
"You don't know?! How can you not know?"
Luna was absolutely flabbergasted. Her sister had spent hundreds of years among the citizens of Equestria, yet upon being asked what they did for fun, she had simply shrugged. Fuming, the young Princess took her seat at the table once more and took a bite out of a donut, staring at Celestia as the elder sister took a sip of coffee from her mug.
"Calm down, Luna. I'm saying I don't know what they do for fun because I truly don't know. I was almost always wrapped up in politics, and even if I wasn't, simply visiting or being among my little ponies turned into an event. You should consider yourself lucky that you managed to get the citizens of Ponyville to be as informal as they were." At the mention of that, the elder sibling let out a sigh of disappointment. "I'll admit, little sister, I'm somewhat envious of you because of that. There have been so many times where I've simply wanted to be 'Celestia' rather than 'Princess Celestia'. Even my own student still uses my title."
Luna's expression softened somewhat, and she swallowed the rest of her donut before speaking. "Have you tried just... asking them to be more informal around you?"
"I've tried, believe me. But no matter how much I try to be more easy-going around them, they're stuck in the habit of treating me like royalty. I'm well aware that I am indeed royalty, but I simply want them to loosen up a bit around me. I don't want to be pampered or told how wonderful I am - I just want to relax and have a bit of fun with them. That's a discussion for another time, however. I was going to help you get this camp up and running, and I shall." The white alicorn briefly closed her eyes, and upon opening them, she was already back to her cheery self. "Now then, little sister, what do you have so far?"
"Oh, it's... nothing major. I tried to make a list last night, but I only put down things I liked. I doubt it'd be much fun for other ponies." Luna passed the list over to her sister and nervously stuffed another donut in her mouth, chewing while Celestia looked it over.
The elder sibling looked over it with a scrutinizing eye, but soon passed it back with a smile. "It looks perfect, Luna! When are you going to start?"
"...Perfect?" She blinked at her sister, unsure if she had even heard it right. "How is it perfect? It's only things I like!"
"Exactly. If it's something you like, then you're going to be more passionate about it and you'll want it to be as good as possible. Try to cater to the interests of others, and you'll lose that same passion in the process. Besides, I'd say we have enough camps that involve canoeing and campfire songs, don't you?" Celestia grinned and took a long sip from her mug, leaving her sister to stare at her in astonishment.
Luna knew her sister had her moments of brilliance, and this had been one such moment. She hadn't even noticed that bits of donut had fallen out of her gaping mouth, and it wasn't until Celestia pointed while stifling a giggle that she cleaned up after herself. The Princess of the Night took her list back and finished off the rest of her orange juice before walking over to Celestia's side and giving her a nuzzle. "I don't know what I'd do without you sometimes, 'Tia. I'll go work on some flyers before I go to sleep. Good morning, and... thanks."
"Any time, little sister. Sleep well." Celestia smiled as her younger sibling trotted off, setting down her mug as she finished the rest of her coffee. The white alicorn glanced around the dining room for a moment, and when nopony was watching, she swiped another donut and shoved it into her mouth. Sure, she was due on the throne in a few minutes, but...
...one more wouldn't hurt.
-----
Her drawing and painting had always come so naturally, and yet she was seriously struggling with how to design a simple flyer. Minute after minute, Luna stared at the blank parchment, unsure of where she should even start - or how, for that matter. Irritated, the young Princess wandered about her room, playing with Selene and Philomena or observing her own drawings. She was looking for something, anything that could serve as inspiration. With a sigh, she hopped onto her stool and forced herself to draw. If the inspiration wouldn't come naturally, maybe she could coax it out by working.
It started simple enough - Luna's own cutie mark, at the top and center of the flyer. Below that was the name of her future camp, Luna's Camp for the Arts and Sciences. It wasn't anything overly fancy, but it still got the point across. It would suffice. Continuing onwards, she proceeded to list the activities she had planned. She only had four at the moment, but nothing said she couldn't add more to it at a later date. The contact info was already taken care of, and rather than writing directly to her, those interested would instead send a letter to Luna's contact within the Equestrian Postal Service. The young Princess carefully wrote this at the bottom, and finished it off by covering the rest of the parchment with flowing lines and geometric patterns. Satisfied, she set down her pencil and held the flyer aloft, observing it.
Luna's Camp for the Arts and Sciences -Astronomy! -Drawing and Painting! -Reading!
If interested, send a letter of enquiry to Ditzy Doo at the Equestrian Postal Service.
She smiled and carefully set the flyer down upon her desk, hopping off her stool and making her way over to her bed. Luna crawled under the covers and pulled Selene and Philomena towards herself, snuggling up against them as she slowly fell asleep.
Over the past few months, Luna had been working on a new hobby of hers in secret - well, as secret as she could keep it, at least. It was rather hard to stay quiet about it when the results could be viewed by anypony within Equestria, but few were observant enough to ever notice the changes. Perhaps 'hobby' wasn't the proper term for what the young Princess had been doing. After all, this was something she had done long ago and had 'forgotten', due to Night Mare Moon's possession. It was Twilight Sparkle's Hearth's Warming gift to her that had partially inspired her to take up the craft once more, and she had practiced it with every intent of success.
She was attempting to make stars.
The throne room was a maelstrom of magical force as Luna dabbled with the cosmos itself, warping gravity and forcing dust and gas to swirl and combine together. For most of the guards, this had since become a nightly occurrence, but that didn't make it any less impressive. A few watched on in awe as the Princess of the Night visibly strained herself - as powerful as she was, the amount of energy needed to create an actual star was astonishing, and simply creating one star often left her completely exhausted. There was a brief flash of light, and Luna collapsed to the ground with a groan, the storm of magic ceasing almost immediately. One of her guards calmly walked to her side and helped her to her hooves, the stallion grinning as he escorted her back to the throne. "Another one, your Majesty?"
"Y-yes." She still felt weak from the endeavor and sat upon the throne with a sigh, giving the guard a nod of appreciation in return. "I'm sure it'll be less strenuous every time I do it."
"Considering you've made most of the other stars up there at one point or another, I'd say you're right. Would you like some water, Luna?"
"Yes please." The young Princess smiled and slowly nodded, rubbing one of her temples with a hoof. The guardsman gave her a salute and turned to fetch her a glass of water, and it didn't take long for him to return with a glass carefully balanced upon his back - at the very least, the royal guards were incredibly efficient. Luna took the glass from him and drank the entire thing in just a few moments, quickly sating her thirst. She carefully set the glass down upon the floor and turned to the stallion once more. "There's a flyer laying on my desk. Would you mind bringing it and some of my pencils out here?"
The guardsman saluted her once more and trotted off to retrieve the flyer for her, returning soon afterwards and placing both the flyer and the pencils at her hooves. Luna nodded appreciatively and conjured up a tiny table for her to work on, placing the flyer and her supplies on it. With a pencil in her mouth, she slowly worked, adding bits and pieces to the flyer. For the most part, it was finished, and yet parts of it still felt missing. One of her guards leaned over to look at the flyer, cocking his head as he looked at it. "So what kind of time frame are you working with, Luna?"
She spat out the pencil and sat up, blinking at him. "...Time frame?"
"Well, yeah. Camps usually have a time frame. Most are only open for a week at a time or so, some go for an entire month." The Princess frowned with disappointment upon hearing that, causing the guard to laugh. "You didn't even think about that, did you?"
"I hadn't even considered it. Thank you." She leaned down and picked up the pencil once more, staring at the flyer as she thought about how long her camp should even be open. A month seemed far too long, but a week seemed much more manageable. At the bottom of the flyer, underneath the activities, she added another line.
Open from July 1st through July 8th
Luna spat out the pencil once more, picking up the flyer with her magic and staring at it. With everything she had added to it, it seemed much more eye-catching now - she was bound to get some ponies interested now! All that remained was finding a decent place to put the flyer. Canterlot was out of the question, as the only ponies she would likely get from there would be far too snooty to appreciate what she would try to teach. The only other place she could think of was...
"Ponyville!"
One of the guardsman turned to look over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow at her. "...your Majesty?"
"Sorry. Thinking aloud." She giggled nervously and quickly returned to her thinking. Ponyville would be perfect. All of the ponies there were wonderfully kind, and though things had a rocky start during her visit on Night Mare Night, everything turned out just fine. "I need one of you to run an errand for me, preferably a pegasus."
One of the guards, an older stallion, turned and approached the throne, bowing before Luna. "What do you need, milady?"
She sighed. Of all the things she could be called, she hated 'milady' and 'ma'am' the most. She knew it was simply a sign of respect, but they both made her feel old. This particular guard had done it countless times, and Luna had simply given up on trying to correct him. "I need something delivered. Do you know of Ditzy Doo, in Ponyville?"
"I do, your Majesty. One of the mail mares, right?"
"Indeed. Take this to her - it's for her, and her alone. Simply give the flyer to her, she'll know what to do from there." Luna was about to hand off the flyer to him, but the stallion prepared to grab it with his mouth. Instead, she used her magic to fold up the flyer and lift the guardsman's helmet, carefully placing the flyer underneath before setting it back down upon his head. "There. Now I know you won't lose it. Travel safely."
The stallion sighed and shook his head, quickly leaving the throne room to deliver the package. He had been reduced from guard duty to being an errand boy for Princess Luna.
His children would never let him live this down.
-----
It was an odd thing to wake up to, but not entirely unexpected either. Ditzy Doo had ended up having a chance encounter with Princess Luna during her visit on Night Mare Night, and it had somehow ended with the gray mare writing a letter to the Princess the very next day. Much to her surprise, Luna replied back, and the two had kept in-touch since then. It had even culminated with Ditzy being appointed as Luna's personal representative within the Equestrian Postal Service, something the mail mare was highly proud of - the pay boost was certainly appreciated too.
This latest letter was interesting, though. It had been delivered during the night, no doubt by one of Luna's royal guards, and it wasn't a letter at all. Rather, it was a flyer for a camp of some sort. Ditzy gently placed it upon her kitchen table and took a sip of coffee from her mug. Sparkler had already taken Dinky off to school, which was somewhat of a relief to the mail mare. It meant she wouldn't have to explain the letter, or how she knew the Princesses as well as she did. Those were stories best left for another time.
With her coffee mug in the sink, Ditzy threw on her saddlebags and placed the flyer safely within. She would get her route and packages for the day soon enough, but for now, she had something more important to attend to - after all, this was royal business. After locking up her house for the day, the gray mare set off for Ponyville's town square, taking flight and arriving at her destination in just a few short moments. She was a common fixture for many of the citizens, and so few paid any real attention to her. That would do just fine. The pegasus pulled the flyer out of her saddlebags and pinned it to one of the posts near the town hall, smiling as she smoothed out some of the wrinkles.
"As artistic as always, your Majesty."
Her job complete, Ditzy Doo took off once more and made her way towards the Ponyville Post Office. Given the tasks Luna sometimes asked her to complete, it was good that few ponies ever paid attention to her.
With any luck, that attention would be redirected towards the flyer.
-----
Delivery received. Message posted.
Hope you get some bites, Luna.
Your faithful servant, Ditzy Doo
P.S. The 'bites' refers to your flyer, not the donuts.
"Still looking at your letter, little sister?"
"Hm? Yeah. Back to our lesson, I suppose." It had been a week since receiving it, but Luna carefully folded up the letter and set it aside, returning to the task in front of her. At Celestia's own request, the young Princess was currently giving her elder sibling an art lesson. Celestia's room was far more spacious than Luna's, and made for a much better working environment - there was plenty of room for two easels, as well as the various paints and brushes they would need to use. "Okay, so... first of all, when painting, don't use magic."
Celestia turned and blinked at her little sister. "Don't... use magic? Why not?"
"Because, 'Tia. Using non-physical means to move the brush affects how the painting looks and feels. You might not notice it now, but as you paint more and more often, you definitely will." Luna smiled and was already beginning to sort through the various tubes of paint at her side, looking through them and picking out the colors she wanted to use.
"So... what? I just pick up the brush with my mouth?" The elder sister was eying the paint brush curiously, and she carefully leaned down and grabbed the tool with her mouth, mumbling out another response. "Lik' dis?"
The Princess of the Night sat up and caught sight of it, causing her to giggle in return. "Yes, Celestia. Just like that. I know it seems rather silly, but you'll understand soon enough. And... don't worry about the talking thing - you'll get better at it. Now, once you have your brush and your canvas is properly set up, pick out your first paint and-"
Thud.
Celestia dropped her brush and leaned over to search for the source of the sound. "Did you hear that too, Luna? Or am I just hearing things?"
"Nah, I heard it too. I think I know what caused it as well. Hold on." Luna stood up and wandered over to her sister's balcony, opening the doorway and peering down at the new arrival. "Ditzy, you know we have a front door, right?"
"Oh, I know! I have something for you, though." Ditzy Doo opened one of her saddlebags and pulled out a letter, giving it to Luna. The gray mare gave the Princess a salute, though only one of her eyes managed to actually remain focused on her.
The young Princess sighed and temporarily set the letter aside, slowly approaching the mail mare. "Ditzy, I thought I told you to get your eye looked at? I mean... doesn't that interfere with your flying at all?"
"What, this?" Ditzy pointed at her bad eye and simply shrugged. "I've gotten used to it. I'm legally blind in that eye, but the worst it's done is affect my depth perception. I've gotten used to it, though! Um... mostly, anyways."
"Mostly? Ditzy, you ran into my sister's balcony." Luna sighed once more and rubbed her face with one of her hooves before giving the mail mare a gentle pat on the back. "I'm going to have a bonus check sent out to you so you can get that eye of yours taken care of. You'll still have plenty of money to keep your family covered. Sound good?"
Ditzy's face scrunched up slightly, and Luna wasn't sure if the mail mare was going to laugh or cry. She settled for a smile instead, leaning over to give the Princess a light hug. "Oh, thank you Luna! I wish there was something I could do to make it up to you!"
"Nonsense." The Princess of the Night laughed softly and returned the hug, breaking away from it to look at Ditzy. "The work you do for me is payment enough. Now go ahead and get going. I'm sure there's more mail for you to deliver back in Ponyville."
The gray mare smiled and nodded, bidding Luna farewell as she took off to return to Ponyville. The young Princess was pleased with herself - it always filled her with joy to see her subjects so happy. She turned to pick up her letter once more, but noticed that it was gone. Frantic, she glanced about all over the balcony, searching for it. Was it possible that the wind had picked it up and carried it off? Or maybe it had-
"Huh. Interesting."
Celestia. Luna turned to look back into Celestia's quarters, and there was the letter, being read by her elder sister. She quickly made her way back inside, taking the letter from her sister. "You could have asked before you started to read through my mail."
"Sorry, dear sister. Curiosity got the best of me." The white alicorn grinned and shrugged, and the younger sibling simply sighed before holding the letter in front of herself and looking it over. It looked like it was the sign-up sheet for her summer camp. She eagerly began to read through the list, stopping to look at each of the names on it.
1. Pip
Luna giggled and grinned - Pipsqueak the Pirate, as she remembered him. He had been horribly frightened of her on Night Mare Night, but managed to turn things around before her visit was over. She was even his 'favorite Princess ever', something she had particularly enjoyed hearing. Compliments were few and far between, especially when you had the kind of reputation she did. The young Princess proceeded down the list once more.
2. Twilight Sparkle
How perfect! Though Twilight certainly wasn't a foal by any means, she and Luna both had many of the same interests, and it was hardly surprising to see her on the list. No doubt she had signed up because of the astronomy, but she'd likely enjoy the other activities just the same. There were more names on the list, however, and Luna continued to browse through the names.
The Princess blinked. Seeing Pip and Twilight on the list wasn't a shock at all, but these other names truly perplexed her. She knew they were the other Elements of Harmony, and Twilight Sparkle's friends. Yet, as far as Luna knew, none of them had any interest at all in the activities she had planned for the camp. Why would they sign up for something they probably wouldn't enjoy?
"You luk confoosed, lil' sister." Celestia was attempting to talk with a paint brush in her mouth, but she did well enough that Luna managed to understand.
"Because I am, 'Tia. You saw the list, right?" The elder sibling nodded, and Luna continued. "I understand Pip and Twilight signing up, but why would the others sign up too? As far as I know, none of them like astronomy, reading, painting, or drawing. Why would they sign up for my camp if there isn't anything they're interested in?"
Celestia spat out the paint brush in her mouth and eyed her work thus far - the entire time Luna had been gone and talking with Ditzy Doo, she had managed to paint... a circle. She smirked and slowly shook her head, turning to face her younger sister. "Knowing them, they probably only signed up because Twilight Sparkle did. For all we know, they might end up discovering something new about themselves while at your camp. Sometimes that's all it takes to find something you love to do."
Luna stared blankly at her sister for a moment, then sighed. "How'd you manage to figure that one out?"
"Because Twilight Sparkle is my personal student, dear sister. It'd be awful silly of me not to know how her and her friends act, wouldn't it?" Celestia smiled in return, beckoning her sibling back over to the easels. "C'mon, Luna. I think you still owe me an art lesson."
"Very well. I'll worry about the list later." The Princess of the Night returned to the easel at Celestia's side and took a seat upon the floor, picking up her own paint brush and talking out of the side of her mouth - unlike her sibling, she'd had plenty of practice, and was capable of speaking quite clearly. "Now then, you pick out your first paint, which I see you've already done. And from there, you simply... paint. Do what you want. Just don't forget to wash the brush off when switching colors, so you don't mix them."
Celestia mumbled a response back, something akin to an 'Uh huh', and the two sisters both painted away. The group of campers that had signed up was... interesting, to say the least. It would liven things up, anyways. She would worry about that later, though. For now, she had something much more important to take care of.
Namely, getting her sister to stop mixing the paints.
Meet me in my chambers at noon. There's something I wish to discuss with you.
Your sister, Celestia
The letter itself seemed somewhat out of character for her sister. Typically, if Celestia wished to talk to Luna, she would just do it in-person. To send a letter seemed... impersonal. Cold. Not like Celestia at all. Luna carefully nudged open the door to her sister's room and made her way inside, shutting it behind herself. The blinds were shut, and the room was darker than what the Princess of the Night had expected - the only source of light from within was the fireplace, and in front of it sat Celestia herself. The white alicorn acknowledged her sister's presence, never once turning away from the fire. "Take a seat beside me, Luna. I need to tell you something."
Slowly, Luna did as told, making her way to her sister's side and sitting beside her. The first thing the young Princess noticed was how dour her sister's expression was. At worst, Celestia often appeared expressionless or neutral - this, however, was a slight frown. It made Luna feel slightly uneasy, but she gradually worked up the courage to speak. "What did you want to tell me about, 'Tia?"
"I have a warning for you. Before you panic, this doesn't concern Equestria itself. The kingdom and its citizens aren't in danger. This is something more... personal." Celestia briefly glanced away from the fire and sighed before continuing. "You have your list, and I know how eager you are to make some friends. But believe me when I say this - don't make the same mistake I have. Don't allow yourself to get too close."
Luna stared blankly at her sister, her mouth agape. To hear Celestia, of all ponies, utter these words was a shock. After all, she loved all of her ponies, and yet she had just told her sister to keep her distance from others. "...mistake? Celestia, what are you talking about?"
"Time and time again, I've allowed myself to get too close to my little ponies. I know I probably shouldn't, but I can't help it."
