The princess of the night stood in a massive field of grass, wind was blowing down from the mountains in the distance. Large waves passed over the grass as she started walking forwards, in the sky she could see more than one moon. One was far off in the distance, while one was practically on top of the planet. In the distance she could see a mountain range, the sun was locked in a permanent twilight. It’s rays painted the sky with beautiful streaks of purples and pinks.

This was her favorite time of day, it was the time that both her moon and her sister’s sun shared the sky. Normally this was the place she would meditate in, a dream that she could access at anytime, tailored to be as relaxing as she wanted it to be. The soothingness of it allowed her to think over the difficult decisions that came with being a princess. She could think of no better place to go to deliberate over her recent revelation.

The alicorn trotted onwards until she came to a site that she was familiar with. A small pond, where a tree sprouted from the ground and hung over the calm water. Small cherry blossoms fluttered down into the cool pool of liquid, sending miniscule ripples across the mirrored surface. Luna sat down on the bank of the pond and leaned against the cherry tree, a sigh passed through her lips.

“Oh, what am I to do…” She asked herself, looking up at the two moons. “I have not felt this way before. How can I be so certain?” Memories of her visits with Dominic played out in front of her over the calm waters of the pond. When she saw him weep, she too felt the urge to weep, and when he smiled she couldn’t help but smile back. Luna shook her head, causing the memories to evaporate. In their place, swirling cherry blossoms were carried off by a breeze. “I must speak with Cadence, she is the expert after all.” Luna said resolutely, her thoughts turned to where she was currently asleep. The old castle.

She had not been in her old bed in a thousand years, and she had never dreamed of returning to the decrepit structure. Luna looked out over the pond, this time the memories were dark and unkind. She winced as she saw the days before her banishment, the notes and the letters, the burning hatred she had felt for her sister. A few tears rolled down her cheeks, she dispelled the memories with the same magic. They floated away on the same breeze as the before, off into obscurity. All but one of them. Luna froze as the blossoms whirled around, forming a funnel and touching down on the opposite side of the pond. Slowly the cherry blossoms became black, like locusts they swirled into a black cloud. Then she saw it, the beginnings of black hooves. Her worst nightmare was appearing before her eyes.

As the black alicorn took shape, Luna tried to use her magic to destroy the demon. She knew it was futile, for there was one thing that came with taming nightmares. She could tame the worst nightmare of a traumatized soldier, a victim of a violent crime was a walk in the park. However, she could not vanquish her own fears, her own doubts in herself. Luna did the only thing she could do, she turned and began running. The Nightmare gave chase, gnashing her teeth and trying to catch the frightened princess. For what felt like an eternity, the two went on in an unending chase. Luna was certain The Nightmare was getting closer with each passing second. She could hear thousands of voices whispering, telling her she was a failure, a nothing, a waste of space.

As Luna ran, she begged the dream scape to do something to save her. It obliged, and before her eyes the blossoms of the cherry tree began swirling into a massive vortex. The Nightmare paused to look at the sight, as did Luna. It soared high into the sky, the princess could swear it touched the very fabric of the stars. The vortex began moving towards The Nightmare, its powerful gusts pulling at her mane and tail. She could not escape, and with a powerful scream she was pulled into the vortex and sent out into the void where all nightmares went to die.

Luna watched the cherry blossoms dissipate, they fell like snow onto the landscape. At the center, she could swear she saw something. Before she could approach it however, she felt a gentle, spectral hand on her side.

“Luna… Wake up.” Said a baritone voice, a smile spread across her face. The princess took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

[♦]

Luna awoke to Dominic standing over her with a concerned expression, when he saw she was awake he visibly relaxed. Luna looked out the window and noted that the sun was setting, sending beautiful pinks streaks across the sky. It sent a smile to her face, she was never able to witness the coming of night in Canterlot. At least not in the same way she did now. Dominic followed her gaze and couldn’t help but smile as well. He’d seen sunsets like that on Earth, before the suffering.

“We thank thee for waking us, Dominic.” Luna said, snapping out of her trance. “We trust thine day went well?” Dominic nodded and looked back at her.

“Yeah.” Dominic stated, looking down for a moment. “The guards killed a Manticore in the library, they managed to get some pretty good meat off of it.”

“Thou didst not help them?” Luna inquired curiously, Dominic nodded.

“Too much blood.” He said quietly before shaking his head and looking at Luna. “How’d you sleep?” The man asked, discretely changing the subject. “Looked like you were having a bit of a scare.”

