Chapter 5: Prologue 5

Luna didn't know how long she waited at that table, eating those snacks, and listening to the buzz of insects in the garden.

And she was fine with it, she was tranquil.

Sure, she would much rather be in a dark room with the blinds closed, reading a book about two stallions who went on a quest to save a friend of theirs from the clutches of an evil wizard, The action was mesmerizing and the story was dramatic and catching.

It's not Homoerotic Smut, she promises.

"Princess Luna, I apologize for my late arrival," And now the tranquility of the morning was gone, replaced with the white unicorn prince, standing next to the other chair of her table.

"You do not need our permission to seat yourself, Blueblood. You are just as royal as we are," She told him, and Blueblood took his seat at the other side of the table.

Unfortunately, thanks to her current short stature, combined with the fact that the wheelchair that Celestia has given her was shorter than the other chairs at the table, Princess Luna was forced to crane her neck upwards in order to look the prince in the eyes.

"Just a moment," He spoke before moving his chair to sit diagonally from the Princess, no longer forcing her to look over the table to see his face.

"That is better, thank you," She spoke, and Blueblood smiled.

"No problem Luna," He said as he levitated himself a biscuit and dipped it in a bowl of cream cheese.

She will have to try that sometime.

"But if I could, I would like to start off this day of ours with a small feast," He smiled to himself before clapping his hoofs twice, which seemed to be a signal for a group of maids to hurry over and bring with them another table, one that was thankfully shorter than where she was currently sat and was covered with an assortment of breakfast foods.

"Thank you, kindly," He told the maid as soon as the new table was set before them, they nodded their heads and quickly entered back into the castle, hurrying off to do another task.

It would seem that even after one-thousand years, Maids still worked hard at the most menial tasks.

Wheeling herself closer to the new table, leaving the snack behind, Luna got a better look at the food presented to her.

From fried eggs and omelets to pies and salads, the table was covered in food that would be vastly expensive for her to eat back when she still ruled.

"Agriculture and farming have progressed vastly during the centuries you were gone," Blueblood said once he spotted her expression, already cutting into the breakfast pie and placing a slice on his plate, "What was once an expensive delicacy can now be found at almost any household... Within reason, of course,"

Luna couldn't help but nod as she herself placed a large omelet with vegetables and mushrooms on her plate before pouring herself a glass of what seemed like orange juice.

"No! it wasn't Orange juice," Luna quickly corrected herself after she took a sip.

It was carrot juice!

"How?" She whispered, questioning how one could juice a carrot enough to fill a pitcher of juice, something which Blueblood clearly misunderstood as he started a short history lesson about the changes made to the farming of animals in the past 400 years, something he seemed to know a lot about.

Surprising from a prince such as he.

"Ah, I can see that you are questioning my knowledge, I assure you that I am not as, how shall I say this? Stupid, As I might seem at first glance," He told her with a small smile growing on his lips as he ate the unique breakfast.

"We did not question your intelligence, Blueblood, Merely surprised as to a prince knowing something that as you have portrayed seemed inconsequential," Luna told him, a small smile growing on her face as well as she took another sip of her orange juice.

"Ah, I apologize if that was the case, The other members of this city's elite seem to think that merely because my wealth comes from a blood connection, my intelligence must be that of a worm and my subtlety that of a brick," He took another bite and his smile grew three sizes, showcasing his clean white teeth., "Oh, how mistaken they are,"

And if Luna was questioning what the friendship between her and her sister's nephew was going to be like, Luna was now sure that it would be wonderful.

Oh how she loved to play with the high society of her old castle town, thinking that simply her being the younger sister, who has less social interaction with the masses, she must be easy to manipulate and control.

And then Luna frowned as she thought about what she did to those same nobles under the control of Nightmare Moon.

The rest of the meal went by with a subdued and awkward tone.

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Shining armor was many things, He was strong, he was protective, he was the captain of the royal guard, he was charismatic, he was the brother of both Princess Celestia's pupil and a Dragon, and he was also dating a princess.

What he was not, however, was great at improvising.

So when Prince Blueblood entered his office while wheeling around Princess Luna in a wheelchair, he didn't know what to do.

Was he supposed to kick him out? Was he supposed to invite him to stay? Was he supposed to ignore him and continue doing whatever he was doing beforehand? he didn't know.

Shining Armor counted himself as one of the few ponies working at Canterlot Castle who never had to interact with Prince Blueblood, seeing as their schedules and personalities were so drastically different, that even when they were in the same room, their interactions were minimal.

That does not however mean that Shining Armor did not know of the rumors surrounding Prince Blueblood and his acts. Calling him selfish would be an understatement.

Knowing not what to do, Shining Armor was forced to settle on the first course of action that entered his mind.

"Your Highness, I do-" Only for whatever words he was planning on telling the prince to be cut off as Blueblood pointed at him and nodded to Princess Luna.