"Celestia, you aren't making any sense." Luna slowly shook her head and gave her sister a gentle prod. "What's this all about?"
"I'm trying to spare you from something I've had to endure over and over. Luna, over the past thousand years, I've had multiple apprentices, and by no means is Twilight Sparkle the first. I love her dearly - she's like a daughter to me. But I know that one day, the sun will set for her, and my faithful student will pass on. It'll break my heart, little sister. It always has. You'd think it would get easier over time, but... it doesn't." The elder sibling looked down at her with a pained expression, sighing once more before continuing. "To be honest, I'm still not sure how I managed to make it through your banishment. With you gone and my apprentices passing away throughout the years, I got lonely. Very lonely, in fact. Some days I wasn't sure if my own immortality was a blessing, or a curse. What's the point of living forever if you those you love continually pass away?"
This was all new to Luna, who found herself eying her sister with a mixture of shock and awe - shocked that her sister would willingly keep such a thing bottled up, and awed at the fact that she had endured such emotional pain time and time again. "But... why tell me now, 'Tia? Why haven't you told me before?"
"The time wasn't right. I needed to wait and see what you wanted to do with your life after you returned. I was overjoyed to know you wanted to make friends, but... I also knew I would have to eventually give you this speech. I'm not saying you can't make friends, just... don't get too close to them. I'm simply trying to help, Luna. Just promise me you won't make the same mistake I have."
Mistake. Each and every time Celestia mentioned it, there was a hint of bitterness within her voice. She wasn't bitter over her 'mistake' itself, but rather over the fact that she had to refer to it as one. If anything, it was the opposite - it was clear that her elder sister still loved all of the ponies of Equestria dearly. She saw all of them as her children, and she would have done anything for them. She was simply trying to spare her own sister from what she had suffered through during Luna's absence, though by no means had Luna fared any better during that same period.
Again and again, however, Celestia had tried to shoulder the burden herself. Always looking out for her dear sister, it would seem. The young Princess turned towards the fire and stared at the dancing flames within before replying. "You know I can't do that, Celestia. I can't make that promise."
"I know, Luna. I don't think I'd be able to either." Celestia had already draped a wing over her little sister, her eyes focused upon the embers of the fireplace. "There's some days where I hate time itself. I feel like it's mocking me. Decades pass for my little ponies, and yet it feels like minutes for me. Just as I've gotten to truly know all of my children, they're taken from me by the sands of time, and I have to begin the process anew. It doesn't feel fair."
Hate - now there was an especially strong word in Celestia's vocabulary. Her sister had never hated anything, and not even Discord had managed to earn such a thing. It was becoming increasingly clear that her elder sibling wasn't quite as serene as she often appeared to be, but was simply very good at hiding her troubles. Luna thought for a moment about what to do, and she quickly knew what had to be done. Just as Celestia had done for her when she had dreamt of her childhood, Luna placed her head underneath Celestia's, giving her sister a brief nuzzle before speaking. "Because it isn't fair, 'Tia. We can't let that change us though, or we become bitter and uncaring. I guess... if we can't love all the ponies for the rest of time, we'll simply have to love them lots while they're still here."
"It scares me how much you remind me of mother sometimes." Celestia looked down at her younger sister, her expression softening, and she softly laughed. "To think, I brought you here hoping to teach you something, and I was the one being taught instead. Sometimes we need the perspective of another to push us along, which... you seem to have done today, little sister. Thank you. And... sorry for being so mopey around you."
"We all have our 'off' days, 'Tia. It's okay. Do you need a tissue?"
"I think I'll be fine, Luna. Thanks for asking." The elder sibling had already proceeded over to her windows, opening the blinds and letting the light of day into her room once more. She snuffled slightly and continued. "I'm just... tired of it, I suppose. Of mourning them time and time again. Generation after generation of happy and hopeful ponies, starting out as sparks and becoming bright and roaring flames, only to slowly fizzle out. Some days, I simply wish none of them would grow old, just so I could spend time amongst them and love them as they deserve to be loved. That's not... selfish of me or anything, is it?"
"Not at all, Celestia." Luna slowly approached her older sister and leaned up to give her another nuzzle. "I think maybe we should change subjects, though. You're starting to tear up a bit. Do you at least feel any better?"
Celestia snuffled and nodded, gently rubbing at her eyes to clear away any of the tears that had started to accumulate. "I do. I'm feeling much better now that I've told somepony else about it. But yes, let's change subjects before things get too dreary - what would you like to discuss, little sister?"
The young Princess glanced over at the easels that had since been moved to a corner of her sister's room, and she grinned upon remembering the art lesson from earlier that week.
"About those paints..."
-----
Today had been fairly eventful, to say the least. She had helped her sister get something off her chest, and now she was overseeing final preparations for her camp. Her guards weren't exactly enthusiastic that they had to help with such a thing, but it wasn't as if they could say 'No' - she was their Princess, after all. After much deliberation, Luna had decided to simply hold the camp within the castle itself. It was an odd choice upon initial observation, but made sense after one considered the activities the Princess of the Night had planned. With the observatory and library nearby, as well as her own art supplies, everything the young Princess needed was already here. A set of barracks that had gone unused over the past few years would be the sleeping quarters for the campers, and with everything set inside the castle, security would hardly be an issue.
This night, Luna had decided against creating another star, and was instead spending more time with her guards. She was doing something different this time around, opting to play Blackjack instead of Go Fish. They weren't betting, of course - this was strictly for fun. "So everything's taken care of? The barracks have been cleaned up, the kitchen staff notified, that sort of thing? Oh, and do you want me to deal or are you gonna stay?
"Deal." The Princess dealt one of her guards another card, flipping it over and revealing a Jack. The stallion grumbled and shook his head, shoving his hand towards the deck. "Bust... should've stayed. To answer your question, however, yes. Everything's set up to the best of our abilities. The library staff have also been told about your plans. They didn't exactly seem pleased, but it's not as if they have much of a say in the matter."
Luna giggled and shook her head as she reshuffled the deck, passing it back to the guard. "Your turn to deal. I swear, it's impossible to make those ponies happy. I reorganized all of the books yesterday into their proper places, and they almost threw a fit because I didn't fill out the appropriate paperwork. I'm a Princess! I shouldn't have to fill out paperwork just so I can shuffle books around!"
"They're just trying to do their job, your Majesty. Can't exactly fault 'em for that." The stallion dealt the cards out to her, and Luna quickly picked up the two cards with her magic, holding them in front of herself - an Ace and an eight. A good hand, but a risky one. The guard didn't seem to fare any better, a faint scowl appearing upon his face.
"Hm... I'll stay." She placed both her cards down, eying the guard sitting across from her. His scowl had been a very slight hint, and either he had ended up with a bad set of cards or he was bluffing. Luna wasn't entirely sure which it could be. "I know they're just trying to do their jobs, but it'd be nice for them to loosen up a bit sometimes. There's maybe one or two librarians that relax around me, and the rest are always completely serious."
"They might loosen up a bit once they see Miss Sparkle's back. They always did like her." The guard drew another card, grinning to himself. "I'll stay. Whatcha got?"
Luna flipped over her cards - nineteen. "Wasn't sure if I should have dealt or stayed, so I played it safe. And how did you know that Twilight Sparkle would be coming back? I've kept that list private."
"Princess Celestia let it slip that the Elements of Harmony were gonna be coming here. Didn't take long for it to spread after that." The stallion flipped over his own set of cards, still grinning. "Blackjack. No win for ya this time, your Majesty."
"Maybe next time. Invite one of your comrades over if you want, I need to go talk to my sister about this." She huffed, though it was more because of her sister and less because of her losing hand. The Princess stood up and made her way out of the throne room as she headed towards her sister's quarters. She had purposely kept the list private because she wanted it to be a low-key event, and because the sign-up list had only been posted in one town. If news of her camp reached the rest of Canterlot, she'd never hear the end of it.
As she neared the door to her sister's room, however, she heard something odd inside - laughter. Celestia normally wasn't up this late, nor would she be laughing even if she was. Then she heard another laugh, deeper than the first. Much deeper, in fact. Luna clamped her hooves over her mouth to stifle a gasp as her thoughts ran rampant. Had Celestia's own admittance to being lonely caused her to find a stallion for companionship? She was pleased that her sister wouldn't be quite as lonely now, but such a thing would be downright scandalous if the media ever caught wind of it. The young Princess cautiously knocked upon the door, barely raising her voice above what was necessary. "Um... Celestia? I don't mean to interrupt or anything, but could I talk to you?"
Celestia soon replied, though it wasn't quite what the Princess of the Night was hoping to hear. "Oh, Luna! C'mon in!"
Luna stared in horror at the door, already feeling her face grow hot. If it weren't for her dark coat, she was fairly certain her face would be as red as one of the apples from Sweet Apple Acres. So she had inadvertently stumbled upon her sister likely being intimate with a stallion - that's normal. Okay, maybe not normal, considering that her sister was essentially immortal and extremely powerful, but these things still happened... maybe. But now Celestia wanted her to come inside? She knew her elder sister didn't hide much from her subjects, but this was certainly pushing it. There was so much Luna owed to her sister, though. As traumatizing as this might be, she had to go inside. She simply had to. Reluctantly, Luna opened the door and quickly stepped inside, shutting it behind herself...
...only to find Celestia and one of her own guards simply sitting on the floor, talking with one another and sharing a cup of tea. Her elder sibling stared at her quizzically, an eyebrow raised as she eyed her sister. "Luna, are you... blushing?"
"I... um... maybe?" The young Princess sheepishly grinned and quickly rubbed at her face, hoping to make the blush go away. It didn't seem to have much success, however. She had forgotten just how flustered she could be whenever she was embarrassed by something. "Look, I... just wanted to ask why you um... mentioned my list."
Celestia couldn't hide her grin, even if she tried. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed, little sister. It's rather endearing. As for the list, well... I saw no harm in letting word slip out about it. I'm aware you wanted to keep it secret, but it'll be awfully hard to do that when we've got the Elements of Harmony spending a week here. You understand, don't you?"
Luna slowly nodded, her blush finally beginning to dissipate. Okay, so her sister wasn't being intimate with a stallion. But if she had managed to misinterpret something like this so severely, what did that say about her? It provided her with more questions than answers, some of which were beginning to make her blush once more. She quickly fought it off and replied. "Yeah, I... I think I do. Though, I have to ask... why is he here?"
"Oh! Well, his wife is pretty far along in her pregnancy, so he stopped by to tell me that he'll be on leave for a few weeks so he can be there when the foal arrives. We started swapping stories, and we may have lost track of time."
"May have lost track of time? Celestia, it's three in the morning."
"Ah, right. You should probably get going then. Give your wife my regards, will you?" The guardsman wordlessly stood up and nodded, saluting both Celestia and Luna before departing. After he had left, the elder sibling looked over at her sister, the grin on her face once more. "So, little sister... just what were you blushing about?"
"I'd... rather not talk about it. 'tis embarrassing." Luna was idly pawing at the floor with a hoof, doing everything she could to keep from looking directly at her sister.
"Using 'tis'? My, you must be embarrassed if you're slipping back into the old language." The elder sibling giggled and stood up, making her way over to Luna and giving her a nuzzle. "I need to go to sleep, though. Have to raise the sun in a few hours and all!"
"Right! Yeah. I... need to finish up final preparations for my camp anyways. Good night, 'Tia. See you in a few hours." The young Princess worked up the nerve to look at her sister once more, leaning up to return to the nuzzle. She quietly excused herself from her sister's presence, shutting the door behind her as she left. Once out of Celestia's sight, Luna let out a sigh of relief - she had thought of the entire situation as being much worse than what it actually was, and it made her question just how much her mind truly wandered. Did her own thoughts really deviate that much?
It was a question for another time. The camp began in just a few days, and she needed to make sure everything was fully prepared. For now, however, she simply wanted a cup of coffee.
This was it - the big day. Over the past few days, Luna had gradually changed her own sleep schedule to one that reflected her sister's own hours. After all, it made little sense for her to still be up and about during the night when her own guests likely couldn't stay up that long. She had given the guards implicit instructions to only bring the guests to the throne room when all of them were present, and the young Princess anxiously sat beside her elder sibling as she awaited the new arrivals. Celestia herself currently occupied the throne, and she smiled as she continued to watch her sister fidget. "You seem nervous, little sister."
"Oh, it's not like I am or anything. Just trying to make sure everything is perfect and I don't make myself look like an absolute foal in front of my guests!"
"...I'm sensing some sarcasm."
Luna glanced over at her sister, laughing softly before replying. "I'm surprised you didn't get a cutie mark in stating the obvious."
Celestia rolled her eyes in response, eliciting another laugh from her sister. As the doors to the throne room swung open, however, Luna let out a gasp and quickly hopped to her hooves, making her way down the stairs to greet the new arrivals. Through the doorway, seven ponies slowly made their way into the hall - six of them had been here before, but the seventh gradually began to lag behind the others, in awe of everything he saw. One of the guards stepped forward and began to shout as each of the guests steadily made their way towards the Princess of the Night. "Now entering! Miss Twilight Sparkle, Miss Applejack, Miss Rarity, Miss Rainbow Dash, Miss Fluttershy, Miss Pinkie Pie, and Mister... um, Pip."
Luna had to try her hardest to stifle a laugh upon hearing the guard struggle with the last announcement, and a quick glance over her shoulder showed her that Celestia was having difficulty holding back a guffaw. She turned back towards the seven ponies, smiling warmly at them as they all gave her a bow. "Rise, all of you. There's no need for formalities here. For the entirety of the week, all of you may simply call me 'Luna'. The title isn't necessary, and I'd actually prefer if you didn't use it, though that may be habit for some of you."
Twilight Sparkle grinned sheepishly, drawing a few glances from the rest of the group. Luna quietly coughed to regain their attention, and she soon continued.
"Regardless, welcome - whether this is your first visit to the castle or not, I hope all of you enjoy yourselves. Now, you all seem to be well acquainted with one another, so let me show you around." Luna made her way towards the group and slipped past them, slowly leading them out of the throne room as she gave them a tour of the 'camp' itself. Before Pip was even given the chance to move, Luna had already picked up the young colt with her magic and had placed him upon her back. "You'll have a better view from up there. Just... mind the wings."
Celestia watched from her place on the throne, faintly grinning as her sister and her guests left the room and began their walk around the castle. The white alicorn slowly shook her head and chuckled to herself, far too amused with things. "And now we wait and see if you've gotten in over your head."
This was going to be entirely too much fun.
-----
"And we conclude the tour with your quarters, where all of you will be staying for the duration of the camp. Are there any questions?"
Pinkie Pie, from her spot in the back, raised a hoof.
Luna sighed. "No, Pinkie Pie, there are no 'cake dispensers' within the castle. Are there any other questions?"
The pink earth pony put her hoof down, though her spot was soon replaced by a cyan hoof. Rainbow Dash stared at the Princess, an eyebrow raised. "So, wait - you said this was where 'all of you' will be staying, meaning us. Where are you gonna be sleeping at?"
"I'll be staying within my own room. If you ever need to find it for whatever reason, Twilight Sparkle knows the way. In fact, considering how often she's been here before, you can probably ask her to point you in the direction of just about anything within the castle." Luna grinned at the lavender mare, who simply let out a sigh of defeat. "Any other questions? I uh... didn't have anything planned for today aside from the orientation, so if there's no further questions, the rest of you are free to wander about and explore."
They all stayed silently and slowly began to wander off in small groups, most of them eager to explore the castle. One pony stayed behind, however - Rarity. After the others had left, she cautiously approached the Princess and gave her another bow out of courtesy. "I... don't think we've been properly introduced, your Majes- Luna."
Luna snickered and smiled. The correction had been unnecessary, but appreciated nonetheless. "I don't believe we have, Rarity. I don't think I saw you when I visited Ponyville on Night Mare Night, but I did see the rest of your friends in one form or another. Where were you?"
"Oh. That." The white mare grinned and nervously tapped her hooves together. "I... may have fallen asleep while on the job."
"On the job? Care to elaborate?"
"I'm something of a fashionista. It's what I do. Anyways, I had been up the entire night before while working on an order for a client in Canterlot, and I may have dozed off."
The Princess of the Night grinned mischievously and leaned over towards the unicorn. "You are aware that you fell asleep on my holiday, are you not?"
Given that it was Rarity's first formal meeting with Luna, she wasn't quite aware of the Princess' playful side. As such, she found herself nervously backing away from the alicorn. "Oh, I'm... terribly sorry, your Majesty! I-I had no idea! I can make it up to you! Really!"
"Nothing can make up for this now. Nothing. Rarity..." Luna had continually stepped forwards throughout it all and had backed the unicorn into a corner. With the grin never leaving her face, she leaned over towards the white mare, who was now shaking with fear. As her plan fell into place, the Princess of the Night softly whispered into her ear. "...I lied."
Rarity blinked. "...p-pardon?"
"I said I lied. Night Mare Night isn't really my holiday. Ohh, you should've seen the look on your face when I first said that! I'm sorry, but I couldn't pass that opportunity up." She giggled and held out a hoof towards Rarity. "But really, it's awfully nice to meet you. Twilight's mentioned so much about her friends in all of her letters."
"I, uh... has she now?" Rarity was nervously laughing at this point, and she slowly placed a hoof out to meet the Princess' own. "What kind of things has she told you?"
Luna gave a very slight shrug and smiled at the unicorn, doing her best to ease Rarity's nervousness. It seemed to work, too. "All kinds of things, really. She's told me about how wonderful and caring all of you are, and about the things you've all learned from one another. I've seen the friendship reports a few times myself - quite impressive. But enough about that, I won't keep you here any longer. You're probably eager to look around a bit, aren't you?"
"Oh, yes! Definitely!" The white mare dropped to the floor and looked up at the Princess. "I just wanted to tha-"
"Rarity. Don't kiss my hooves. Please."
Rarity blinked and slowly stood back up, her face slightly red as she glanced up at Luna. "I'm guessing your sister... told you about that?"
The Princess of the Night giggled and nodded, and Rarity gave another bow before quickly departing. With her guests now wandering the castle, there wasn't much of a point for Luna to simply stand there. She turned and began to slowly walk back to her room, eager for some free time of her own. If she were lucky, she might be able to finish a painting or two before one of them showed up with questions. Maybe she would actually have paints this time - it was rather odd, but Celestia had been painting more and more often herself, steadily advancing her skill. It hadn't been nearly as quick as her, but it was still progress, and she was quite happy to have another common interest with her elder sister. One question was still on her mind, however.
"What to use for a subject..."
-----
Like it or not, Twilight Sparkle had inadvertently become a tour guide. She was currently busy leading the rest of her friends and Pip around the castle, showing them the many rooms and facilities. It hadn't been entertaining for all of them - Rainbow Dash looked like she was on the verge of falling asleep - but many of them had appreciated it nonetheless. Not surprisingly, they all had favorites of their own. Pinkie Pie, in a twist none of them had seen coming, liked the kitchen. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, considering how physical both of them were, preferred the training field. She herself had always enjoyed the Royal Library, and Pip apparently liked the observatory the most. Their interests, it seemed, were as varied as their own personalities. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie had already broken away to explore a bit on their own, leaving Twilight and Pip to wander together.
Similar to the tour with Luna, Pip was currently riding on Twilight's back. It gave him a better vantage point, and it meant he wouldn't have to struggle to keep up. Twilight glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled. "You seem to be enjoying yourself, Pip. Ever think you'd get to come here?"