“All was fine, Dominic.” Luna replied, pushing the blankets off of her and stretching. Her regalia jangled a bit. “Remind us to remove our jewelry before we sleep…”

“Of course.” Dominic said with a grin, he cast a look out the window. “Shit.” He muttered under his breath. Luna raised an eyebrow, but before she could ask what was wrong Dominic had bolted down the steps. The princess looked in the direction where he had been looking and spotted his concern. The flag of The United States of America was waving in the breeze, the sun was setting. Luna stepped out onto the balcony and watched as Dominic got the attention of three guards. One of whom held a bugle.

Luna opened her wings and glided down towards them, she landed as the group of four started briskly walking towards the flag pole.

“I think I got them both right.” Said the guard with the bugle.

“Sorry I couldn’t do more than hum them, my dad never really taught me the notes.” Dominic replied before looking at Luna. He didn’t say anything, but nodded for her to follow. “I watched him do it enough times, I can probably get the commands right.”

“Don’t worry about it, the Equestrian ceremony is very similar.” Said the first guard, Luna recognized him as Major Night Owl, the stallion that would be in charge of the guard detail.

“I don’t get why we just don’t let it fly all night? It’s not a big deal.” Said the second guard. The glare he received shut him up within seconds.

“What, pray tell, art thou doing?” Luna asked in a somewhat serious tone, trotting up next to Dominic.

“Lowering the colors.” Dominic replied. “My dad always told me that we had to do it before sundown, otherwise it’s considered disgraceful. It could be total BS for all I know, but I’d rather not take chances.” As the group got closer to the flagpole within moments, Luna was going to stand next to Dominic. The man just gestured for her stand away, she nodded and complied.

The movements of the group became stiff, three ponies and a human marched up to the flag pole. Luna watched as Dominic gave several orders, she was too far away to hear them clearly but the effects were immediate. Night Owl and the other guard turned and faced each other, the flagpole was just beside them. The stallion with the bugle marched over and stood next to Dominic, a few moments later Dominic gave another order and Night Owl took the halyard from the pole. Silence reigned for a while before Dominic gave a subtle nod. The bugler raised his instrument to his lips and began playing a song Luna hadn’t heard before.

The princess watched as her guards stood in silence, her thoughts drifted to the flag that hung on the pole. It still whipped in the wind, but she could see that soon the sun would leave it. Luna had seen his love for his country first hand, she understood how important the flag was to him. At least, she believed she did. The mare hadn’t actually asked what it meant to him, but she figured it was something that he would tell her in time. The princess stopped her rambling as she saw the same subtle nod. Like before, the bugler played a song she’d never heard before.

“Present arms!” She was able to hear Dominic’s voice, for it was louder than the bugle. It commanded the attention and compliance of all those present. Night Owl began lowering the flag while the bugle played on, Dominic and the second guard stood silently saluting the flag as it descended the pole. When it reached the bottom Night Owl grabbed it, denying the fabric the opportunity to touch the ground. Dominic gave several more commands and the guards followed them flawlessly. Though Night Owl did have to correct him a few times, it still turned out well in the end.

Dominic took his folded flag into his arms and nodded to the guards, they nodded back and went to busy themselves with other tasks. Luna took this as the moment to step in, she trotted over to the man who was holding the flag and saw a smile on his face.

“Well, now that that’s done, I suppose you’re going to have to go back to Canterlot?” Dominic asked, looking at her. Luna nodded, letting a sigh escape her lips. “I can say that I understand, doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“We share the same sentiment, alas that is how things must be for now.” The lunar diarch stated, patting Dominic on the shoulder.

“You’re a good friend, Luna. With all that’s happened today, I’m glad to know I have you there for me.” The man pulled her into a hug. “You have know idea how much I would have given up in order to have a friend that’s half as good as you.” Luna nodded, though in her head Dominic’s words stung her heart like a million angered wasps. When Dominic let go of her, she put on a brave smile.

“We guess this is goodbye, for the moment.” Luna said, looking at the man. “Thank thou, for being such a good… friend.” With that, the alicorn took to the air. Dominic waved goodbye as she became nothing more than a dot in the distance.

The last rays of sunshine began to dwindle, and as the sun went down the night sky came out into light. It as dimmer than most nights, but Dominic, like most ponies, assumed it was because Luna had used so much power the previous night to create a wonderful spectacle. The man was certain that the next night would be brighter. He went to his room and placed his flag on the old desk, then went down to meet with the guards. They ate the meat, swapped a few jokes, and Dominic told them about his brush with the Redwood Wolf. The man cast a brief look at Canterlot in the distance, and as always, he hoped Luna was having a good night.

He had no idea how wrong he was.

Author's Notes:

Here's a bonus, cause I didn't know what to do with myself when I finished the last one early.

Like, Comment, and Fave if you want. Happy Fourth of July, again.