Lucifer groggily opened his eyes as the sun rays hit his face with a vengeance. Despite the fact that he did not require any form of rest he simply felt exhausted. The fact that his former comrades were residing in the castle he was living has kept the fallen angel from falling asleep.

Lucifer tried to adjust himself in the bed, an act that was considerably harder than usual thanks to a certain blue alicorn. Luna sighed contently as she nuzzled Lucifer's neck, her hooves tightening around him ever so slightly.

Looking down at Luna, Lucifer could not help but smile softly. She looked so calm and content. Lucifer wanted nothing more in life but to see Luna happy.

"At least someone is having a good time," Lucifer silently whispered to no one in particular. He wrapped his arms around Luna, feeling the rise and fall of her chest, the heat of her breath on his neck, and the velvety touch of her coat. Lucifer managed to free his wings from under his back and encased himself and Luna in a black, feathery cocoon. The warmth of his feathers earned a sigh of content from the both of them.

After a while of rest Lucifer felt Luna shuffling next to him. Luna's eyes fluttered open, looking up and meeting Lucifer's gaze. Lucifer smiled before kissing Luna on the nose.

"Good morning, princess."

Luna hummed, pecking Lucifer on the lips.

"Good morning to you too, my little angel."

"Former angel," Lucifer corrected.

"Hmm, depends on who you ask…" Luna replied groggily.

"You're too cute for words, you know that?"

"I had a feeling."

Lucifer chuckled, shuffling in bed. "Well, as much as I would love nothing more than to continue this playful banter, I have a shower with my name on it, so…"

Luna sighed before releasing Lucifer from her grip. Lucifer hopped off the bed and stretched, his wing tips almost touching the opposite ends of the room. He turned to face Luna and asked, "What about you, Luna? You coming?"

Luna shook her head. "I think I will sleep in for a little longer."

Lucifer nodded, mainly to himself, and entered the lavish bathroom adjacent to his shared bedroom with Luna. Lucifer enjoyed a thorough shower before stepping in front of the mirror above the sink. The former angel inspected his reflection, paying close attention to the scars he had around his eyes, a permanent reminder of his failure to conquer heaven and a personal symbol of shame.

"Really? I need to shave again?" he spoke to himself. Lucifer looked at the straight razor lying on the counter next to the sink and shook his head. "Maybe some other time. I can't be bothered right now."

Making sure his teeth were brushed, Lucifer stepped out of the bathroom just in time for Luna rose from their shared bed.

"Bathroom all yours, Luna. I'll be heading for the dining hall and make sure our… ugh… 'guests' are not doing anything stupid."

Luna giggled before giving Lucifer a brief kiss and walking past him.

"I'll meet you there shortly. Try not to strangle our guests."

"I make no promises," Lucifer replied as he exited the bedroom and made his way towards the dining hall.

During his walk there Lucifer let out a pulse of pure energy, undetectable by ponies since it did not rely on their own magic but rather, his own unique one. After a few moments of nothing noteworthy happening, Lucifer sent out another, stronger, pulse. Lucifer's eyes shifted for a fraction of a second when he picked a tremendous amount of force being centered inside the very place he was heading towards.

"It seems that my 'friends' are already up and about, joy," Lucifer grumbled, walking a bit faster. The gears in his mind worked overtime as he tried to come into grips with recent events. God was playing another one of his little games and Lucifer had no intention of participating. Sending the six archangels who hunted Lucifer down during his insurrection is more than infuriating, it was demeaning. Lucifer was better than that.

Lucifer ignored the two guards that stood vigilant next to the door leading to the dining hall and practically went through it if one of the guards had not pushed the door open.

Lucifer ignored the stares as he made his way to his seat next to Celestia, only…

"This is my spot," Lucifer spoke coldly, looking down at Michael.

"That is odd," Michael responded, "I did not see your name written on it."

Lucifer raised his brow. Did Michael just back talked to him? The kid had more balls than what Lucifer gave him credit for, but ultimately, he was playing with fire. "That's because if you don't find somewhere else to sit, I will carve my name into your skull."

Michael adjusted himself in 'his' seat. "If you think even for a moment that I am afraid of you than-"

"Michael, find another place to sit!" Gabriel's voice rang across the hall, gaining the attention of the two rivaling angels.

Michael clenched his fists under the table before taking a big breath. He stood up from the seat and chose to sit next to Gabriel.

That's right cub, learn your place…

Lucifer sat next to Celestia, who watched the entire thing unfold while reading the morning newspaper.

"Good morning, Celestia. Sorry that you had to waste your precious time next to that uptight prick."

Celestia chuckled. "I lived for more than a thousand years, Morningstar. I think I can survive a few minutes."

Lucifer huffed, glaring at the others. "Unless they stab you in the back," he muttered.

"Pardon?"

"Oh nothing, just the rumblings of a tired man. Say, did you finish reading the newspaper?" Lucifer asked.

"Why yes. Do you want to read?" Celestia levitated the newspaper towards Lucifer. The fallen angel took the newspaper from the air and willed a pen in his hand before opening the newspaper on the very last page and putting on his reading glasses.

"No, I just enjoy solving the crossword puzzle," Lucifer answered as he started scribbling down. "A place of eternal punishment, eight words… hmm.. ah! Tartarus!"