"Never! I didn't think they made places this big!" The colt could hardly hold back his enthusiasm, and it was enough to make the lavender mare giggle.
"Well, I know why the others like the places that they do. Rainbow and Applejack are both pretty athletic, and Pinkie is... well, she loves food, so no surprise there. But why do you like the observatory so much?"
Pip shrugged and continued to look around at the walls of the castle. "I dunno. Just do! Where are we going next?"
"I'm gonna stop by Luna's room and see what she's up to. I've seen Celestia's room, but I never really got to see what her sister's looked like." The lavender mare continued onwards, the colt carefully balancing upon her back as the two of them roamed the halls of the castle. Celestia had once told Twilight where Luna's room was, but had never actually shown it to her - the unicorn's keen memory of both the directions and the castle layout ensured that they would be able to find it without too much trouble. Considering that the number of guards had steadily risen as they neared their destination, Twilight was fairly certain she was headed in the right direction. The pair slowly approached one of the rooms, a silver moon hanging above the doorway - this had to be it. Twilight gently picked up Pip with her magic and set him upon the ground, and both ponies cautiously approached the doorway. Though it was ajar, and technically open, Celestia had warned her in advance that Luna valued her privacy whenever she actually managed to have it. As quietly as possible, they both peeked past the door and into the room, and Twilight let out a quiet gasp.
She knew that Luna was quite the artist, as she had received several paintings from the Princess of the Night before. This, however, was jaw-dropping. Luna's room may as well have been an art studio, as paintings and drawings covered nearly every inch of the walls, all of them made by the young Princess. Numerous canvases lay propped against the walls, and the desk was covered in pencils, paints, brushes, and papers. The Princess herself currently sat on a stool, hard at work on another painting. The most incredible part about it, for Twilight, was the speed at which Luna worked - she had scarcely been gone for an hour or so, and already she had managed to nearly complete something that the lavender mare might call a masterpiece.
"You can come in, you know."
Both Twilight and Pip let out a yelp, and Pip backed away from the door while the unicorn cautiously poked her head in. "We're so sorry, Luna. We weren't trying to spy on you, we just didn't want to-"
"Disturb me? I appreciate the thought, Twilight Sparkle, but it's quite alright. I've never really had an audience anyways. C'mon in." Despite the brush in her mouth, Luna's enunciation had been as clear as always, and she snickered and shook her head before returning to her work. Pip had managed to slip past Twilight and had already taken a seat beside Luna, eagerly watching her paint while Twilight wandered about the room, inspecting everything the Princess had ever drawn or painted.
"Whatcha drawing, Luna?" True to his age, Pip was immensely curious about everything around him, and he had already taken a keen interest in what the Princess was working on.
Luna looked down to his place at her side and smiled. "I'm working on a landscape."
"Of what?"
"Just something I thought up in my head. It doesn't really exist." She put the final few touches on the painting, finishing up her work. It had originally just started as some mountains, but she had soon added some fog, as well as a rising sun peeking out past the jagged peaks. It was a rather peaceful scene, filled with a wide spectrum of colors. She carefully put the brush down upon the easel and eyed her work, smiling as she glanced over her shoulder. "Come here, Twilight. I wanna know what you think of this."
It was clear that Pip already approved of the painting, but she also wanted the unicorn's opinion on it. Twilight Sparkle slowly approached and looked over the picture, her mouth agape. "Luna, it's... it's beautiful. All of these paintings are."
Luna smiled and laughed as she picked up the painting with her magic and carefully set it aside. "Thank you. It's not often that I get compliments from ponies other than my sister. The painting is yours, if you want."
"Wait, really?" Twilight had initially seemed shocked by such an offer, but it was soon replaced by a slight frown. "That's... awfully generous of you, Luna. I just don't know how I could repay it."
"Oh, I think I know how. In exchange for the painting, you and Pip both have to be my friends." The Princess closed her eyes and smiled, pleased with how clever her little plan was.
"...um, Luna? I thought we already were your friends."
She opened her eyes and blinked for a moment - she hadn't really considered that. All this time, she had merely thought of them as being acquaintances, and yet they had been... friends? Part of Luna felt stupid for being so oblivious, but she felt so very happy to know that she already had friends before the first day was even over. "Oh. Right! Well then, um... I guess that's settled then!"
"Luna?" Pip reached up and gave her mane a gentle tug, causing her to look down at him. "Do you think you could maybe paint another picture?"
"...another? I... suppose I could. Twilight Sparkle, would you like to watch me work again?"
The unicorn smiled and gave a very slight bow to the Princess. "I'd be honored to, your Majesty."
"Oh stop that. I'm not my sister, you know. Come, have a seat." The Princess of the Night beckoned the lavender mare over, who took a seat beside Pip. It was somewhat odd, really - for the first time, she was going to have an actual audience while she worked, but she didn't mind. After all, she was spending time with friends.
To say she was overjoyed would be an understatement.
Luna had decided to start things off fairly simple. They would make a trip to the Royal Library and spend their time there reading, either to themselves or aloud. The Princess doubted anything could possibly go wrong with such a plan - after all, with books, there was something for everypony. The motley crew of ponies had drawn several stares from the librarians, and though they weren't exactly pleased that the Royal Library had been 'reduced to a zoo', there was little they could do so long as both Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle were there.
The Princess of the Night, the Elements of Harmony, and Pip sat in a circle in the middle of the library, each of them with their own respective books. Luna and Twilight both busied themselves with astronomy guides or scientific journals, and Fluttershy had her face buried in a book dedicated to the flora and fauna of Equestria. Pinkie Pie, for whatever reason, had decided to read a cook book. Considering that it was filled with nothing but recipes, there wasn't much of anything that had any real literary value. Applejack had taken up her sisterly role once more, reading a pop-up book aloud for Pip, who sat at her side. Rainbow Dash, not surprisingly, had settled on a comic book about the Wonderbolts, and Rarity was reading... financial reports. The unicorn had refused to let any of the others actually take a look at it, but she claimed it discussed the prices and projections for several gemstones she used in her work.
Luna was quite pleased with herself. Everypony was buried in a book of some sort, and they all seemed to be enjoying their time there. With a soft cough, she managed to pull their attention away from their books, and she moved on to the next stage of her plan. "Now then, how about we all go around in a circle and read a small excerpt from whatever book we're reading? It gives everypony else a small taste of what you like to read. Twilight Sparkle, would you like to go first?"
"Of course! Ahem." The lavender mare cleared her throat and propped up her book, titled Astronomy for Foals. "I need a little refresher sometimes, so it's good to get back to the basics. Anywho, a star begins as a collapsing cloud of material composed primarily of hydrogen, along with helium and trace amounts of heavier elements. Once the stellar core is sufficiently dense, some of the hydrogen is steadily converted into helium through the process of nuclear fusion. The remainder of the star's interior carries energy away from the core through a combination of radiative and convective processes. The star's internal pressure prevents it from collapsing further under its own gravity. Once the hydrogen... Luna, why are you grinning?"
The young Princess was grinning very widely at this point, and it would have been impossible for her to hide it. She slowly shook her head while waving a hoof dismissively, the grin steadily fading. "Sorry, I was making stars the night before you all arrived, and the books make it sound so complex. I think that's enough of an excerpt though."
"Wait... you what?!" Twilight stared at the Princess, dumbfounded.
"I'll show you another time. Next please! Fluttershy, would you like to tell us what your book is about?"
"Oh, um... certainly. I was flipping through this book on Equestrian wildlife, and I found a small section on mythological creatures, particularly a section about phoenixes and all the wonderful things they can do. I mean, Princess Celestia already told me so much about them like how long they live, but I didn't know there was so much more to know and... um, I was wondering if..." The yellow pegasus had gradually from rambling to a series of mumbles, and Luna cocked her head as she stared at Fluttershy.
She wasn't sure if the pegasus simply wasn't used to large crowds, or if Fluttershy was still somewhat intimidated by her presence. With a sigh, the young Princess turned back towards the rest of the group. "Did... anypony else catch what she said?"
"Oh, oh! I heard!" Pinkie Pie had a hoof up in the air, waving it wildly about. "She wanted to know how long you and your sister have had Philomena!"
"Well, we've... had Philomena for quite some time. Thousands of years, really. She belonged to our mother and father before they passed away. Does that answer your question, Fluttershy?" The yellow pegasus slowly nodded, and Luna smiled before turning to the next pony in the circle. "Though it wasn't much of an excerpt, I think it'll suffice. Pinkie Pie, mind giving us a bit from what you're reading?"
The pink earth pony smiled and pulled out a pair of reading glasses from... somewhere, placing them onto her muzzle and acting as serious as she could as she began to read. "Preheat oven to three-hundred and fifty degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. Combine all ingredients into large mixing bowl. Mix at low speed for thirty seconds, and scrape bowl. Mix at high speed for three minutes. Fill liners one-half to two-thirds full of batter. Bake twenty to twenty-five minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool ten minutes in pans then remove from pan, and place on wire racks to cool completely. Frost when chocolate cupcakes are completely cool."
Luna stared at her, as did the rest of the group. The young Princess cleared her throat and peered at Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie, you... just read us a recipe. For cupcakes."
"I know!"
"Uh... right then." The Princess of the Night laughed nervously before looking over at Applejack and Pip. "Would you two care to read a bit to us?"
Both ponies nodded and began, with Pip turning the pages and Applejack reading aloud. "One day, a mother turned ta her three foals an' said 'Ya'll need ta go out an' live a little, explore th' world an' all'."
"And so they could get rich and stuff!" Pip grinned widely after including his own little line, causing a few other grins throughout the circle. Applejack chuckled and shook her head before continuing.
"Th' three ponies were awful determined ta make their mama proud, so they all went out into Equestria an' made some homes of their own. Little did they know, though, that a mean ole' manticore was followin' 'em. Th' first pony was a lil' bit lazy and built his house outta hay, and when the manticore showed up, it didn' take much ta knock it down." During Applejack's telling of the tale, Pip was making all manner of facial expressions and mannerisms to go along with the story. Even if it wasn't for the entertainment of others, the colt was enjoying himself. "He was awful scared, so he ran ta his sister's house. She worked a lil' bit harder, and had built her house outta sticks, but it still didn' take much effort fer th' manticore ta knock it down. Finally, the two of 'em ran ta their older brother's house. He had always worked awful hard an' was smarter than th' other two, considerin' he built his house outta bricks. Well, the manticore showed up, an' it tried an' tried ta knock down th' house but it couldn'. It eventually got so tired of tryin' ta knock down th' house that it gave up, an' the mean ole' manticore left th' three ponies alone forever."
Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie were all softly clapping their hooves together, and Luna gave the pair a warm smile and a nod. "You both did a great job, thank you. Rainbow Dash, would you like to tell us about what you read?"
The cyan pegasus huffed and crossed her forelegs. "Do I have to?"
"Yes, Rainbow Dash. You have to. I know you picked a comic book, but you can still tell us what it was about." Luna offered Rainbow Dash a smile, and the pegasus relented.
"Ugh. Fine. Okay, so... my book was about the Wonderbolts, but whoever made it got it all wrong." She tapped a hoof against the cover of the comic book and briefly gave it a scrutinizing eye. "They should have consulted an expert first!"
Applejack grinned and raised an eyebrow, glancing over at Rainbow Dash. "Ya say that like yer some expert on the Wonderbolts."
"Because I am! Have you seen me? I'm just as good as any of them! I've talked with Spitfire, and Soarin', and-"
"Alright, so let's say you're an expert on the Wonderbolts." Luna leaned forward slightly as she looked over at the cyan pegasus. "What's wrong with it? What did they do wrong?"
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and sighed. "They're not cool enough, of course! Whoever wrote it was all 'Oh, Spitfire could never do that move, so we're just gonna have her fly around and do boring stuff', but she totally could do it!"
"And that's the only thing wrong with it?" The Princess raised an eyebrow, and Rainbow Dash paused for a moment.
"Well... yeah. The art was good, I guess."
Luna grinned faintly and slowly shook her head. "Right then. Rarity, what's your book about?"
The white mare wasn't entirely paying attention and began to absentmindedly read aloud. "The Princess beckoned the stallion over, her burning gaze never leaving his. As he approached, she leaned down to him and whispered in a sultry tone, 'I grow awfully bored during the long nights. Why don't you come to my chambers and offer me some... entertainment'. The stallion grinned in returned and offered a low bow. 'As you wish, Princess Celesti-'"
"Give me that." Luna's horn briefly glowed as she yanked a book from Rarity, revealing that there had been two books in her possession all along. The unicorn had been keeping it hidden within the financial reports. The Princess of the Night briefly flipped through it, her face remaining emotionless as she did so, and she eventually shut the book and stared at the cover. "'The Princess and the Pool Boy'. A romance novel. About my own sister, no less."
Rarity nervously laughed as Luna conjured forth a magical flame and threw the book into it, the alicorn smiling somewhat as it was reduced to ash and cinders. With that little affair taken care of, she banished the flame once more and stood up from her place in the circle.
"I think now would be a good time for a break."
-----
"A romance novel about Luna's own sister?! Are you trying to get yourself banished and then thrown in a dungeon in the place she banishes you to?!"
"I didn't know, Twilight, honest! I saw the cover and simply thought it would be an interesting read! How was I to know it would be about Princess Celestia?"
It was lunch time, and the seven guests were all seated around a single table within the dining room. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had elected to stay out of the conversation, and were instead trading and trying each others food. Applejack found herself trying - and failing - to explain what a romance novel was to Pip without going into too much detail, and Rainbow Dash simply bounced from conversation to conversation, joining and leaving each when she wished. After the little fiasco involved Rarity's choice of reading material, Luna had decided to eat on her own. She had at least been lenient enough to 'forget' that such a thing had ever happened, but it had been evident that the young Princess strongly disapproved.
Luna had since retreated to her room to eat alone, though she didn't seem to have much of an appetite. She had only nibbled here and there, leaving much of her food untouched, and Celestia had to decided to join for reasons unknown. To make matters worse, her elder sister was curious about how the camp was going thus far.
"Oh, it's going perfect. Absolutely perfect. We took a trip to the library, picked out books, and read them aloud. Turns out Rarity picked out a romance novel, with you as one of the main characters."
"Yes, well... ponies will be ponies, Luna. A lot of them look up to us and idolize us, and all through the course of history, ponies have written all manner of things. Usually just so folks can leave their troubles behind and immerse themselves in something better."
Luna snorted and slowly shook her head. "Even if that includes immersing themselves in us?"
Celestia let out a rather loud guffaw, looking at her sister with a grin. "Luna! I certainly didn't expect such crude humor out of you!"
"Yes, well... we're both still full of surprises, aren't we?"
"That we are, dear sister. That we are."
The elder sister's horn glowed softly as she plucked a pea from Luna's plate, floating it in front of the younger alicorn. Luna warily stared at it, narrowing her eyes. "...Celestia, don't you dare do what I think you're going to do."
The pea shot forward, bouncing off the young Princess' forehead and sailing to some unknown location within her room. Luna turned and stared at her sister, speaking through clenched teeth.
Lunch had been finished, and with their bellies full, the seven campers were ready for more - assuming, of course, that Luna herself was even ready. She had stated herself that if they ever needed her for whatever reason, to simply go to her room, and with Twilight Sparkle leading the group, they decided to do just that. As they neared the young Princess' room, however, it became quite clear that Luna was still rather... busy. Even with the door shut, whatever was going on inside Luna's room was very loud. There was yelling, clattering, and all manner of other noises, and it was enough to make several of them nervous.
Twilight frowned and backed away from the door upon hearing the voice of her mentor. "Uh... guys? I think Luna might be having a bit of an argument with her sister..."
"Argument nothin', that's a full-fledged fight." Applejack had already backed away from the door as well, and Pip placed his hooves over his ears as he sat perched upon her back. Rainbow Dash seemed to have no such worries, however.
"C'mon, guys! How often do you get to see the royal sisters actually fight? I wonder what they're even saying..." The cyan pegasus flew up to the door and placed an ear against it - she would quickly regret doing so.
"OH, YOU'VE DONE IT NOW, 'TIA."
There was a thunderous roar as Luna unleashed the Royal Canterlot Voice, ripping the door off its hinges and sending Rainbow Dash sailing through the air. Those who had been wise enough to stay back were still knocked off their hooves, some of them shocked that the Princess of the Night was somehow capable of being even louder than she was during her visit to Ponyville. Fluttershy ran off to help Rainbow Dash back up, and as the others slowly regained their footing, they could scarcely believe what was even happening inside the room.
Even Pinkie Pie seemed dumbfounded, the pink earth pony raising an eyebrow and staring in disbelief. "Are they...?"
Both Celestia and Luna were currently locked in a food fight that none of them had considered possible of royalty, and the scale of it left Pinkie Pie feeling a bit green with envy. The younger sister was currently holding a plate in front of herself, using it as a shield as she fired off a salvo of vegetables at Celestia. The elder sister had several kitchen utensils under her control, batting away every piece of food that was sent her way before returning a volley of her own. It may as well have been a stalemate, as neither sibling seemed to really do much of anything to the other.
Rarity seemed absolutely flabbergasted that royalty, actual royalty, would be involved in a food fight. Applejack simply stared on, completely unsure as to what she should think. Pinkie Pie and Pip had actually taken sides, each of them rooting for one of the Princesses and waving flags bearing the respective colors of their Princess of choice - where they had actually managed to find such a thing in such a short time frame was a mystery. Even as Fluttershy returned with Rainbow Dash, neither of them could find the words to express how they felt about seeing such a sight.
"I... think we get the rest of the day off. Let's uh... let's go, before we get caught in the crossfire." Twilight and the others made a hasty retreat, though it took a while longer for Pinkie Pie and Pip to notice that they had left, leaving the two sisters to continue their struggle over... whatever it was food fights were started over.
And thus, day two came to an end, because of a single pea.
-----
"I apologize for ending yesterday so abruptly, but there were some uh... 'issues' that had to be taken care of. Now then, for today, we'll be shifting towards something more artistic - drawing!"
Luna clapped her hooves together, positively giddy about what she had in store. As much as she liked reading, the arts were where her true passions lay, and she was eager to share that with the others. The young Princess had already moved everything into the spare barracks that the campers were using, and the desks and supplies had been neatly arranged into a small circle - the seven campers all sat on stools, though Pip's stool was a bit taller than the others to compensate for his height, or lack thereof.
There already seemed to be some slight issues, however. Rarity was staring at one of the pencils and she appeared somewhat... lost. Twilight had a hoof in the air, waving it frantically. "Um... Luna? Every time I try to pick up the pencil, my magic sorta... fizzles out. Did you put up a magic-nullifying field or something?"
"I did, actually. Using magic when drawing or painting is bad form - makes your work seem cold and impersonal. That's not a problem, is it?" Luna glanced over at the lavender mare, an eyebrow raised, and Twilight Sparkle quickly shook her head.
"Well, no! It's just, uh... Rarity isn't exactly comfortable with having her magic cut off like this." She raised a fair point - while Twilight had received years of magical training in Canterlot, and thus had experience with things such as magic-nullifying fields, Rarity hadn't. The white mare had never encountered such a thing, and to have her magic forcibly cut off from her in such a manner was somewhat disorienting.