"This is Metal Shield, He's the chief of security here, If anypony manages to sneak into the castle he will take the punishment for failing at his job, Now! Off to the room with the stars on the roof, Observatorium, or whichever name they chose for it." And with a few words, a giggle from the princess, and a loop of the wheelchair on his carpet, The two royals left.

Leaving not only the office but leaving the carpet with tracks from a wheelchair and leaving a confused expression on Shining Armor's face.

"...My name isn't Metal Shield," He mumbled to himself as he sank into his chair, looking at his hooves in bewilderment.

"He doesn't know my name..."

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After a number of long hours of being wheeled around the castle and being shown its more important rooms, From Metal Shield's office, to the balcony overlooking the entrance to the castle, and even the statue garden, where she spotted an old enemy still stuck in his stony prison.

"It is nice to see that even with Nightmare Moon and all the years we were away, Discord is still imprisoned in his stone cage." She thought to herself, a small smile on her face as she leaned back into her wheelchair, content to let the prince take her around.

"And now, the room I saved specifically for last, The Ballroom," And with a telekinetic push, the doors in front of her opened up to showcase a beautiful sight.

A large ice sculpture, made of black ice, sculpted into the shape of a gorgeous swan-like creature, A Unicorn horn was emerging from the bird's forehead, and an image of a moon and star was carved into its breast.

Beside the black Unicorn Swan, was another large sculpture, one made of regular ice depicting a white dove, also with a unicorn horn and the image of a sun on its breast.

"Those are..." She whispered in awe as she looked at the two birds made of ice, "Celestia and us,"

She heard Blueblood nod behind her, "It was supposed to only be the Moon Swan, seeing as this was your tour, but we had another block of ice to use, so I ordered a dove. Although I did not expect them to catch on to the theme and make it a Sun Dove, A happy coincidence it seems," Blueblood wheeled her over to a table in front of the two statues, one filled with more food. Mostly fruits and sweets it seems, but it mattered not to Luna what was served to her.

Because as she looked at the large black Swan of ice, she couldn't help but reaffirm to herself, That this new modern time she lived in wouldn't be so bad if she could keep being with her family and eating this expensive food, reading her captivating books, and hanging out with her Sister and Blueblood.

Her Friends.

"Are you crying? Oh dear me, please don't say that I did something wrong, is the statue not to your liking? Is it the fruit? I could get replacements immediately if you wish," Blueblood stammered out quickly, confusing Luna as to why he was acting so before she felt a droplet land on her leg, soon followed by another and another.

She was crying.

And Princess Luna couldn't help but smile joyfully as the tears rolled down her cheeks, as for the first time since she returned, it hit her.

She was no longer on the moon, She was no longer controlled by that nightmare, she was back with her dear Sister.

She was free, and so she cried.

And as she cried, her short light azure hair burst to life like ten thousand stars in the night sky, Her blue fur darkened to the color of the evening sky, and her body grew in size, breaking the wheelchair she was sitting in during the process.

And as she lay on the floor of the Hall, in the wreckage of her wheelchair, Luna could not stop smiling and crying.

Princess Luna of The Night was back.

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It was the end of the day, Princess Celestia just finished reading the friendship report her dear student Twilight sent her, and she was on her to meet up with her dear Sister and Nephew.

"Hahahaha, We are free!" She heard her sister's joyous laughter, her cheerful voice echoing across the castle.

Princess Celestia smiled, she knew letting Blueblood take care of her for the day would be a positive thing for her.

"Ah, Yes, You indeed are free, Though I do not believe you were forbidden from leaving the castle previously, were you?" And her smile only grew when she heard her dear Nephew trying in vain to understand the joy her sister was feeling.

And if Celestia had her way with the world, No pony will ever need to be put in a situation where they would need to feel such intense joy and happiness, least of all her own family.

And as Celestia entered the large ballroom, where in a month the Grand Galloping Gala will take place, she was nearly taken aback by the sight that was happening before her.

Two large ice sculptures, an untouched table with sweets and fruit, and a dark blue princess rolling on the floor with tears of joy in her eyes, her night sky hair leaving traces of stars and moonlight as it floated mistily behind her, powered by the magic that grew over centuries of life.

Celestia gently closed the door to the ballroom and went in a different direction, Her sister needed some time to readjust herself to her old body, and Celestia would not want to ruin her time- she paused as she felt a familiar grab of magic pull at her.

She quickly turned back to the ballroom and strode inside, in the direction of the magic.

Her nephew's horn dimmed as he saw her enter and the weak telekinetic grasp let go.

"Sister!" Luna yelled and threw herself onto Celestia, her melodic giggles filling the room, "We are free Celestia! We are finally free, How wonderful!" her horn glowed and Blueblood stumbled into her, joining in the impromptu group hug.

Celestia smiled, Her sister laughed, and her nephew tried to hide his smile underneath a grimace and a roll of the eyes.

It wasn't perfect, it might have been disjointed, they might not have similar hobbies, and Cadance might not have been there at that very moment, but the ponies who were hugging her were definitely, without any question or doubt.

Her Family