"Hey Lucy, what's up with the glasses?" Azrael asked. "I thought Angels don't need glasses."

Lucifer rolled his eyes before addressing Azrael. "You see Azrael, when one's eyes were gouged out, most violently I must add, it would sometimes cause medical issues down the line. I'm only grateful that I need only reading glasses."

That seemed to shut Azrael up as the room lapsed into an awkward silence. The six archangels stared at Lucifer as he deliberately ignored them, jutting down on the newspaper. Meanwhile, Celestia took advantage of her distracted guests to inspect them in detail.

Raphael and Azrael sat together, the former whispering something to the latter while the latter merely nodded, only half listening. Looking closely it was apparent that Azrael's attention was easily distracted, seeing as he often glanced across the room and follow the intricate tapestries that lined the walls of the vast room.

A glance to the other side of the table revealed Gabriel, Uriel and Cassiel in deep conversation, the three occasionally glancing towards Lucifer and Michael.

And speaking of Michael…

The man glared at Lucifer as if in the hopes it would be enough to physically hurt him. Celestia sensed that the two shared a much deeper past than what she initially expected. She wondered why Michael called Lucifer a traitor. She only knew bits and pieces about Lucifer's past. Any attempts to bring the subject up before Lucifer was met with the same results. Lucifer would claim that he would rather forget the past and instead focus on the future, and then he would change the subject.

The air was so tense that even the guards that lined the walls of the hall fidgeted uncomfortably in their places, so it was with little to no surprise that when Luna strutted into the hall every eye turned towards her.

"Apologies for the delay," Luna declared as she made her way to her seat next to Celestia and Lucifer. "I had… important business to attend to."

Lucifer cracked a smile. He knew that by 'important business' what Luna actually meant was that she had taken her sweet time in the bath. Lucifer's smile grew when Luna pecked his cheek after she sat down next to him.

"So, now that we are all present-" Celestia started, clapping her hooves together. An impressive amount of chefs and butlers came through a side entrance to the dining hall, carrying all sorts of foods, "-Dig in!"

Lucifer watched with curiosity as the archangels grabbed whatever suit them fancy and started eating in earnest, the only one who did not take anything was, of course, mister stick-in-the-ass himself.

"Is there a particular reason why you are not eating anything, Angel Michael?" Celestia inquired, eating a spoonful of cereals. Today was her cheat day, and she was going to abuse it indefinitely.

"Angels do not require sustenance, we do not gain anything by eating," Michael replied.

"Still, it is not polite to turn down your hostess, especially since we will be staying here for the foreseeable future. And besides-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold the phone! What do you mean by 'foreseeable future'?!" Lucifer exclaimed, cutting Cassiel off. "You're not actually thinking about staying here, do you?!"

"We are." Cassiel cleaned his mouth with a napkin before continuing. "As from this day until further notice, you, Lucifer Morning star are under the watch of the forces of heaven and will be confined to this world until your punishment is decided."

"This is ridiculous! An outrage! I have been pardoned by God himself!" Lucifer rose from his seat, his blood boiling.

"You have been pardoned for your actions against God and the kingdom of heaven, Lucifer!" Cassiel exclaim, rising from his seat as well. "But you have committed atrocities against mortal-kind! This is not up for debate! Or-" the other archangels rose from their seats. "You would rather have your punishment here and now…"

Silence.

Completely and utter silence.

Both Luna and Celestia stared curiously at Lucifer, who seemed to be glaring at the others, but despite his efforts to hide it, the princesses saw something else under the mask of fury.

It was dread.

Anxiety.

Petrifying fear.

"I… understand…" Lucifer finally said, sitting down. The others followed suit.

"Splendid!" Cassiel smiled as if nothing has happened. "Believe me when I tell you Lucifer that I want nothing more than to see you happy."

"Oh really?" Lucifer asked skeptically. "Where was this empathy when I was hunted down like an animal?"

Raphael sighed, facing Lucifer. "Please Lucifer, try to see it from our point of view. You are our brother. It tore us apart when we had to fight you."

Lucifer scoffed, sending a nasty glare towards Raphael. "I have no brothers." Lucifer looked down at his plate before rising from his seat, looking down at Luna, who looked up at him with worried eyes. "Excuse me. I need time to think."

Instead of walking out of the dining hall, Lucifer turned into a shroud of black smoke and embers and passed through the windows, disappearing from sight.

"He didn't really mean that, did he?" Azrael asked, looking sadly where Lucifer was last seen.

"Lucifer is simply mad because he believes that he has permission to do whatever he pleases," Uriel replied, taking a sip from his cup of tea. "He is, however, gravely mistaken."

"I am sorry to interrupt your conversation," Celestia started, gaining the attention of all six angels. "But what Morningstar did to force such a response?"

"I am sorry princess, truly, but we are not allowed to speak of it with others," Cassiel replied.

Luna stood up from her seat, looking around before finally setting her gaze on Celestia. "I will look for Morningstar, I hope you can understand, Tia."

"I am, sister, may fortune favor you." Luna nodded and gathered her magic, and with a flash of blue, Luna teleported away.

Author's Notes:

Here's another chapter for you guys. We are starting to get into the deep waters now. Soon Lucifer's past will be revealed.

Will this revelation affect Luna's love for our favorite fallen angel?