It didn't take long for Luna to figure out what was amiss, and she quickly did away with the barrier. "Fine, I'll toss out the field. Just no using magic."
Rarity had already snapped back to reality and looked over at the Princess. "So, wait. How do you expect us to draw anything, then?"
"Like the earth ponies and pegasi, of course." Luna giggled and grinned, picking up one of the pencils in her mouth. "With your mouth."
"You're kidding. You don't really expect us to..." The Princess of the Night shot the white unicorn a glare, and Rarity quickly picked up the pencil in her mouth, with Twilight following suit shortly afterwards. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Pip all sat patiently with the pencils in their mouths already, though it seemed like Rainbow Dash was struggling to figure out how to even hold it properly. She eventually picked it up by the very tip, holding the pencil in her mouth and sitting upright on her stool.
Luna slowly shook her head and continued the lesson. "Now that we've gotten that out of the way, drawing itself is fairly simple. First and foremost is to know your subject material. It doesn't have to be anything extremely eye-catching, but you should know it and be confident about it before you begin to draw it. After you have your subject, well... you simply draw. Just do what feels natural. You'll figure out what you're doing... eventually, anyways."
As soon as she had finished, some of the campers had already begun to draw. Pinkie Pie and Pip were both scribbling and drawing furiously, and Applejack joined them not long afterwards. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy took a while longer, but they too began to draw, simply leaving Twilight Sparkle and Rarity as the only ones who had yet to start.
The young Princess paid no mind to them - they would find subject material soon enough - and began to draw as well. In her opinion, her subject choice was a little vain, but she hadn't done a proper self-portrait since she had started her hobby. Given that she had been drawing for the past two years or so, it didn't take that long before an image of herself began to spring up on paper. Luna had to take extra care with the shading, making sure she didn't draw herself as being too dark or too light - such were the pains of having such a dark coat. The neck and head had been easy enough, and she had gotten most of the other details down, but the eyes were always the hardest part for her. Eyes were the windows into the soul, as the saying went, and it took a practiced touch to make them convincing. Anything less would shatter the illusion. Content with her work thus far, she sat the pencil down and began to roam the room, casually inspecting what the other ponies had been drawing.
Her first stop had been at Pip's spot. Even with the heightened stool, he was still a bit too short to comfortably reach the paper that lay upon the desk, and the young colt had been leaning on the table as he doodled. His choice of subject matter was hardly surprising, but it warmed Luna's heart nonetheless. On the paper were two stick ponies, with 'Me' written above one and 'Luna' written above the other. Even with the Princess right behind him, he seemed completely oblivious that she was even there, and so Pip continued to work on his drawing. Perhaps it was for the best.
She soon moved on to the next desk, Pinkie Pie's. Though she hadn't shown it at first, the pink earth pony had considerable skill with a pencil - perhaps it was her background as a baker that had made her so dextrous with holding things in her mouth. It was a rather curious drawing, and Luna had to tilt her head several times just to make sense of it. "You drew... yourself, drawing yourself, drawing yourself... and so on?"
"Yep!" Pinkie turned towards the Princess and grinned. "Do ya like it?"
"Definitely an interesting concept, Pinkie Pie. Let me see what it looks like when you're finished."
Pinkie Pie threw Luna a mocking salute and quickly returned to her work. "Okie dokie lokie!"
Luna proceeded to the next desk and looked over Applejack's shoulder as she worked. Not surprisingly, the orange mare had decided to do a family portrait of sorts. She had drawn her grandmother, her brother, and her younger sister, though her parents remained suspiciously absent - it was probably in the earth pony's best interests if the Princess simply didn't ask. Though Applejack didn't seem to be nearly as adept at drawing as Pinkie Pie had been, it was clear that she was still trying, and Luna cared more about effort than execution at this point.
The Princess moved on to the next camper, quietly standing behind Fluttershy and observing the pegasus' work. She was quite aware that Luna was standing behind her, and she had initially turned her head slightly as if she wanted to speak, but Fluttershy had returned to her drawing just as quickly. In the middle of the paper was a single animal, a white rabbit, and the yellow pegasus had apparently gone to painstaking lengths to keep the image as clean as possible - the eraser Luna had provided had already been worn down severely. "Is that your favorite animal, Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy set down the pencil and slowly turned around on the stool to face the Princess. "Oh, no... that's Angel Bunny. He lives with me."
"Does he now?" Luna laughed softly and grinned, leaning over a bit to take a closer look at the drawing. "What's he like?"
"Well, um... Angel's pretty nice, but sometimes he gets really grumpy. That's usually fixed after he has a carrot, though." Fluttershy smiled and turned around once more, picking up the pencil and returning to her drawing. The Princess of the Night smiled and slowly shook her head as she walked towards the adjacent desk, which belonged to Rainbow Dash.
"Okay Rainbow Dash, let's see what you've... um... done?" Luna certainly hadn't been expecting what the cyan pegasus had drawn. Based upon the previous day, Rainbow Dash had seemed a tad... full of herself, and the young Princess had been predicting an overly exaggerated self-portrait or a picture of the Wonderbolts. Instead, she had drawn a landscape - it resembled Cloudsdale somewhat, based upon what Luna had been told about the place. If Rainbow Dash had been trying to communicate a grandiose sense of scale with her drawing, she had apparently succeeded. Cloudsdale itself seemed rather large and extravagant on the paper. "I'll be honest, I was... not expecting this out of you. At all."
"So ith that bah?" The cyan pegasus spat out the pencil and looked at her drawing before glancing back at Luna. "I mean, I doodled an awful lot when I was little, but it was usually... um, cooler?"
"Rainbow..." Luna leaned over towards Rainbow Dash and dropped her voice to a whisper. "No point in lying to me. You're drawing this because you like this sort of thing, don't you?"
Rainbow Dash sighed and slowly nodded, leaning over towards the alicorn to whisper back. "Just... don't let the others know I like this sort of thing. I've got a reputation to keep and all."
Luna stifled a giggle and quickly stood back up, making a quick zipping motion across her mouth. The cyan pegasus smiled in return and resumed her drawing, and the Princess proceeded onwards towards the last pair of desks. The only two left were Twilight Sparkle and Rarity, and considering how much time they had been given, surely they had to have had something down - except they didn't.
There was a small mountain of crumpled up paper beside Twilight's desk, and the paper that currently sat upon her desk was completely blank. The pencil had apparently been broken multiple times, mended by magic each time it had been snapped, and the eraser had ceased to exist entirely. Luna stepped up behind Twilight and glanced around the unicorn's workspace, an eyebrow raised. "Um... Twilight? Your paper is uh... blank."
"I know, I know... but nothing I draw seems right! It's all... off, it's wrong, it's just bad. Spells, I can do. Drawing? That's like trying to get a unicorn to fly. It just doesn't happen." Twilight let out a groan of annoyance and flopped over onto the desk.
Luna continued to watch the spectacle, mildly amused, and coughed softly. "...there's a spell for flying, though."
"You know what I meant."
The Princess of the Night sighed and picked up the lavender mare with her magic, levitating her over until she was eye-to-eye with the alicorn. "Twilight, I know how much of a perfectionist you can be. Celestia has mentioned it a few times over the years, and as much as that may be a strength for you in regards to your spellcasting, it's a weakness when it comes to creativity. Perfectionism is all well and good, but when you first start, you're going to be... well, terrible. Even I was bad when I first started, and I only got to where I did now because I practiced. Now go doodle for a bit."
Twilight glanced back up at Luna as she was gently placed back upon her stool. "...can I doodle whatever I want?"
"That's the entire point of doodling." She grinned and winked, and Twilight nodded and soon returned to try once more. The only pony left now was Rarity. As she neared the white mare's desk, she knew full-well what was likely on the paper, and she was hardly surprised when she saw that she had been right. The unicorn, like with most everything else she did, had sketched out a dress, and she smiled widely as she presented her work.
"Well? What do you think, Luna? Gorgeous, isn't it?"
Luna, however, had something very different in mind. Twilight Sparkle had told the young Princess a great deal about her friends, and as a result, Luna knew that Rarity designed everything she ever made. Considering how many orders the unicorn had likely done thus far, that meant a lot of sketches as well. With a faint smile upon her face, the Princess leaned towards the drawing, looking down at Rarity out of the corner of her eye. "I'm curious. Draw something that isn't related to fashion."
"I... suppose I could." Rarity pulled out another sheet of paper and picked up the pencil, quickly drawing once more. Before long, she had yet another drawing, and Luna had to suppress a laugh as she took a look at it.
"You drew another dress, Rarity."
"Okay, just... hold on a moment." Another sheet of paper, another drawing, another dress. She repeated the cycle once more, becoming increasingly more agitated as she drew yet another dress, followed by a hat, and subsequently followed by a coat.
Grinning, the Princess of the Night leaned over once more and tried to ease up a bit on her. "Um... draw a line?"
"A line? That seems a bit insulting, but I guess it'll have to do." Rarity pulled out another sheet of paper and quickly drew up a line, holding it up in front of the Princess with her magic. "There, you see? A line."
"Rarity, um..." Luna was openly giggling at this point, unable to keep it quiet any longer. "You... kinda drew a needle."
Rarity seemed absolutely flabbergasted that she could do such a thing, and when she took a look at her own drawing, she could scarcely believe it. What she thought had been a simple line had indeed been a very rough-looking needle. "I... but... how did..."
"Muscle memory, my friend. Muscle memory."
And so, like the second day, the activities for the third day ended with a single object - not a pea, but rather...
"...you uh, did a jab again. Let's... start from the top."
Luna had given all of the campers the day off, and with their new-found free time, they all busied themselves with various things. Rainbow Dash sighed and returned to the task in front of her - namely, teaching Pip how to spar. The colt's small size made him an easy target for bullies within his class, and the cyan pegasus had taken it upon herself to teach him how to fight back. Applejack had already taught Pip a little bit about defense, and the orange earth pony had since retreated to a spot underneath a tree, where she now spent her time playing various songs on a harmonica. Underneath that same tree were Rarity and Twilight Sparkle - the fashionista was in the midst of a nap, and Twilight had her nose buried in yet another book. Out in the training yard itself, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie ran about, chasing one another and enjoying themselves.
Rainbow Dash had to suppress a laugh as she watched Pip continue to mimic her every move, and it wasn't uncommon for the colt to fall over when attempting a punch or a kick. A gentle lift from one of her wings was usually all it took to pick him back up, and then the lesson would resume. The cyan pegasus put on her best smile and took a seat upon the grass as she watched Pip practice. "Alright, try the hook again."
The colt tried once more and would have succeeded if had hadn't lost his balance. Pip tumbled over onto his face and was quickly helped back up once more. "Did I do it?"
"Almost, bud. Lemme help ya." Rainbow Dash had been especially careful not to use 'squirt' when referring to Pip. Though it had been her go-to nickname for Scootaloo and several other foals, his diminutive nature also put him at risk of being offended by it - it was best to play it safe. The cyan pegasus sat down beside Pip and grabbed hold of one of his forelegs, guiding him through the motions and keeping him stable throughout it. She repeated the gesture a few more times for him, explaining the intricacies and techniques behind a proper hook. "Think you got it now?"
"Yup!" Pip nodded enthusiastically and hopped away from the pegasus, giving himself some space. He slowly repeated the movements Rainbow Dash had showed him, and after several practice runs, the colt threw a hook as hard as he could muster.
And he did it.
He nearly toppled over, but Pip quickly managed to regain his footing, and the colt beamed up at the cyan pegasus. "I did it! Did you see me?!"
"Oh, don't worry. I definitely saw. You learn awful fast, kiddo." Rainbow Dash gave the colt's mane a playful ruffle, though she was a bit surprised when he hugged her leg in return.
"You should teach more ponies. You're really good at it!"
That was something the cyan pegasus had never really pictured herself as. Weather team, maybe. Wonderbolt, definitely. Teacher? She had never really given it much thought. Rainbow Dash certainly couldn't picture herself doing such a thing day after day - after all, she was born to fly. To feel the wind beneath her wings. To go fast and to 'wow' others. She would never be much of a teacher, but it had been an interesting change of pace for her, and it had been surprisingly enjoyable.
Still, there were some things about Pip that reminded her of another foal. The colt was certainly determined and more than willing to learn about things, but... the way he had hung on her every word, and the way he had mimicked her every move? It reminded her of Scootaloo, and perhaps it reminded her too much. Pip was just like the orange filly, and though she hadn't ignored him, she had continually distanced herself from Scootaloo. Once the cyan pegasus had returned to Ponyville, she would have to fix that. Rainbow Dash glanced down at Pip and grinned. "Hey Pip, how about we go raid the royal kitchen for some ice cream? You wanna do it?"
"You bet!"
Rainbow Dash lowered herself down towards the ground, and as Pip hopped up onto her back, she stood up once more and trotted off towards the kitchen. From their spot underneath the tree, both Applejack and Twilight stared blankly as they watched the two depart. The lavender mare closed her book and quickly glanced over at Applejack. "Hey AJ? Was that... actually Rainbow Dash? Willingly spending time with a foal?"
"Twi, if I hadn' seen it mahself, I wouldn' believe it either."
The orange earth pony soon returned to her harmonica while Twilight Sparkle pulled out another book, and Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie joined them not longer afterwards. The yellow pegasus was completely out of breath and dropped to the ground, rolling over onto her side and glancing up at the tree branches out of the corner of her eye. "No... no more, Pinkie... Too... too fast..."
"Aw, it's okay, Flutters! We can play tag some more after you're all rested up!" Pinkie Pie was hopping about in a circle, and she didn't look the least bit exhausted after playing with Fluttershy - the pink earth pony never seemed to run out of energy, no matter the situation. "Hey, where'd Rainbow and Pip go off to?"
Twilight set down her book briefly and looked up at Pinkie. "I think they ran off towards the castle. Something about 'raiding the kitchen'."
"And they didn't invite me?! Oh, I'm not letting them hog all the food!" With that, Pinkie Pie hurried off towards the castle, leaving the remaining four to wonder just what was even going on.
It was doubtful they would ever get the answer.
-----
Midnight. All seven of her guests had already gone to bed, as did many of the others that lived within the castle. Only a few ponies were still up, and not surprisingly, Princess Luna was one of them. It was hardly a shock, given her very nature. After all, she was the Princess of the Night. This was her time, and her domain. To be up during the day and asleep during the night felt unnatural to her. Having the day off hadn't been without benefits, of course.
For once, the quiet and solitude had been rather welcome. It wasn't as if she disliked her campers - oh no, it was anything but. Luna truly enjoyed their company, but she still needed some time to herself as well. The young Princess had spent much of the day confined within her room, painting and drawing as she pleased. Her subject material had shifted as well, drifting away from landscapes and moving towards actual figures such as her very own guests. In that one day alone, she had already managed to paint four of them, and only three remained. That would be for another time, however.
The sun had already set and the moon had been raised, and now Luna was stuck trying to keep herself busy until she felt tired enough to go to sleep. For the first time in what seemed like months, she felt restless. She didn't really want to paint or draw at the moment, nor did she want to play with her toys or observe the night sky. She didn't want to read and she didn't want to make stars either. The Princess of the Night rolled around on her bed and groaned with agitation as she tried to find something she could do to keep herself occupied - boredom simply irritated her even further, and only exacerbated her own restlessness.
Luna felt a sudden urge, though, once she had not felt for at least a thousand years. The young Princess opened up the doors to her closet, her horn softly glowing as she levitated a phonograph out of the depths of the closet and into her room. It was a dusty old thing, one that hadn't seen use in... a very long time. Though she couldn't remember just how long it had been, Luna took a deep breath and blew most of the dust off of it, coughing and waving a hoof to clear the air as the dust floated about.
With that matter taken care of, her magic picked up a stack of records hidden underneath her bed, and she began to rummage through them as she searched for an artist she might like. Some of these records were definitely new, but she wasn't entirely sure just where they came from. Regardless, Luna was left with two choices - on the left was a record from an artist who went by the name of Vinyl Scratch. The album art itself was rather... flashy, and it was somewhat obvious that this probably wasn't the kind of music one played during the middle of the night. The other record was much more subtle, a plain black background with white text, and had apparently been created by a pony named Octavia. At the very least, she recognized that name. Celestia had invited her to one of Octavia's concerts, after all, and she had declined. The young Princess felt a bit more inclined towards classical music anyways. She carefully set the record upon the phonograph, and after making sure she had plenty of room, Luna placed the needle upon the record.
And then she began to dance.
It had been years - thousands of years - since she had last danced, yet it was just like swimming. Slowly but surely, it began to come back to her. It was nothing more than a simple ballroom dance, but Luna still went through the steps in her head, closing her eyes as she walked herself through the timing.
"One... two... three... one... two... three..."
It must have been a truly odd sight for anypony that happened to peek into her room, to see the Princess of the Night dancing alone and talking to herself the entire time. Luckily for her, she didn't have an audience.
Not yet, anyways.
-----
Twilight Sparkle wasn't normally one to have insomnia, but it was especially bad tonight. She had spent several hours simply laying in bed, tossing and turning as she tried to get some semblance of sleep. Instead, she had been stuck hearing all the other ponies within the barracks as they slept peacefully, and it was almost as if they were all mocking her. Frustrated, she had left the barracks and now wandered the halls of the castle by her lonesome. It's not like she would get lost - this place was a second home for her, after all.
It still felt odd for the entire castle to be this quiet, though the unicorn knew quite well that this wasn't exactly normal either. Luna normally held court during these hours, and even if the Princess of the Night wasn't that busy during such a time frame, it at least meant that there would have been more ponies around. The castle was still fairly well guarded, of course - Luna's own retinue of royal guards kept watching during the night, and it was Twilight's first real encounter with any of them. They proved to be much more talkative than the guardsmen that followed Princess Celestia around, and they all seemed to know her as well. She stopped and talked with some of them while she wandered about, and contrary to their appearance, they were quite friendly.
Still, there was one pony she wanted to talk to, and that same pony was likely the only one who would be able to help her get some sleep - Luna. The lavender mare continued to make her way towards her destination, her hooves softly echoing off the tiles as she made her way through the halls of the castle, and her ears twitched slightly as she drew closer to Luna's room.
"Is that... classical music?"
Intrigued, she picked up her pace a bit, halting outside the young Princess' room and peeking in. What lay within certainly hadn't been what she was expecting, and her eyes widened as she watched Luna dance by herself. She had known that Celestia's sister had a knack for the arts, but she had never known that the Princess of the Night also enjoyed dancing, and she remained silent as she continued to watch the alicorn step to and fro. Luna continued to dance and twirl in-time with the music, her ethereal mane twisting about her body with every movement, and Twilight was somewhat awed by it all. Luna certainly appeared graceful at times, but this had taken it to the next level - to see her move so fluidly, with the very stars seemingly wrapped around her, had been something else entirely. The lavender mare would have continued to watch, if it hadn't been for one thing.
The music had stopped. And Twilight had felt herself picked up by magic, forcibly brought into Luna's room, and now found herself staring eye-to-eye with the Princess of the Night. "Is there a reason why you continue to spy on me, Twilight Sparkle?"
"Oh, um... n-no. It's just that... well, I didn't want to disturb you or anything! And you seemed to be enjoying yourself, so I... thought it'd be best to just stay quiet." The unicorn grinned nervously, but the alicorn didn't necessarily buy it.
"So you gawked at me instead." It was becoming increasingly clear that Luna hadn't been prepared for this latest visit, and she was quite irritated as a result. "What? Never seen a pony do a ballroom dance on her own?"
Twilight blinked and nervously glanced about as she desperately searched for something that might not offend the Princess any further. "I have, it's just... it was so different."
"Different? Different how? In a good or bad way?"
"Good! In a good way! It looked really graceful and pretty, with... you know." She gestured at her own mane with a hoof, and Luna quickly picked up on the message, though she seemed somewhat confused by it.
The Princess blinked and raised an eyebrow, quickly setting the lavender mare down upon the floor. "...That doesn't explain why you even came here, though."
"I uh... I couldn't sleep."
"You too, huh?" Luna smirked and slowly shook her head. "I apologize for being so rough with you. I'm not used to having guests at this hour... sorta becomes habit after you run the kingdom during the night for over a year, and the only other ponies around during such hours are your own guards."
"It's alright, Luna." Twilight briefly glanced around the room, pawing at the floor with a hoof before looking back up at the alicorn. "...so um... can you do anything to help me get some sleep?"
"Nope. Dreams, I have a bit of control over... sleep itself? Completely out of my grasp. Best thing I can think of to help you get some sleep is to tire you out, and I have a few things in mind to help with that." Luna grinned slyly, her horn glowing as she shut her bedroom door. "Tell me, Twilight Sparkle... have you ever danced?"
"Um..." The unicorn thought back to when she celebrated her birthday in Canterlot, just a few months prior. The dancing she did then... hadn't really been dancing. It was more like flailing about in a fancy manner. "...no."
"Excellent! You can be my dance partner!" Luna giggled and clapped her hooves together, quickly stepping forward to stand beside Twilight. "Okay, it's been thousands of years since I've last taught this to anypony, but I think I remember it well enough to do it again. Just follow my lead. Ready?"
Luna groaned and yawned as she began to stretch, wincing as one of the muscles in her neck angrily responded back. It was incredibly likely that she had slept funny, given what had happened the night before. She and Twilight Sparkle had spent several hours dancing together, and the lavender mare had eventually dozed off. The Princess' first thought was to carry her back to the barracks, but that ran the risk of waking both the unicorn and the rest of her guests. Instead, the alicorn had decided to sleep on the floor while Twilight got to have her bed - Luna was thousands of years old, after all. A single night of sleeping on the floor wasn't likely to cause much harm. "...except for a sore neck. Should've gotten more pillows."
The Princess of the Night sat up and yawned once more, gently rubbing at the back of her neck with one of her hooves as she glanced about the room. Her room was messier than usual, though it never really was 'clean' to begin with - the arts took priority for her, and as such, her supplies and creations took up much of the free space. Pencils, paints, brushes, and paper completely filled her desk, and almost every inch of the walls were covered with a drawing or a painting. Those that were too big to fit were either filed away elsewhere or propped against one of the walls, destined to be safely stored away... eventually, of course. It was a mess, but it was her mess. She had caused it, and she knew where everything was as a result. Besides, this was her comfort zone as well, and any changes to it might disrupt that little 'bubble' of hers.
It was still early enough in the morning that neither Twilight Sparkle nor the rest of her guests would be up for quite some time. Luna slipped out of her room as quietly as she could, shutting the door behind herself and turning away from her room, only to come face-to-face with her sister. Celestia grinned and leaned over to peek past her sister, staring at the door to Luna's room. "So, little sister... I see my student paid you a visit. I'm guessing you two had some fun?"
"Oh... um, yeah. She showed up late last night, told me she couldn't sleep. We danced for a bit, just to tire her out, and then I put her to bed. Didn't want to risk waking her or any of the others up, so she stayed in my room."
"You only danced, hm?" Celestia giggled and leaned over to give her sister a poke with one of her hooves. "You're not hiding anything from me, are you?"
"Celestia, what are you... oh. Oh goodness. You're not trying to imply we actually did anything, are you?!" Luna looked absolutely mortified by what her sister had said, but she was quick to fire back, giving the white alicorn a poke in return. "And you called me the dirty one! Honestly, 'Tia, I'm not sure which of us is the bigger foal sometimes!"
The elder sister got a chuckle out of that and gestured out towards the open hall, and the two alicorns soon began to walk together. Though Luna had indeed gotten a bit of free time every day thus far, Celestia's own duties usually meant that the two sisters couldn't chat as often as they would have liked. A walk such as this gave them ample time to talk, however, and they both took opportunity of it. Celestia briefly glanced about the hallway before returning her gaze to her sister. "I'm simply poking fun at you, Luna. You've got quite a bit on your plate right now, so I figured I'd liven the mood a bit."
Luna turned and blinked, somewhat confused by the latest statement. "Quite a bit on my plate? I raise and lower the moon and I run an entire kingdom at night, and you call this 'quite a bit'? I mean, it's the Bearers of the Elements and Pip. It's not like they're going to cause any trouble."
"Exactly."
"Um... what? Celestia, I... don't quite follow."
"They may just be the Bearers of the Elements and Pip, but this is the most contact you've had with others since... well, let's just say it's been a while. You seem to have done well enough so far, looks like you've made some friends too. They haven't given you any trouble, have they?" Both sisters had stopped, and Celestia now had a smile upon her face as she looked down at her younger sibling.
"Well, uh..." Luna let out a nervous laugh and shook her head. "Aside from the incident with the romance novel, no. They've actually behaved quite well. I'm... kinda surprised it's gone this smoothly, to be honest. I mean, Pip has bonded rather well with Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Rarity is actually... funnier than I anticipated, whereas Pinkie Pie has been a bit more 'normal' compared to what I've been told. Fluttershy is... well, she's been rather quiet, but if there's a topic she likes, she comes out of her shell rather easily."
"And Twilight Sparkle?"
The two sisters resumed their walk, both of them smiling and nodding at any of the staff or guardsmen that bowed before them. "I'm surprised you have to actually ask that, 'Tia. We both know her well enough to know how she is, you especially. She had a bit of difficulty with the arts at first - was trying too hard, of course, but I think she's beyond that. It's a good thing, too... I've got painting planned for today."
"Good, good! Speaking of painting, that reminds me..." Celestia paused once more, turning to face her sister and grinning as she did so. Such a thing always made Luna nervous - it almost always meant that the elder sibling had something planned. "How much trouble would it be to add another easel to your little lesson? I haven't ever gotten to spend any time with the Bearers in an informal setting, and it's been... longer than I would have liked since I've spoken with my student at-length. Besides, I still need to meet Pip myself!"
Luna blinked and briefly panicked as her mind drew a blank. She knew Celestia had an increasing interest in the arts, of course, but she never expected that her sister would want to actually join in on one of the lessons. It was a very minor issue, however, one that could be easily rectified. "I... suppose that could be arranged, 'Tia. I'll have to try to find another easel for you to use, but there should be enough supplies otherwise."
"Perfect! I already cancelled all of my appointments for today anyways."
"Wait, you did what?"
Celestia snickered and grinned, quickly trotting away and leaving Luna behind.
"Oh, nothing!"
-----
In a somewhat surprising gesture, Princess Celestia had completely removed all of her royal adornments, and now sat seated between Twilight Sparkle and Luna herself. To take things even further, Celestia had begun to only answer to 'Celestia' - any attempts at addressing her as 'Princess Celestia' or 'Your Majesty' were met with a confused look from the white alicorn. It was a bit of a cruel joke, given that almost the entirety of the castle staff had been calling her 'Princess Celestia' for as long as anypony could remember, and it had simply become habit. To see the staff and guards constantly correct themselves, well... the elder sister could hardly refuse such a thing.
It had been her first real taste of informality, and to simply be 'Celestia' rather than 'Princess Celestia' was rather refreshing. Some of them, such as Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie, had taken to it much more quickly. Others, with Twilight Sparkle being a glaring example, took longer - much longer, in fact. Throughout the entire lesson, the lavender mare continually referred to her mentor by her proper title, only to correct herself moments later.
Luna was obviously used to such a thing, considering she had always called her sister by name throughout their lives, but it was still incredibly entertaining to watch the other ponies struggle with such informality. As funny as it was to watch, however, she had an art lesson to continue. "Since we've already discussed complimentary colors and the like, we'll move on to painting itself. Like drawing, you must use your mouth to hold the brush. No magic allowed, no exceptions."
Rarity and Twilight Sparkle both huffed and picked up their brushes, and Celestia turned and snickered at her student's apparent 'misfortune'. "Ith really naht tho bah, Twiligh Spahrkle."
Princess Celestia's attempt at talking was met with a rather loud guffaw from Rainbow Dash, which sent the cyan pegasus' paint brush sailing through the air. Pinkie PIe also burst into laughter, followed by Pip, and soon enough, the others joined in as well. As funny as it was at first, Luna was eager to get her class going once more, and did her very best to get things back in order. "Alright, um... settle down, please!"
Fluttershy continually giggled, tears welling up in her eyes as she laughed, and Rarity kept her hooves firmly placed over her mouth in a vain attempt to keep herself from laughing as well.
"Everypony, please! We... we have a lesson to finish!"
Applejack was crying from how hard she was laughing, and Twilight Sparkle held her sides as she continued to giggle.
"Okay, that's... that's very funny, but please settle down!"
Pip and Pinkie Pie were both chuckling and snorting, and even Celestia had joined in, the white alicorn laying on her side on the floor as she continued to giggle. Luna's patience, however, had worn thin - this was her camp and her class, and she wasn't about to let things get so far out of control that they disrupted her carefully constructed plans. "ENOUGH."
Celestia and the seven campers quickly quieted down, and the elder sister sat up from her spot on the floor. "Luna? You ought to know better than to use the Royal Canterlot Voice indoors."
"Sorry about the Voice thing, it's just... I couldn't get you all to calm down, and..." Luna sighed and closed her eyes, gently rubbing a hoof against her temple as she continued to speak. "Just... all of you paint for a bit or something. Please."
The guests soon returned to their stools and began to paint, and Celestia continually glanced over at Luna while she worked. The younger sibling was resting her head against the easel, and her eyes were closed. Celestia knew quite well that, though it had been unintentional and unexpected, she had caused her sister more stress than she deserved, and the elder sibling decided to try to make amends for her actions.
Long ago, when they had been much younger, she had often recited a lullaby of sorts to Luna, both to calm her down and to help her sleep, and now seemed like as good a time as any to use it again. It was a deeply personal song, however, one that the white alicorn had conjured up for her sister and nopony else - to have an audience for such a song was unwanted, but hardly preventable. She would simply have to live with it. Celestia stood up and pushed her stool backwards, turned to face her sister, and then she began to recite it once more.
Rise and fall, the setting sun It tells us all the day is done.
The campers all immediately stopped painting, many of them peeking out from behind their easels and staring at Celestia. All of them, including Twilight, didn't even know that the elder Princess was capable of such a thing. It was a slow and deliberate cadence, aided greatly by Celestia's soothing voice, and it seemed to have the intended effect on Luna - the Princess of the Night quickly opened her eyes, her ears twitching with every word as her sister continued to chant.
We lay our weary heads to rest, then face tomorrow and its tests
"...'Tia? Is that...?" The young Princess unknowingly began to tap a hoof in time with the lullaby, and though her sister wasn't truly singing, it was doubtful that any of the other ponies would notice the difference. Though Celestia was simply reciting the lullaby, it was just as beautiful as it was all those years ago.
Our dreams join us, in peaceful sleep, days to cherish, nights to keep.
Luna smiled and began to slowly nod, her face still pressed against the canvas. "It is... My lullaby."
The world spins 'round, the stars are bright, we all bed down 'neath Luna's light.
As Celestia finished the lullaby, she looked down at her younger sister and smiled. "Feel better, little sister?"
"Much better." Luna returned the smile and moved away from the canvas as she peered out past the easel at her other guests. The young Princess grinned and had to stifle a giggle as she took a look at them. "I think you may have stunned them into silence, 'Tia."
"I suppose that sort of thing is bound to happen when you don't sing for thousands of years. Come along, my little ponies." Celestia stomped a hoof upon the floor, rousing the guests from their stupor, and they all soon returned to their stools. Grinning, the white alicorn took her seat once more and picked up her paint brush, returning to her painting. It wasn't long before the others did as well, and shortly afterwards, Luna began to make her rounds - after taking care of the commotion earlier, hearing her sister's lullaby had been a sorely needed second-wind. It had been far too long since she had heard her sister sing, let alone since she had heard her song. She firmly stuck the lyrics within her head, not wanting to lose them again, and proceeded to the first canvas.
Her first stop was Pinkie Pie. The pink earth pony had taken a rather interesting approach, considering she had discarded her paint brush entirely. Instead, she had been dipping her hooves into the paint and had been smearing them across the canvas. It made for a rather interesting, if not random picture - rather befitting, given Pinkie's personality. Luna leaned down and peered over Pinkie Pie's shoulder, observing her as she dipped her hooves into the paint once more. "An interesting approach, Pinkie Pie. Any reason why you chose this method over the paint brush?"
"Oh, that's easy!" Pinkie Pie glanced over at the young Princess and smiled. "It's just 'cause finger painting is so fun!"
"...finger painting? Pinkie, we don't have fingers. We have hooves."
"Well duh! I know that!"
"But you just said... actually, forget it. Uh... good job and all."
Luna stood back up and quickly moved on to the next easel, Rarity's. The fashionista had seemingly taken the young Princess' advice to heart and had actually managed to paint something else. It was a quick portrait of a rather young unicorn, likely no older than a filly. With dark green eyes and a rather curly pink and purple mane, the pony in the picture didn't seem to bear much of a resemblance to Rarity, aside from the coat color. "Who's that?"
"That's Sweetie Belle, my little sister." The white mare practically beamed as she continued to talk about her sibling. "We've... had some rough spots here and there, but after one of my friends taught me a rather important lesson, I'd never want to give her up."
The Princess of the Night glanced across the room at Celestia and quickly returned gaze back to Rarity, a smile upon her face. "I think I can sympathize. Does she have her cutie mark yet, Rarity?"
"Uh, well... no. She's in a club of sorts with Applejack's sister and another one of their friends, however. They call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders - they get into far more trouble than they should sometimes, but... they're trying. And Sweetie Belle has some friends now too, so I suppose I should be thankful."
"That you should. Good work with the painting, and tell her I said hello when you see her again." Luna smiled at Rarity, and the fashionista was quick to return one. Without wasting another second, the young Princess moved on.
She proceeded to the next easel, though it was now two easels instead. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had both placed their easels beside one another, and both ponies had seemingly been taking cues from the other painting when working on their own. The orange earth pony had painted an orchard, likely the same Sweet Apple Acres Luna had heard so much about, whereas Rainbow Dash had depicted some clouds and a setting sun. The pegasus had borrowed some of the darker and more vibrant hues from Applejack's painting, and in return, the earth pony had taken some of the lighter and cooler colors from Rainbow Dash's picture. Both of them had done quite well, considering neither of them had any sort of formal art training. "Looks like you both did pictures of home, hm?"
Applejack turned towards Luna and nodded. "Yyyyep. Lived there mah whole life. Great place ta be too."
"And mine's not really 'home', but..." Rainbow Dash let out a brief chuckle and shrugged. "It may as well be. Dunno where I'd be without my wings sometimes."
Luna snickered and pointed a hoof towards the floor. "Well for starters, you'd be on the ground."
"What? Oh, ha ha. Very funny." The cyan pegasus rolled her eyes and swiveled on her stool, mumbling to herself as she busied herself once more. Applejack soon did the same, and the Princess of the Night felt it was a good time to take a look at the next easel.
Moving along, Luna approached Pip's station... only to find that the colt had fallen asleep and was drooling on his canvas. Even though the lullaby hadn't had any immediate effects, it looked like Pip had still ended up as a 'casualty' of the song - for now, it was best to simply let him continue to sleep, and so the young Princess continued on to the next easel.
"Let's see what you've got here, Fluttershy..." The Princess of the Night peeked over Fluttershy's shoulder, and though the yellow pegasus knew Luna was there, she remained quiet and continued to work. Fluttershy, like Pinkie Pie, had taken a more abstract approach to things. It was a complete departure from the more natural subjects she was so fond of, but she had made it work somehow. The painting consisted of several splotches and smears of earthy colors, and Fluttershy had purposely stuck to greens, oranges, and browns while working. Even now, the yellow pegasus was adding more rusty tones to the painting, and Luna soon left so that Fluttershy could continue to work in peace.
Up next was Twilight Sparkle, and true to what the Princess of the Night had said earlier, the lavender mare had indeed taken the lesson to heart. She continued to work diligently even as Luna approached, and the young Princess couldn't help but grin upon seeing what the unicorn had decided to paint. It was hardly surprising, but Twilight had decided to paint a portrait of her mentor, Princess Celestia. She had done a rather good job of it too, considering she had gotten all of the colors right. "So... Twilight. About your painting..."
"Look, um... you're not gonna tell Pri- Celestia about it, are you?"
At the mention of her name, the white alicorn leaned over towards her student. "If you hadn't said that, I probably still wouldn't know about it. It's a lovely painting though, isn't it Luna?"
Twilight Sparkle let out a small 'eep', causing Luna to snicker as she slowly nodded in agreement with her elder sister. "Definitely. It looks just like you, Celestia!"
"Oh, we should hang this in my room! It'd be perfect!" Celestia grinned and sat back up, clapping her hooves together as she continued to embarrass her student even further. Twilight Sparkle did her very best to hide her own red face, and she quickly picked her brush back up and returned to her work again. All that was left at this point was her own sister, and so Luna quickly hurried around to Celestia's easel.
"Alright, 'Tia, let's see what you've..." The young Princess blinked upon seeing the canvas, and she felt her own jaw drop as she continued to look about the station. Celestia's painting was a conglomeration of several different colors and had no real rhyme or reason, but it seemed the elder sister had purposely mixed her paints this time. "...done. Celestia, did you do this on purpose?"
With a wide grin on her face, Celestia looked up at her younger sister and leaned towards her.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, dear sister."
-----
Shortly after concluding the lesson, Luna had quickly carried off Pip and placed him within his bed back in the barracks. He somehow managed to stay asleep through the entire thing, but the young Princess wasn't about to complain. The rest of her campers had since been dismissed for the remainder of the day, and with the art supplies already cleaned up and packed away, Luna had the rest of the day to herself. There was one thing on her mind, however, and a quick trip by her sister's room would certainly clear it up. She was about to knock upon the door when she heard her elder sibling speak from within.
"Come in, Luna. I know you're out there anyways."
The Princess of the Night nudged open the door and let herself in, shutting it behind herself. Celestia appeared to be in the middle of a book, but that didn't stop Luna from speaking. "Celestia, about the..."
"The lullaby?" Celestia snapped the book shut and looked up from it, smiling as she eyed her sister. "I know that's our song and that nopony else is really supposed to hear it, but... you were starting to get a bit frazzled there. The stress was getting to you, and part of that was my fault."
"You didn't mean for it to happen, 'Tia. It's alright."
"I know, but this is supposed to be your time to shine, and I simply added to your workload by inviting myself." The white alicorn's horn briefly glowed as she picked up the book with her magic and carefully filed it away on one of the shelves within her room. "I stressed you out a bit, and I thought I'd make it up to you."
Luna raised an eyebrow and peered at her sister. "So you... sang the lullaby?"
"Mhm. I did it to try and help you relax, which it seemed to do. I'd consider that a job well done, wouldn't you?" Celestia's horn glowed once more as she picked up a collection of papers and began to sort through them. "In any case, I apologize for distracting your guests. It was selfish of me to invite myself."
"Oh, no... it's no big deal, 'Tia. Really. I think some of them liked seeing you be so informal." Luna thought back to everything else that had happened earlier that day, and the young Princess had to suppress a giggle as some of the memories raced through her head. "I'll admit, it was rather funny seeing everypony stumble over their words so much, simply because you decided to do away with the title for a day. Seems your star pupil isn't immune to that either."
Celestia snickered and slowly shook her head, smiling as she sorted through the papers. "It's habit for them. As much as I'd like to simply be 'Celestia', I don't think it's realistic to expect such a change."
Luna smiled and nodded, and she stood for a while longer within the doorway before speaking once more. "Celestia, about the lullaby... thank you. It was... nice to hear my song again."
"You're very welcome, Luna." Celestia smiled as she stacked the papers up and quickly filed them away, turning to face her sibling once more. "That's what sisters are for, right?"
The Princess of the Night slowly nodded and walked over to her sister's bed, leaning over to throw her forelegs around Celestia's neck as she gave the white alicorn a hug.
"Right."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Cycle of Days (Luna's Lullaby) - Written by Ariamaki
As her sister's sun ended its daily trip across the Equestrian sky, Luna was already frantically getting the observatory set up. Not surprisingly, she had saved the best for last, but 'best' was rather subjective - in her humble opinion, astronomy was indeed the best activity, and she had purposely set it up to be the last activity she and her guests would complete. She already had almost everything set up, but the young Princess still needed more time.
Luckily, Celestia had offered to keep the campers busy by allowing them to watch her lower the sun, and Luna put the additional time to good use. The alicorn's horn glowed a faint blue as several cabinets throughout the observatory flew open, and all manner of astronomical tools began to float out and set themselves up around the room. Telescopes, sextants, and more all calibrated themselves at Luna's whim, and yet something was still missing. The Princess of the Night nearly brought a hoof to her forehead as she remembered, and her horn glowed once more as she directed the magic towards another cabinet.
"Ugh, star charts. Of course."
She had the rare privilege of being in possession of the most up-to-date star charts, a feat that had been accomplished thanks to the efforts of herself and Twilight Sparkle. After all, if it weren't for the two of them, most of Equestria would still be using woefully out-dated charts. The young Princess hurriedly brought them out and unfurled, laying them down in various spots throughout the observatory. Everything looked to be in order, but there were still two other things she needed to take care of.
On certain nights, Luna used a spell of her sister's creation, one that amplified light refraction. It was a rather simple trick, but when used properly, it was capable of greatly reducing light pollution from the rest of Canterlot. She couldn't exactly leave the castle to check on its effectiveness, however, and she had been forced to rely upon her guards to relay her information - as if on cue, one of the dusky pegasus stallions trotted up to her and gave a quick salute. "Update for you, Luna. One of the others flew off to Cloudsdale to see how things look from there, another went to Ponyville."
"And?" Luna peered at the guard, a faint smile upon her face as she waited for the answer.
"Both reported that Canterlot looks almost completely dark. Seems the spell is working as designed."
"Perfect! That's all I needed done. Have the others recalled."
The pegasus gave another salute and departed just as quickly as he arrived, leaving Luna in solitude once more. The Princess trotted from place to place within the observatory, making last minute adjustments to the telescopes and sextants, and ensuring that everything was within the proper place. With everything seemingly in its proper place, the only thing that remained was to raise the moon. Such a thing had gotten considerably easier compared to the first time she practiced with Celestia, and though it took her a bit longer to really get back into the swing of things, she had quickly adjusted to her role once more.
At this point, raising and lowering the moon didn't take much effort, and thankfully, such a thing would leave her with more than enough energy to follow through with another one of her ideas. Luna gave her wings a good stretch and took to the air, her horn glowing as she began the nightly task of raising the moon. As she continued to slowly rise, a smile spread across her face as she watched the pale moonlight fill the observatory, and the Princess considered herself awfully lucky to have chosen this night for their astronomy activities - though it had been purely by chance, this particular night had been blessed with a full moon, and it pleased Luna to know that everything had gone so well thus far.
With her duties fulfilled, the alicorn began her slow and steady descent and softly touched down upon the tile floor, the magic around her dissipating as she landed. Luna glanced over her shoulder and smiled as she surveyed her work once more. "Not bad, Luna. Not bad at all."
"I'll say. A full moon and everything - you're really pulling out all the stops tonight, little sister."
The Princess of the Night quickly snapped her attention back towards the entrance to the observatory, the smile never leaving her face as she watched her sister and her guests enter. The elder sibling had apparently taken to informality quite well, as she had once again left her royal adornments behind, and the rest of the campers seemingly stood in awe at just how big the observatory truly was - except for Twilight Sparkle, of course. Aside from the Royal Library, the observatory had essentially been the lavender mare's second home during her studies at Canterlot, and she was pleased to return after all those years away.
Luna had already approached the group, and gave a slight bow to them all before speaking. "The final activity, as you've no doubt already guessed, is astronomy. Your last day here in Canterlot, which is tomorrow, shall be another free day. You may do as you wish during that time. I have three stations already set up throughout the observatory. At each one, you'll find a telescope, sextant, and a star chart. You'll need all three for what I have planned. Now then, before we..."
Twilight Sparkle already had a hoof raised in the air, and the unicorn quickly lowered it after receiving a nod from the young Princess. "Um... Luna, there's seven of us, but only three stations. That doesn't exactly split evenly."
"I was getting to that." Luna smiled faintly, and her sister's protégée grinned sheepishly in return. The alicorn took advantage of the ensuing silence and continued once more. "Given Twilight's rather... extensive background with astronomy, it didn't exactly seem fair for her to be grouped with any of you. As a result, she'll be grouped with none of you - instead, she'll be helping me... well, help all of you."
The group of ponies let out a collective groan of frustration, and quietly began to divide themselves up into groups. Applejack and Pip formed the first group, with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash creating the second. The third group consisted of Rarity and Fluttershy, and all six ponies made their way towards their own stations. It didn't take long at all for them to begin to poke and prod at the various instruments, and Twilight Sparkle let out a nervous laugh as she walked over to stand by Luna's side. "This is... gonna be interesting."
"Yes... yes it will be." Over at one of the stations, Rainbow Dash bumped into one of the telescopes, knocking it over and causing Luna to wince as it crashed to the floor. "...Oh dear."
This was going to be a long night.
-----
Luna's horn glowed as she picked up the tool with her magic, and she allowed it to float in front of both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie as she explained its usage. "Now then, this is a sextant." Both mares snickered, causing the Princess of the Night to briefly raise an eyebrow before continuing once more. "Using it is rather simple. To start, aim at the horizon, release the clamp, and gradually move the arm until you bring the object of focus into view - for this example, we'll be using the moon. Now, after you have the object properly found within the sextant's telescope..."
Rainbow Dash let out a quiet snort, slowly shaking her head as she muttered to Pinkie Pie. "Heh... sextant."
"Yes, har har. It's funny because of the word it contains." Luna narrowed her eyes at the two of them, and the cyan pegasus let out a quiet yelp as she turned her head to look up at the alicorn.
"You uh... you heard that, huh?"
"As a matter of fact, I did. Now please take this seriously." The Princess of the Night kept her eyes trained upon them for a while longer, and a faint smile crept across her face as she watched Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie visibly straighten up in front of her. "Now then, after you have the object within the telescope, simply tip the sextant back and forth to verify the position, and then read the angle. Simple. Think you two can handle it from here?"
Pinkie Pie watched with a raised eyebrow as Luna gently set the sextant back down upon the table, and the pink earth pony was slow to respond. "Uh... okey dokey lokey."
"Good." Grinning, Luna trotted away from the two ponies and made her way towards another station. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Twilight Sparkle attending to Rarity and Fluttershy, and so the alicorn turned towards Applejack and Pip. Over the past few days, the orange earth pony had become a surrogate sister of sorts for the young colt, and even now, Pip was perched upon Applejack's back. To make things even better, Applejack had removed her hat, and the pinto colt currently had the sextant actually sitting upon her head - though it was entirely likely that Pip simply had trouble holding the instrument at his age, it didn't make the situation look any less comical.
As the young Princess approached the duo, the orange mare looked over at Luna as best she could without moving her head. "I uh... I'd turn ta actually say 'hi', but Pip's kinda... busy."
"Just hold still, Applejack! I've almost got it!" Pip gave Applejack's head a gentle tap with one of his hooves, and she sighed in return.
Luna raised an eyebrow and cocked her head as she peered at the colt. "Got what?"
"He's lookin' fer th' Big Dipper right now." Applejack glanced up at the Princess, and she shifted slightly to relieve her hooves somewhat. "Pip already found Orion an' a few others. Little guy's awfully good at this."
Before Applejack could say anything else, Pip hopped off her back and onto the table, and he quickly scrambled over to the telescope. Using his mouth, the colt swung the telescope around and made the needed adjustments before peering through the ocular, smiling to himself as he looked through. "Found it!"
The Princess of the Night simply blinked at Pip, and she soon made her way over towards the telescope and took a look for herself. Sure enough, the pinto colt had managed to find the Big Dipper, and surprisingly quickly too. The alicorn pulled herself away from the instrument and looked down at Pip, a faint smile upon her face. "Pip, I'm awfully curious... Try finding Andromeda now."
"Andromeda?" The colt put on the most determined face he could muster and he scampered over to the star chart, peering down at it and placing a hoof upon it as he followed the various stars that made up the constellation. After nodding to himself, Pip hopped onto Applejack's back once more, causing the orange mare to wince slightly. It wasn't as if he noticed, though - he had already picked up the sextant and made the necessary adjustments, and it didn't take much longer for him to tip the sextant back and forth as he verified the results. The colt hopped off of Applejack again and ran back across the table to the telescope. It took a few seconds more for him to make the necessary movements and adjustments, but Pip proudly puffed out his chest upon finishing the task. "Done!"
"Already? Lemme see..." Luna leaned down and took another look through the ocular, letting out a low whistle as she found herself looking at Andromeda. "You really did find it. You weren't kidding when you said he was good at this, Applejack."
"Told ya. Any others ya wanna look for, Pip?" The pinto colt quickly hopped onto her back once more, and the orange earth pony let out another sigh. "That's a yes..."
Giggling, Luna trotted away from the two earth ponies and proceeded towards Twilight Sparkle. The lavender mare had apparently managed to teach both Fluttershy and Rarity a great deal, considering that the two of them had already found and charted several of the constellations on the star chart, and the young Princess was pleased with their progress. "I'm guessing my sister's prized pupil has been an adequate instructor?"
Fluttershy let out a quiet 'eep' and quickly turned around to face the alicorn, smiling nervously as she looked up at Luna. "Oh, certainly. Twilight's always been an awful good teacher, though..."
"And she certainly knows how to use these silly little things." Rarity rolled her eyes and continued to toy with the sextant, never once turning around to face the Princess - it was likely for the best, considering the disapproving scowl that Luna currently wore upon her face.
The Princess of the Night sighed and gave her head a quick shake, wiping the scowl off her face as she turned to look at Twilight Sparkle. "Yes, well... I suppose I should be thankful that some ponies love my nights as much as they do." Luna threw a glance towards her sibling, who had been sitting off to the side throughout the activity. Celestia knew how important the nights were to her younger sister, and she had chosen to fulfill the role of silent spectator rather than vocal participant for that evening.
The white alicorn caught her sister's glance and returned it in kind, a faint smile upon her face. "Looks like you're ready, little sister."
"I am."
"Awfully hard for your guards to keep a secret. I've heard the stories, but I've been wanting to see it for myself." Celestia grinned at her younger sister, and Luna was quick to flash a smile back.
"And now you shall, dear sister." The Princess of the Night pounded a hoof upon the tile floor, calling the attention of her guests to herself. "Gather 'round, friends. There's something I wish to show you."
The seven campers all left their respective stations and slowly made their way towards the center of the room, with most of them unwittingly crowding around Celestia herself. One by one, they gradually took their seats beside the white alicorn, and all of them looked up at Luna with a keen interest. With a faint smile upon her face, Celestia nodded at her sister. "You're all about to bear witness to something very special. Begin when you're ready, Luna."
Luna smiled and nodded in kind, and she briefly flared her wings - it served no real purpose with what would soon follow, but it made for a good show. As the Princess of the Night closed her eyes, her horn began to glow, and it let out a bright flash of light as the air within the observatory began to stir. It was slow at first, a gentle and steady breeze that seemed to have no real effect upon the tools, charts, or books within the observatory, and yet its results were quite obvious upon the spectators. Manes began to shift and billow as the wind continued to increase, and it steadily ramped up into a gust. Luna remained locked within her spell, her horn continuing to glow, and Twilight Sparkle threw a worried look up at her mentor. "Princess Celestia...?"
"What you're witnessing and feeling, my faithful student, is magic. Pure, unadulterated, and unbridled magic. It's been... thousands of years since I've seen my sister perform this spell." Celestia glanced down at her pupil and smiled. "This is magic in its most raw and primal form, but also its most powerful. Beautiful, isn't it?"
Twilight blinked in return, and she winced as the gust picked up even further, progressing into a howling roar. It was almost deafening, and she had to yell as loudly as she could just to speak above it. "I GUESS? ISN'T THIS DANGEROUS, THOUGH?"
"Luna has done this nightly with her guards around. I promise you, you'll be safe. And just wait until you see the result..."
Slightly soothed by her teacher's words and surprised that she was even able to hear the alicorn, the lavender mare turned back towards Luna and continued to simply watch. What Celestia said had some merit to it - to see magic in such a raw and powerful form was a very rare sight, and the magical capabilities of the Royal Sisters were second-to-none. Considering how highly she valued her own magic, Twilight couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of what she was seeing, nor could she deny how incredible such a spell was. It was so simple, and at the same time, so very intricate.
The arcane storm continued on, and the Princess of the Night was beginning to visibly strain herself as she carried out the spell, yet she pressed onwards. She couldn't fail now. She needed to do this. Not just for herself, or her guests, but for her sister - for them. Aside from Philomena and Celestia herself, the very art of creating stars was the last tie Luna had to her 'old' life, and just like the lullaby, it was theirs. Nopony would ever be able to take that from them. As the last of the dust and gas was squeezed into its new form, there was another brilliant flash of light as the magic ceased, and Luna fell to the tile floor, panting and exhausted. "...d-done."
Celestia was the first to rise, and she slowly walked over to her sister's side, helping the young Princess back up to her hooves. "You did wonderfully, little sister. I see you haven't lost your touch at all."
"I... I even did something special this time. Just... just for you." Luna smiled and laughed weakly before abruptly taking a seat upon the floor, and she gave her sister a brief nuzzle as the elder sibling wrapped a wing around her. The rest of the guests had since hurried over to the two alicorns, and all of them seemed rather concerned about Luna's state. Even while weakened, the young Princess was determined to make herself appear as strong as possible, and she was quick to wave a hoof dismissively. "I'm not hurt or anything, I'm simply... tired."
Twilight Sparkle stepped forward, an eyebrow raised as she peered at Luna. "So... did you just...?"
"I told you in the library that I would show you what it looked like when I made stars. Now you know." The alicorn grinned at her sister's pupil, and she quickly beckoned Fluttershy towards herself. "Fluttershy, could you please fetch some water for me?"
"Are you sure you're alright, Luna? You look absolutely awful... oh, maybe you should take a nap." The yellow pegasus was already hurriedly placing her hooves all over the Princess' face as she tried to feel for a temperature, and Celestia couldn't help but laugh at such a sight.
"My sister will be fine, Fluttershy. As strong as we may be, we both still have our limits, and creating a single star completely exhausts Luna. Just give her a few hours, and she'll be quite alright." The white alicorn smiled back at Fluttershy, but as the pegasus continued to stay put, Celestia glanced around before letting out a soft cough. "...um, Fluttershy. The water, please."
"Oh dear, I'm so very sorry! I'll be right back, I promise!" The yellow pegasus quickly took to the air and flew out of the observatory, leaving the others to awkwardly stand around the Royal Sisters.
Luna had her face buried in her elder sibling's coat, but she briefly turned away to eye her guests. "...I'll be fine, honest. Go back to your telescopes, sextants, and star charts, and try to find the star I made."
The seven guests did as told, though Pip certainly seemed most excited, and the pinto colt hopped up onto the table and patiently waited for Applejack to return. While she slowly walked back over, Pip had already propped the sextant up on the table with the aid of several books, and he was quickly comparing the star chart to anything he found within the night sky. With a gentle kick from one of his hind legs, he swung the telescope back around and was already quickly scanning the heavens, even as Applejack finally made her way to the station. The colt let out a small gasp and began to grin ear to ear, quickly giving a few of the dials and knobs a few turns with his mouth before peering through the ocular once more. "I think... I think I found it!"
Celestia glanced over towards the tiny colt and smiled at him. "Describe it for me, Pip."
"It's... orange, and really bright. A lot brighter than all the other stars around it!"
"Mm... orange. Father's favorite color." The white alicorn tossed a quick glance down at her own flank and grinned. "...and the color of my cutie mark."
The others had since found the star as well, letting out several 'ooh's and 'aah's as they all surveyed Luna's creation. Twilight Sparkle eventually pulled herself away from the telescope and made her way towards the two alicorns, a slight expression of confusion upon her face. "Doesn't Luna want to see the sta-"
"Shh." Celestia looked up at her protégée with a faint smile upon her face, then soon turned her gaze back to her sibling at her side.
"...is she?"
"Mhm." Luna's only response to the two of them was a quiet snore, and the Princess of the Night shifted slightly, burying her face into her sister's side. The elder sibling pulled her wing a bit tighter around her younger sister, and Twilight could hardly contain her own smile as her mentor leaned down to give the sleeping Princess a gentle kiss upon her forehead. "Sweet dreams, little sister. And... thank you.
It's hard to believe that it's already been a week since the Bearers and little Pip came to Canterlot. It feels like I only met them a few hours ago - my sister may have had a point when she mentioned how time seems to pass differently for us. Even if my guests may not consider me to be their friend just yet, I see all of them as being my friends. I simply hope we'll all continue to stay in touch, even after all of this is said and done.
Luna set the quill down and levitated her coffee mug up to her muzzle, taking a quick sip before returning to her writings once more. Though she had fallen asleep relatively quickly the night before, she didn't stay asleep very long - the Princess had woken up around four in the morning, and simply couldn't go back to bed. Luckily for her, her retinue of guardsmen had kept their nocturnal habits, and it wasn't difficult for her to find somepony to waste the time with.
Celestia had already raised her sun, however, and Luna's guards retired to their barracks not long after. Finding herself with a sizable bit of free time, the alicorn had decided to return to her journal once more, and was presently writing yet another entry within its pages.
I know for a fact my letters with Twilight Sparkle will continue, as they always have. As awful as it might be to admit, I'm somewhat envious of my sister at times - though I have yet to truly see Twilight's magic at work for myself, I can still 'feel' it to some degree. The potential within her is remarkable, and if the circumstances had been any different, I would have gladly taken her on as my own apprentice. I simply can't 'steal' her, however. Such a thing is deeply frowned upon within the academic world, and my sister has already built up a surprisingly strong relationship with her student. I wouldn't dare destroy such a thing.
In due time, perhaps I'll find an apprentice of my own - maybe not quite on the same level as Twilight Sparkle, but I digress. Regardless of my own feelings or attitudes towards wanting an apprentice, I would consider myself fortunate to stay in touch with any of these ponies. They've all proven themselves to be remarkable individuals in their own ways, and I think I'd be rather proud to refer to them as my friends.
There was a gentle knock upon her bedroom door, and Luna turned upon her stool as she faced towards the door. One of Celestia's guards stood in the doorway, giving her a deep bow before speaking - unlike her own retinue of guardsmen, her sister's guards had the tendency to be much more formal around her, even though she wasn't necessarily their Princess. "Apologies for the intrusion, your Majesty, but your guests have requested your presence."
"...they what? But I gave them the day off!" The Princess of the Night had already hopped off her stool, quickly making her way over to the stallion. "Why did they want me?"
"I'm afraid they wouldn't say, your Majesty. They simply requested your presence, and wouldn't tell me anything else."
Luna slowly nodded, her horn faintly glowing as she used her magic to shut her journal and put it away. "Very well then. Take me to them."
"As you wish."
-----
"You know Pinkie, for once, I think you're throwing a party for all the right reasons."
"...what's that supposed to mean?"
"Just... finish the cake. We already sent that guard out, so Luna could be here any minute now." Rainbow Dash trotted away from the table, quickly approaching Twilight Sparkle and giving the unicorn a mocking salute. "Rainbow Dash, reporting in, sir! Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Pip have almost completed the cake, sir!"
The lavender mare looked up from her list, an eyebrow slightly raised. "It's ma'am, not sir. And stop that."
"Bah, you're no fun."
"Sorry Rainbow, but I need to make sure everything's in order before the Princess shows up." Twilight sighed and looked around the room once more, nodding to herself and checking off another item on the list. "Simply getting to stay within the castle is a huge honor, and Luna's been extremely hospitable - there's no better way to show our thanks than by throwing a Pinkie party."
As if on cue, the pink earth pony wandered past the two of them, a rather large cake balanced upon her back. "'Cause there's no party like a Pinkie party! Cake's done!"
"Perfect!" The unicorn ticked off an entry labeled 'Cake' and gave another quick glance around the room. "Fluttershy and Rarity, how are the decorations coming along?"
The yellow pegasus was still flitting to and fro, making several last-minute adjustments to the various streamers and balloons that were pinned up throughout the room, and Rarity flashed Twilight a rather large smile. "Swimmingly, darling! Oh, to think of it! Me, doing decorations for a party for one of the Princesses! Mother and father would be so proud..."
"Oh, it's going just fine, Twilight. I just have to..." Fluttershy shifted one of the streamers slightly, smiling briefly before watching in dismay as the streamer moved back to its original spot. "Oh dear, um... okay, how about..." The yellow pegasus tried again and again to keep the streamer in place, failing each time to do so. "Rarity, could you pin this up for me, please? I mean, if you have the time for it. If not, that's perfectly okay."
"Let me handle it..." With a sigh, Rarity's horn briefly glowed as she sent a nail floating upwards, driving it into the streamer with her magic and pinning it firmly in place. "There."
Finally satisfied, Fluttershy slowly returned to the floor and smiled towards the lavender mare. "Okay, now it's done!"
Twilight Sparkle checked off 'Decorations' upon the list and grinned as she surveyed the room once more. "Well, the cake and decorations are done. All we're missing now is Luna. And... Applejack and Pip. Where did those two run off to? Luna could be here any minute now!"
"Right here, sugarcube." Applejack walked back into the room, a smile upon her face as Pip sat perched upon her back. "Cake-makin' got a bit... messy fer Pip here. Little fella went an' fell into some of th' frostin', so I got 'im cleaned up. Nothin' a damp washcloth can't fix!"
"If only I could get Spike to understand that. Still, it's good you two could get back here in time. Princess Luna could be here any-"
Before the lavender mare could speak any further, the doors to the room swung open, and in strode the Princess of the Night, flanked on both sides by her sister's guards. She immediately froze in place, a look of confusion upon her face as she glanced about the room. Streamers lay pinned to the walls, while several balloons of varying colors sat tethered to the floor. In the center was a rather large cake, and surrounding that were all of her guests. For the longest time, Luna simply stared at her campers, and only broke the silence to ask the question first and foremost within her mind. "Is... this a party?"
The campers simply stood there, as none of them had expected Luna to arrive this quickly, and most of them simply stared back at the Princess. After a few nervous glances, one pony eventually spoke up - Fluttershy. "Um... surprise?"
"So, wait. This is all for me?" The alicorn still appeared highly incredulous, and it was hardly surprising. Despite her long life, it was rare for her to ever really receive a celebration of any sort in her honor. Her birthday parties had always been fairly low-key events, kept between her and her sister, and it was rare for the public to ever join in on the festivities. To have a party such as this thrown in her honor was unexpected, to say the least. "I'm... not sure I understand. My birthday isn't until December, and it certainly isn't Night Mare Night."
"Your Majesty." One of the guards that accompanied her gave a small cough immediately following his statement, and she soon glanced over her shoulder to face him. With her attention fixed upon him, the stallion quickly continued. "It's... actually quite common to throw parties for occasions besides holidays or birthdays."
"...it is?"
"Yes, your Majesty."
"Oh. Um. Well then..." The explanation had only helped slightly, and Luna still found herself at a loss. The Princess of the Night turned to face her guests once more, and she took a single step forward. "So... what seems to be the occasion?"
Fluttershy once again spoke up, stepping forward and placing herself at the front of the group. "We um... we did it for you, Luna."
"But... why?"
"To show our thanks." Twilight Sparkle smiled and stepped forward, taking her place beside Fluttershy.
Not one to be outdone, Rarity also stepped forward and quickly spoke up. "You've been awfully polite to all of us, even when some of us were a bit... misguided with their reading choices. It only seemed fair."
"So we decided ta throw ya a lil' party. We know ya've been pourin' yer heart into this camp, so we did th' same with this party. Ain't that right, Pip?" Applejack and Pip both stepped forward, and from his spot upon her back, the colt nodded enthusiastically.
Pinkie Pie was already hopping in circles around Rainbow Dash, and the pink earth pony could hardly contain her own excitement. "And there's no party like a Pinkie party! Were you surprised? Were you?"
"Well since she's looking at us funny, I think she is, Pinkie." The cyan pegasus rolled her eyes and tilted her head slightly as she looked up at the Princess. "You uh... you like it, right Luna?"
The alicorn had since fallen to her haunches, and appeared to just as confused as ever. As the guardsmen quietly excused themselves from the room and shut the doors, Luna continued to glance from one pony's face to another. "I... I don't know what to say. I've never really had anypony throw a party in my hon-"
"What?!" Pinkie Pie rushed forth, pressing her nose against Luna's and staring the Princess straight in the eye. "You've never gotten a party? Never ever never?"
"Um... well, no. My birthdays have usually just been my sister and I. Pinkie Pie, could you please back up a bit. You're kinda-"
"Oh, we can fix that! We can fix that right now! Quick, someone cut a slice of cake!"
"Pinkie Pie, I really don't think this is necessary. Could you please back u-"
"Don't worry, Luna, I've got it all under control!" The pink earth pony had already cut a slice of cake herself, and now held it on a plate in front of the alicorn. "It's chocolate too! I know that's your favorite!"
Luna stared at Pinkie, an eyebrow raised and her mouth agape. "But... I've never even told you what my favorite is. I don't even li-"
Before the Princess could say another word, Pinkie Pie took it upon herself to feed the cake directly to Luna, shoving the slice into the alicorn's mouth and tossing the plate aside. Luna simply stared at Pinkie, completely and utterly shocked as several cake crumbs continued to fall out of her mouth and down towards the floor. The rest of Pinkie's friends, Pip included, seemed completely mortified, and Twilight Sparkle looked like she was on the verge of fainting. With a wide smile upon her face, the pink earth pony leaned towards the Princess of the Night. "Well? Do you like it? I made it myself!"
Unfortunately for Pinkie, Luna soon spat out much of the cake and scowled at her. A frown upon her face, the pink earth pony backed away and the alicorn stood once more, staring at the rest of her guests. "I'm leaving. Have fun with the party - I want no part of it. If you need me, you know where to find me."
As the Princess turned and made her way for the door, the guests reduced themselves to hushed whispers, and several glares were directed towards Pinkie Pie during the course of their discussion. As they hurriedly attempted to salvage their party, Twilight Sparkle teleported and placed herself in Luna's path. "Sooo... Luna!"
The alicorn seemed surprised at first, but quickly returned to her dour demeanor. "Not now, Twilight Sparkle. We can talk later, if you'd like."
"Well, there's just something I wanted to ask. Won't take long at all!"
Luna sighed and rolled her eyes. "...Very well, then. Speak."
"Do you remember when I visited during Hearth's Warming last year, and I brought you that gift?" Twilight grinned up at the alicorn and threw a quick glance back over her shoulder at her friends before looking back at the Princess.
"The astronomy book that you compiled and made for me - it's awfully hard to forget such a gift."
"...Aaaand remember how you didn't really have anything for me in return?"
Luna raised an eyebrow and peered down at the unicorn. "Well... no, I didn't have anything for you. Your entire visit was a bit of a surprise. Why do you ask?"
"Well, um..." The lavender mare nervously pawed a hoof against the floor and looked back up at Luna. "I was wondering if I could maybe get a belated Hearth's Warming gift? As in... now?"
The rest of the ponies were all watching their conversation with bated breath, and Luna was keenly aware of it. The young Princess quickly glanced over towards the group before looking back down at Twilight Sparkle. "And just what kind of gift do you have in mind?"
"...Stay here and have some fun with the rest of us? We all worked hard on this, and I know Pinkie can get a little... over-enthusiastic at times, but she meant well. So... please stay?"
Had it been any other pony, Luna would have very likely said 'No' and continued onwards without a backward look - Twilight wasn't 'any other pony', however. The unicorn was likely the closest thing the Princess of the Night had to a best friend, and Luna could hardly fault the lavender mare for wanting her to stay. As she mulled it over, she gave another look downwards towards Twilight, and let out a slight frown as she found her sister's apprentice staring up at her with pleading eyes. "I... don't know, Twilight Sparkle."
"Alright, fine... um..." The unicorn tapped a hoof to her chin, her eyes lighting up as an idea sprang to mind. "What if I danced with you some more later? Since you need a dance partner and all."
Luna opened her mouth, hesitated, and shut it once more as she thought it over. It was already difficult enough for her to even dare say 'No' to Twilight, and this latest offer made it essentially impossible. With a sigh, the Princess looked back down at the unicorn and faintly smiled.
"...Oh, fine."
-----
As per Twilight Sparkle's request, Luna had indeed returned to the party - that had been hours ago, however. After enjoying the cake at her own leisure, the young Princess had spent the rest of the time socializing and playing several games with the rest of her guests. Just like with her sister's own birthday parties, Luna was better than most when it came to charades, but as she had found out that afternoon, she was sorely lacking in other departments. She found herself performing especially poorly in Pin The Tail On The Pony, as well as several card games. Even with all the time she had spent playing Blackjack and Go Fish with her guards, she almost always found herself on an even playing field with the others.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash were both surprisingly good at card games, and Pinkie Pie and Pip both proved themselves adept at Pin The Tail On The Pony. Whereas Rarity and Fluttershy both performed well at Pictionary, Twilight Sparkle did admirably well while playing Twenty Questions. All of her guests had their own strengths and weakness, as did she, and they all had several facets to their personalities - as colorful and varied as they might be at times, such a thing was actually a source of comfort for Luna. After all, Canterlot itself was the very embodiment of boredom and dullness, considering that many of the citizens often followed incredibly strict social standards.
That had been hours ago, though. All of her guests, with the exception of Twilight Sparkle, had since wandered off to various other areas of the castle, leaving the Princess of the Night and the unicorn to dance in private. The lavender mare was still a bit clumsy, as far as dancing was concerned, but she was a fast learner. Already, she had made a great deal of progress, and though she struggled to keep up with Luna's own steps, she was still keeping up - that was the important thing.
"And one... two... three... step, turn... good, watch your footing." The young Princess smiled warmly at Twilight Sparkle, only to receive a rather nervous one in return. "Two... two... three... Twilight, not so serious. Dancing is supposed to be fun, not a chore."
"Right, sorry." The unicorn let out a nervous laugh and quickly looked back down, watching her own hooves as she followed the steps in-time with Luna's voice. It was a common mistake, but one she could hardly be faulted for. Everypony was bound to do the same at one point or another, and the alicorn had been no exception.
"Three... two... three... eyes up, Twilight. Your dance partner is in front of you and to your side, not on the floor." Luna couldn't help but laugh as she watched the lavender mare look up and smile sheepishly, and the two of them locked eyes as they continued to dance. "One... two... three... step and turn... and bow." As the song came to an end, the two ponies turned and bowed toward one another, and Luna stomped her hooves in approval as she pulled the record off the phonograph with her magic. "Much better! I think we'll make a dancer out of you just yet."
Twilight Sparkle blushed faintly and smiled, tilting her head as she watched the alicorn switch records. "I can't be doing that well so quickly. I mean, we only started this two days ago or so..."
"Better than most. You still have some very slight issues, but nothing some practice can't fix. Your biggest problem is that you take it far too seriously - after hearing about some of your letters to my sister, I know you have the tendency to get a little... too serious in situations you deem important." Luna's horn faintly glowed as she continued to flip through the records, rolling her eyes as she passed some of them. She honestly had no idea where so many of these records had come from, but at least it gave her plenty of options. "You dance your best when you loosen up. Let the music speak to you, and allow yourself to follow its cues. Don't over-think it."
"It's funny, really. I never expected you to be this big on music and dancing. You always seemed more like a patron of the arts."
"Dancing and music are both still forms of art, Twilight Sparkle."
"Well yeah, but... I just meant the rest of this." The lavender mare waved a hoof and gestured to the rest of Luna's room, and the alicorn nodded knowingly in return.
"Though my paintings and drawings still get most of my attention, dancing and music are both still fairly recent for me - I only picked them back up two days ago, after... well, over a thousand years without either. Still, it's like swimming. What was once forgotten is easily relearned as you begin to go through it once more."
Twilight idly shrugged as she continued to browse through the paintings that hung upon the walls. "Makes sense. What's next, Luna?"
"I was thinking we could try doing the tango. I keep seeing it mentioned in books, but you need a partner to really do it properly, which is always something I've lacked... until now, anyways." Luna tapped a hoof to her chin as she held one record in front of herself with her magic, quickly filing it away and retrieving another. "I just have to find the right music for it."
"...why the tango? If you um... don't mind me asking." Twilight pulled her gaze away from one of the paintings and glanced over in Luna's direction, staring at the Princess with a raised eyebrow.
The alicorn smiled as she finally found the appropriate piece of music, and she carefully pulled the record out with her magic, setting it aside. "'tis a more passionate dance. Much more lively than what you'd find in a ballroom. It's also much more intimate, in a way."
"...i-intimate?"
"Well... yes. You have to have a much deeper bond with your dance partner, and you also have to trust one another. Quite a few of the moves one can do while doing the tango rely heavily on that. That is the saying, after all - 'It takes two to... Twilight Sparkle, are you blushing?"
Upon closer inspection, the lavender mare was indeed blushing, and she let out a nervous laugh as she discovered she had been caught. "M-maybe? Um... well... I've been doing some reading as of late..."
"...and?"
"And I may have read a few stories about the um... 'appetites' you and your sister have."
At the mention of that, Luna stared deadpan at Twilight Sparkle. "You've been reading the tabloids, haven't you."
"...yes."
"One moment." The alicorn sighed and grabbed a quill and piece of parchment with her magic, scrawling furiously in front of the unicorn.
To The Staff of Equestria Daily,
If you publish one more false and disgraceful rumor about the 'deviant behaviors' my sister and I have, I will personally see to it that all of you are banished and thrown into a dungeon in the place I banish you to. This is the eighth time I've had to warn you, and enough is enough.
See to it that it does not happen again.
-Princess Luna
Before she had even given the ink any real chance of drying, Luna had already set the quill aside and hastily folded up the letter, shoving it into an envelope and sealing it shut with a wax stamp. This was not to be delivered by a pegasus - oh no, she was going to personally deliver this to their offices. That would wait until tomorrow, however.
With that little errand out of the way, Luna clapped her hooves together and gave Twilight Sparkle a warm smile, her horn faintly glowing as she placed the record on the phonograph and set it to play.
Mornings. Oh, how she hated mornings. It wasn't her dear sister's fault, of course, but Luna had always disliked the day for one reason or another. Perhaps her sister's sun was too bright or the days were too hot - she wasn't entirely sure what the reason was, and she likely would never know. The dusky alicorn gave her head a quick shake as she tried to wake herself up, and she quickly took a sip of her coffee before devouring yet another donut.
All of this was something Celestia was acutely aware of, of course. The two sisters knew each other intimately, and the elder sibling knew that Luna's moods and emotions fluctuated and changed just as often as the phases of the moon. Although the Princess of the Night often seemed quite stable and normal to most ponies, Celestia certainly knew better. During the day, Luna's patience often wore thin, and she had the tendency to fidget when sitting or standing still. She was, for lack of a better word, uncomfortable - the day and the sun were both polar opposites of everything Luna represented and controlled, and as such, it was outside of her own comfort zone. The white alicorn looked up from her newspaper and took a sip from her own mug, peering across the table at her sister. "So, Luna."
"So, 'Tia."
Celestia smirked upon hearing her younger sister essentially echo what she just said, and she chuckled softly. "Oh, stop that. Are you looking forward to getting back to your usual sleep cycle?"
"Definitely. I mean... I am a bit sad that the camp has come to an end, but I'm looking forward to holding night court once more. That, and being awake during the day is absolutely killing me... um, no offense or anything." Luna levitated up her coffee mug once more and nervously took a drink, much to her sister's amusement.
"None taken, little sister. You still have to bid your guests farewell, don't you?"
The Princess of the Night nodded and quickly ate another donut, swallowing it before speaking. "Mhm. Just have to tell them goodbye and watch them get on the chariots so they can return to Ponyville. Though I'm... not sure how long that might take."
Celestia was in the midst of taking another sip of coffee and quickly stopped herself, setting the mug down and peering across the table at Luna. "I'm sensing a hint of... something, little sister. Hesitation? Sadness? Apprehension?"
"All of those, actually. I'll admit, though part of me is glad that the camp is coming to an end..."
"...the other part doesn't want it to end, hm?"
"Well... no." The dusky alicorn gave one of the donuts in front of her a prod with her hoof, even though she appeared rather uninterested in it. "I mean, I'm ready for this to be over so things can go back to normal, but... I've enjoyed this. For once, 'Tia, I have friends. Actual friends. I'm just a little worried that after all of this is said and done, I won't really hear from any of them ever again. I've got my letters with Twilight Sparkle - she'll definitely keep in-touch - but I don't know about the others."
"And it worries you, doesn't it?"
"A little, yes."
"Just voice your concerns later on, Luna. Let them know that you'd like to stay in contact with them." Celestia, faintly smiling as always, briefly glanced down at her newspaper before returning her gaze to her sibling, her smile now replaced with a hint of a frown. "And while you're at it, could you ask Twilight Sparkle if she could write me more often?"
Luna blinked, momentarily surprised by her sister's question. "I... yeah, I can ask her that, 'Tia. What do you want her to write about?"
"Anything. Anything at all. As of late, the letters from her and her friends have been increasingly rare, and it's always about something they've learned that involves friendship."
"But... that's what you asked them to do."
The white alicorn sighed and slowly shook her head. "I know, but I've been stuck dwelling on what you told me a few days back. About how, 'If we can't love all the ponies for the rest of time, we'll simply have to love them lots while they're still here'. With these friendship reports, I've been treating them more like subjects than..."
"Than what, Celestia?" Luna peered across the table at her sibling, visibly concerned. It wasn't often that her sister was moody like this.
"Well, I should be treating them like ponies, like my children, but... I haven't been. And I need to fix that."
"But why can't you just ask her yourself?"
Celestia hesitated repeatedly, opening her mouth and quickly closing it before glancing away from her sister. She seemed to struggle for the right words to use, but she eventually found them. "Well, it's... not that simple, Luna. I don't know Twilight Sparkle like you do. To her, you're just Luna. There are no titles or anything else, you just... are. But for me, I'm Princess Celestia, or her teacher. There's no real sense of informality, and because of that, things are more... oh, what's the word?"
"...distant?" Luna blinked momentarily, bringing a hoof to her chin as she eyed her sister.
"Yes, distant. It's just not the same. I may have known her longer than you, but you know her better than I do. That's why I need you to ask."
The dusky alicorn nodded and stood up, stepping away from the table and giving her older sister one last look. "I understand. Is there anything else you'd like me to ask of them?"
"You can ask any of them that same question, if you'd like. I wouldn't mind getting letters from all of them, and I'm sure you wouldn't either." Celestia's frown slipped back into a faint smile, and she took a quick sip from her own cup of coffee. "At the very least, ask Twilight Sparkle to write me more often. Just promise me that much."
"For you, Celestia? Anything."
"Thank you. Get a move on, Luna - you don't want to keep your guests waiting."
Luna nodded in return and quickly proceeded out the door, leaving the dining room and leaving Celestia to finish breakfast by herself. Alone once more, the white alicorn returned her attention to the newspaper in front of herself and began to skim through it. One article in particular caught her eye, and Celestia leaned down to get a better look at it.
The staff of Equestria Daily would like to apologize for several false and harmful rumors that we've been publishing over the past few weeks. We have nothing but the utmost respect for Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and we apologize for not verifying the validity of any rumors that involved them.
With a smirk, Celestia set the newspaper down and slowly shook her head.
"Oh, Luna."
-----
"She's late again."
"Yep."
"She's always late."
"Mhmm."
Upon hearing that, one of the guards let out a groan of frustration. Being given guard duty over Luna's guests had been exceptionally easy work, but it was also exceptionally boring. They had been standing here for hours now, patiently waiting for the Princess of the Night to arrive so she could bid her guests farewell - and she had yet to show up. It had been enough to truly test the patience of one of the guards, and his comrade had repeatedly calmed him down and kept him in line, though that was quickly becoming more and more difficult to do. Clearly irritated, the young stallion turned towards his fellow guardsmen and shot him a glare. "Why are you always so nonchalant about this?"
The other guard, an older stallion by several years, paid no real mind to his comrade and simply sighed. "Because it's our duty to serve the Royal Sisters, not to question their every action and word."
"Princess Luna has been late every single day she's been scheduled to meet with her guests. Every single day!"
"Princesses Celestia and Luna have breakfast with one another every day, regardless of the situation. You seem to continually forget that. Mind your tongue and stand at attention."
"No, I will not mind my tongue! I've had enough of this! Proud as I may be to serve Princess Celestia, her sister makes a... a mockery of the Guard! I see her out in the training field sometimes, laughing as she watches the recruits run through their drills! Not only that, but the complete disregard she and her 'Night Guard' have for etiquette and procedure is disgraceful! It's a complete and total mockery of everything we and Princess Celestia stand for!"
Still in the midst of his tirade, the younger stallion had failed to notice the arrival of Princess Luna, who currently stood at a distance, watching in silence with an amused look upon her face. The older guardsman knew she was there, of course, and he gave her a brief yet subtle snuffle as his way of acknowledging her presence - the dusky alicorn nodded and smiled faintly in return, even as the two guards continued their conversation. "Well then, considering how much emphasis you seem to place on etiquette and procedure, it might pain you to know that Princess Celestia has been attempting to be as informal as Princess Luna, and with a fair level of success. She also seems quite a bit happier as well. And besides, I fail to see what Princess Luna's activities within the training field have to do with anything."
"Isn't it obvious? She's spying on us!"
"...spying on us? And what makes you say that?"
"She's always out there with a pad of paper and a pencil. Just sits on the grass and watches, jotting down notes or scribbling things. If you ask me, she's looking for weaknesses in the Guard."
The older guard sighed and slowly shook his head. "Weaknesses in the... oh please tell me you're joking."
"I'm not! I've read about it too!"
A softer voice soon joined in on the conversation, though the younger guard seemed to pay it no mind at all. "Did you also read about how fat Princess Luna's flanks are from all the donuts she eats?"
The younger stallion let out a boisterous laugh and quickly nodded. "Oh yeah, I remember that! Got quite the donut addiction, too! She's starting to get awfully tubby - serves her right, if you ask me."
There was a soft sigh of disappointment, and it was enough to draw the younger guard's attention, though he quickly regretted doing so. His face instantly paled upon seeing Princess Luna, though the alicorn seemed to be staring at her own flanks with a frown. "...they're not that fat, are they? I mean, I only said that as a joke. I didn't think you'd take it seriously or anything."
"Your flanks look quite fine, your Majesty - even a little thinner than your sister's, if I do say so myself." The older stallion grinned and even chuckled a bit as he watched Luna give him an embarrassed stare.
The young Princess certainly hadn't been expecting an honest answer out of either of the guards, and she found herself blushing at the apparent compliment. "...um, thank you... I think? And what's this about my sister's flanks?"
"Ah, that." He chuckled once more and slowly shook his head, the grin never leaving his face. "'Tia knows that some of the guards take peeks, but she never does anything to stop it. Truth be told, I think she kinda likes it. Reminds her that we're still ponies, instead of stone statues."
All of this was rather new to Luna, and she briefly took her time to process it. "So... my sister knows that you all take peeks at her and she does nothing to stop it? And she even lets you all call her 'Tia'?"
"Lets us? Your Majesty, Princess Celestia encourages it."
The Princess of the Night blinked, surprised to hear such a thing. It seemed her sister was far more successful with informality than what she originally thought. "That's... new. The guests are still inside, though, yes?"
"They are, your Majesty. Been patiently waiting for you. Shall I let them know you're headed in?"
"The fanfare won't be necessary, but thank you. Though, I have to ask... is he going to be alright?" Luna pointed a hoof at the younger guard, who was still staring at her, his mouth agape. Ever since he had noticed her, the younger stallion had yet to utter a word, and it was starting to become rather concerning.
"...I'm sure he'll be fine, your Majesty. At the very least, seems like you shut him up. Just head in, and I'll take care of this." The young Princess nodded and gave a brief bow to both guards before proceeding through the doors and into the barracks. As she disappeared inside, the older stallion leaned over and smacked his comrade on the cheek. "She's gone now, you know."
The younger guard quickly shut his mouth and looked back at his counterpart, a frown upon his face. "...h-how long was she standing there?"
"A while."
"A-and you didn't tell me?"
"Nah. Wanted to see the look on your face."
There was a soft sigh. "...You're a jerk."
The only response was a low chuckle.
-----
As Luna strode into the barracks where her guests had been staying, the first thing she noticed were the suitcases. At the foot of each bed was a single suitcase, though the sole exception seemed to be Rarity - the fashionista had brought six. It seemed they had all been packed and ready to go for quite a while, and had simply been waiting on her. Such a thing caused the dusky alicorn to feel slightly guilty, though she quickly dismissed it as she greeted her guests. "I apologize for making all of you wait for me, but my sister was rather... talkative this morning. One thing lead to another, and I've been stuck with lots of little delays. However, after everything all of you have done for me, I simply had to see all of you off."
Her last statement confused some of them, and Pinkie Pie stepped forward, her head tilted as she stared at Luna. "But we haven't really done anything at all. You're the one that's done all the work!"
"On the contrary, Pinkie - you've all done a great deal for me. First and foremost, I have a request for all of you on behalf of my sister. Celestia talked with me earlier and essentially said that... well, that she's been lonely."
Celestia's own student took a step forward, and Twilight Sparkle raised an eyebrow as she looked at the young Princess. "But... Princess Celestia never sounds lonely in any of the letters I've gotten from her."
"Because you two only talk about official business. I've taken peeks at the letters between you two, and it's always about the kingdom, or it's a friendship report. It's never just about you two." Luna let out a sigh and slowly shook her head before glancing over at the lavender mare. "Truth be told, Twilight Sparkle, she misses you terribly. She has yet to actually tell me that, but I can see it from her body language, and how she perks up any time I mention your name."
"Oh..." Twilight's ears quickly flattened, and the unicorn looked away from Luna. "I... feel kinda bad about it now. I mean, I'm her personal student, and I didn't know any better."
"Don't worry yourself over it, Twilight Sparkle. Celestia's quite good at hiding her emotions, even from me. All she'd like out of you is some more contact - keep it informal, and treat her as 'Celestia' instead of 'Princess Celestia'. Think you can do that?" Luna smiled faintly, and it grew as the unicorn quickly nodded in return. The alicorn was quick to direct her attention to the other guests. "That goes for the rest of you as well. Just send me and my sister some letters every now and then. It doesn't matter how trivial you think it is, send it anyways. Besides, I'd kinda like to stay in touch with my um... my friends. Could you all do that for us?"
The Princess of the Night was given several enthusiastic nods of the head from all seven guests, causing her to smile widely. At the very least, it seemed like her sister's request would be easily fulfilled, and it also meant that she would get some extra letters of her own. Before Luna could dwell on it any further, a gentle tug on her ever-billowing mane caused her to look down. In front of her was Pip, and the little colt looked expectantly up at her. "Princess Luna?"
The dusky alicorn smiled at him and gave his head a gentle pat. "You don't have to call me that, Pip."
"I know, but... I was wondering if I could get a hug before we leave, and I wanted to ask nicely."
"A... hug?" She blinked, momentarily confused - in all her years, every display of affection had been directed at her own sister, with the sole exception being Twilight Sparkle. Even that had only occurred once or twice, and never again. Still, these were her friends now, and from what she had been told, giving out hugs is what friends did. "Oh, I don't see why not. C'mere, Pip."
The obvious differences in their heights made a traditional hug impossible. Instead, Luna dropped down and simply laid upon the floor, and Pip quickly trotted over and threw his forelegs around her neck. The dusky alicorn placed a single foreleg around him, pulling him into the hug and causing him to laugh. Before she could do anything else, another pair of legs wrapped around her, and then another. It was a rather comical sight, to see the Princess of the Night quite literally buried in ponies, but she certainly didn't mind - these were her friends, after all.
Afterwards, the Princess and her seven guests simply spent what was left of their time chatting, telling various stories. Some were from the camp, some weren't, and each was a tale worth telling. The Bearers spoke of the various adventures they had all been on, as well as the lessons they had learned. Pip told the others of how he ended up traveling from Trottingham to Ponyville, and Luna told all of her guests about herself and her sister.
Slowly but surely, the guests began to leave - Rarity was the first to depart, and only did so after vowing to visit the young Princess the next time she was in Canterlot. Next was Fluttershy, and the yellow pegasus gave the alicorn another hug before grabbing her bag and making her way out to the waiting chariot. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash both left shortly afterwards, and both ponies promised to send something extra when they sent the first letter to the Royal Sisters.
When the next chariot arrived, it was time for Applejack and Pip to leave. They both apparently lived near one another, and the orange mare promised to make sure that the colt made it safely home. Pip seemed especially reluctant to leave, and the pinto colt galloped over and gave Luna's leg a hug. "I don't wanna go, Luna..."
The Princess of the Night tilted her head and peered down at him, an eyebrow raised. "Why not?"
"'Cause I had a lot of fun, and I dunno if I'll get to see you again."
"Oh, Pip..." Luna sighed and lowered herself to the floor once more, a faint smile upon her face as she looked him in the eye. "All you need to know is that... no matter where you go, what you do, or how many years pass, I'll always be there by your side. If you ever look up at the night sky, and you see the moon and the stars, just know that I'm there with you. Besides, I'll be visiting Ponyville again for Night Mare Night."
The small colt looked up at her and sniffled. "...promise?"
"I promise."
Pip nodded and gave Luna another hug before turning and trotting over to stand at Applejack's side. The orange earth pony was carrying both of their bags, and gave a quick wave to both Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna before heading out the door. As Pip followed her out the door, the dusky alicorn let out another sigh and got to her hooves. There were only two of them now - herself, and her sister's student. As they waited for the last chariot to arrive, both ponies spoke at length about various topics.
"...so that's why you were acting and speaking like that when you visited on Night Mare Night."
"Mhm. 'Tia thought it would be rather funny. I obviously disagreed."
"I'm guessing you got back at her?"
"Ohh yes. Make no mistake, Twilight Sparkle, my sister and I are both pranksters at heart. After I got back to the castle that night, I snuck into Celestia's room with a tube of whipped cream and a feather."
The lavender mare audibly gasped and giggled, shaking her head. "You didn't!"
"I did! Put the whipped cream on one of her hooves while she slept, then tickled her face with the feather. She ended up smearing it all over herself."
"And what did she say the next morning?"
"Well, I showed up for breakfast, and-" A rather low cough interrupted Luna's train of thought, and both ponies looked over to find one of the guards standing beside the doorway. It seemed the last chariot had arrived. The dusky alicorn slowly nodded and looked at the unicorn. "Well, I guess this is it."
The lavender mare let out a soft sigh and slowly nodded as well. "Guess so. Luna, I just... wanted to thank you again for everything you've done this week. I had a lot of fun."
"As did I." Luna paused for a moment before continuing. "You'll... still write to me, won't you?"
"Of course I will! I've been doing it anyways, so there isn't much of a reason to stop." The unicorn's bag was already levitating in the air, and she slowly made her way towards the door, only to stop and look over her shoulder at the alicorn. Luna's expression had already become rather solemn, and it caused Twilight to frown slightly. "Luna? Is something wrong?"
"It's just... well..." The Princess of the Night sighed and slowly shook her head. "I never expected it to be this difficult to tell somepony goodbye."
"It's not goodbye, though. You'll see all of us again on Night Mare Night, right?"
Luna blinked, slightly confused. "Well... yes, but I'm not seeing how this isn't a goodbye."
Twilight Sparkle simply smiled in return. "If you're seeing us again, it's not a goodbye. It's simply a good night. Make sense?"
"I... suppose it does. In that case, um... good night, Twilight Sparkle."
"Good night, Princess Luna. See you on Night Mare Night!" The lavender mare gave one last smile before trotting out the door, leaving Luna by herself to think over everything that had happened over the past week. It had been a whirlwind of activity, but she had come out of it with several new friends, as well a few lessons learned. With all of the experiences still fresh in her mind, the Princess of the Night turned and left the barracks, trotting through the halls of Canterlot as she made her way back to her room. Her journal would certainly be getting some more use today.
As the alicorn trotted along, her hoofsteps echoing off the marble pillars, she muttered something under her breath. It was far too low for anypony else to hear, but that didn't matter - what mattered was that she heard it, and she certainly did.
Luna simply sighed in return and nudged the door to her sister's room open, a letter in her mouth as she trotted in. It had been a week or so since the end of Luna's summer camp, and both sisters had been busy since then - the younger sibling had since returned to holding court at night, and surprisingly enough, both of them had been seemingly swamped in requests from the citizens of Equestria. Even the night court, which was typically a slow and boring affair, had been quite busy.
There was a silver lining to all of this, of course. The Bearers and Pip had already begun to send letters in, and simply receiving one was often enough to brighten their day. When the first letter had arrived, Celestia had been absolutely giddy, and the white alicorn had hastily torn open the envelope and yanked the letter out. Since then, the two sisters had made it a habit of getting together whenever one of them received a letter, and they would simply read them out-loud. Some of the letters had even come with a little something extra - Pinkie Pie had the tendency to include cookies with her letters, and Pip would often include a doodle or two of his own creation. Celestia often joked that Pip had picked up such a habit from Luna, but the younger sibling never denied it.
Luna walked over in front of her elder sibling and placed the letter down in front of her. "This one's a little more special than the others."
"Special? Special how?" Celestia had already levitated the envelope up and began to inspect it, and she quickly raised an eyebrow upon spotting something. "...it's got your wax seal. This is from you."
"Mhm. Open it."
The white alicorn did as told, breaking the wax seal and pulling out the letter within it. Not long after, she unfolded it and began to read.
To my dearest sister,
I'll admit, I was skeptical when you first told me your idea about opening a summer camp. All I could think was how it was going to end in disaster, and how it would further tarnish my reputation. I'm glad you won out in the end, because I ended up making six new friends. Six!
Sure, some of the activities didn't really go as planned, but I'm okay with that. If everything had gone perfectly, I think the camp actually would have been rather boring. I learned a great deal from my guests, though I'm still slowly figuring out just what I've learned - all I know is that I've come out as a better pony in the end.
To finish up this letter, I'd like to do three things: First, I'd like to thank you. You were simply trying to help when you first proposed the idea of a summer camp, and you ended up doing just that when I went along with it. Thanks for being the best sister a pony could ever hope for.
The last two things are actually two requests. For the first request, I'd like you to come with me to Ponyville for this year's Night Mare Night. I don't think many of the citizens of Equestria have ever seen both Princesses at the same time. Besides, I think it'd be quite fun! You spend too much time holed up in this stuffy castle, and that's saying a lot when it's coming from me.
For the second request, I'd like to formally ask to make Pip my apprentice. Now, I know what you're thinking - Pip isn't a unicorn, and so he's completely incapable of practicing magic. While that may be the kind of apprentice you have, that's not the kind of apprentice I want. Little Pip has a very unique and special gift, and if you'll excuse the pun, he seems to be quite bright in regards to astronomy. I'd like to help him hone his talents. For all we know, he may very well end up making some very big discoveries.
With love, Luna
"Well?"
Celestia looked up from the letter, only to find herself staring at a grinning Luna. "Well what?"
"The requests."
"Oh! Well... you drive a hard bargain, Luna..."
"...Celestia."
"In regards to both requests, little sister? Permission granted."
The dusky alicorn let out a squeal and threw her forelegs around her sister's neck, giving her a hug. "Thank you, 'Tia! Thank you so much!"
Celestia snickered and slowly shook her head as she hugged back. "You know you didn't have to ask for my permission, right? You're a Princess, after all."
"Oh, I know. I just wanted to do it anyways. Makes me happier when I know you approve of something." Luna grinned and broke away from the hug, standing back and looking down at her elder sibling. "I suppose I'll go to Ponyville tomorrow to break the news to Pip and his parents. And... I suppose you'll be coming with me on Night Mare Night too?"
The white alicorn briefly looked away to peer at the calendar that hung upon her wall, and as she turned back towards Luna, she grinned.
