A cloud of green smoke gathered in front of Luna as a message written on a scrap piece of paper appeared.

Lulu.

Luna sighed and rolled her eyes, placing the note to the right edge of the table as she sat in the grand but quiet palace library. Surrounded by mounds of books that covered everything from history to scientific theories to history of scientific theories to scientific theories of history, she had no time for Celestia's games. And although she had already covered plenty of material from what she's missed, she still had a lot of ground to cover. The minor interruption snapped Luna out of the 'zone', per say... And she already found it impossible to re-focus. That's when another puff of green smoke appeared before her as another message appeared.

Lulu Pooloo.

Squinting her eyes, she shoved the little piece of paper in her mouth and ate it. Luna loved her sister. But although her playfulness did bring her a smile every once and then, she couldn't help but feel very victimized. Luna was the younger one, shouldn't she be the brat? No longer could she focus anymore on the text below her, her mind was too focused on Celestia now. And then another message appeared.

LUNA:
Love-able
Understanding
Noodle
Anteater

Frustrated, Luna tore a small piece of paper from her notes and wrote down her own message:

That does not even make sense. I am not a 'noodle,' nor do I eat ants.

With a small flash from her horn, the paper combusted into a green smoke and dispersed into thin air. Not a moment later, another cloud conjured up a message for her to read.

Look behind you.

"AGH!" she gasped, just as she felt hooves wrap around her upper torso and found herself lifted off of the chair. The bigger Celestia dangled the poor alicorn in midair.

"Long Luna is looooooooong," Celestia laughed, trying to contain the squirming subject between her hooves.

"STOP!" Luna shouted with revolt, but couldn't help but giggle, "COME ON!"

"You know I loove you," Celestia teased as snuggled her smaller sister, laying her back down on her chair. A death-glare soon followed from blue eyes. Celestia then straightened her neck and resumed to the reason of her appearance. "I actually came here to give you a minor political task to deal with."

"Oh... Oh! Really?" Luna's eyes widened as she enjoyed working with the political side of Equestria. It wasn't often that Celestia allowed her to deal with such things since her return, but both of them agreed that she should just take it easy for now.

"Mhmm. It seems Archpony Shiver Mist from Cloudsdale has put up a request for more water from Manehatton," Celestia said, her tone changing from playful to business-like. "However, she has claimed that they're behind on their provisions of water supply and that if it keeps up like this, the next winter will not have as much snow."

"Oh? And what do they want us to do about it?" Luna asked, looking a little confused.

"Well, Mayor Agni from Manehatton offered two scenarios: increase their water-consumption allowance or allow their filtering company to spread to other coastal cities," Celestia offered, looking at Luna with straight eyes.

"Seems a little more complicated and controversial than the other tasks you give me," Luna pointed out as a bit of nervousness and concern built up in her. She hadn't dealt with big tasks like this before, and she was afraid of what the citizens of Equestria would think of her from doing such political duties.

"Well it has been nearly a year since your return, sister. It's time you start amping up your contribution to Equestria's politics - is that not what you wanted?"

"Of course! Let me handle it," Luna answered, trying to put a bit of excitement and less concern in her speech. "But, what do you think I should do about the situation?"

"Look for a compromise. We know that other cities would frown upon both scenarios, but there will always be a way to deal with things. Listen to your gut," Celestia smiled, poking Luna's stomach.

"Ow!" overreacted Luna, quickly returning to her death glare.

"But this doesn't have to be solved immediately; the deadline for this bill to pass isn't for another three months," Celestia stated, noticing Luna already loosening her tense body language, "and I have companion for you, who you will meet tomorrow."

"Oh, you mean like a - a pet?" Luna gulped out; she felt excitement - and a hint of fear - take hold of her. Celestia nodded with a devious grin - something that often made Luna confused if she should be afraid or excited. "W-what is it?"

"You'll seee!" Celestia teased once again. Luna's eyes widened but the big paper-white alicorn turned away, trotting off with a little wiggle to her rump. And then Celestia stopped as if she forgot to tell Luna one more thing.

"Oh! I also came upon this, well, ad. I don't know who sent it but I guess it kind of caught me off guard," Celestia hummed, levitating an opened scroll to her sister. Luna stared at the piece of paper, and it read:

Are you cold?
Does your blanket keep falling off whenever you try to pull it on?

Look no further... Buy a Snuggie! A warm and soft blanket with sleeves!
It's like a sweater, but a blanket at the same time!
-Neighsbro Corps.

"Uh, what does this have to do with politics?" Luna questioned, wrinkling her nose, "or anything, for that matter."

"For thousands of years, we've had to choose between a nice warm coat or a nice warm blanket. Isn't it kind of strange that we've only come up with this sort of thing now?" the elderly sister asked with, for some reason, enthusiasm. Luna could hardly believe her interest in such a... thing.

"Uh..." Luna felt herself at a loss of words - dumbfounded at this, rather, awkward situation.

"Oh come on, sis! Lighten up a bit... And you've been up studying for the past few days without any sleep. Don't you think you'd look adorable in one of these?!"

"Yeah... I'll think about it," Luna answered sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Celestia let out a little mischievous giggle and finally trotted away. "Ugh, that mare..."

------

Early in the morning (and still without sleep), Luna found herself in the luscious gardens of the Royal Palace. A thousand years is a long time for anypony, but to Luna it felt... "Strange," she muttered under her breath. There was no other way she could describe it - it did not feel like a thousand years nor did it feel brief. All she could remember was turning into her, then what she could describe as a 'brief eternity,' and then reappearing as her former self back in Equestria. "That's the past now," she told herself, "it's best I look to the present."

With a small sigh, she tried to focus her mind onto her newly given responsibility. But even through her newly-given political task, Luna found herself more anxious for her upcoming companion; she would always have loved the company of another creature... As long as it wasn't too mischevious.

Pets were common to the ponies of Equestria: Celestia herself had that infamous phoenix who was known for being as humorous as its owner. But despite its devious personality, it still never failed to amaze any who so much as caught a glimpse of the legendary bird. A single feather felt warm to the touch and stayed that way.

Maybe my pet is just as elaborate, she thought to herself, immediately projecting images of various exotic animals in her mind. A pixie? Maybe... Maybe even a baby dragon! Or a... Well, maybe simplify it down to a kitten... Luna pondered, until she noticed her bright moon in the sky.

The moon had already begun to sink down the horizon; it was only a matter of a few minutes before her sister brought the sun. Luna was meant to sleep during the day but she found herself staying up to study, depriving her of sleep within the past while. Goddesses didn't exactly need sleep, but it sure did put a sense of relaxation to them. She stared at her precious moon for a last few moments before it finally disappeared under the western horizon as the great embracing rays of limitless lights appeared above the land from the east. Luna sighed and decided to head to her quarters for some shut-eye.

------

Lick.

Something like a soaked string streaked Luna's face, causing her to scrunch up her nose and groan in agony. She didn't want to wake up, but quickly fell back asleep.

Lick.

Again. But before she could open her eyes...

Lick. Lick. Lick.

Her eyes opened - she wasn't dreaming. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a beige cone-shaped muzzle accompanied by two solid black marble eyes. That's when a very thin tongue shot out of its mouth and licked her again. Oh no.

"Wha-UAAHH!" Luna gasped as she quickly stumbled out of her bed and dashed to one side of her room. "AAH! AAAH! WHAT IS THAT!" Luna screamed, pointing her hoof at the little creature that now occupied her bed.

"Shh! You don't have to scare him!" Celestia laughed who was by the door to Luna's room. A little basket with a few blankets was beside her - presumably the transportation used to carry the animal. "It's an anteater."

"No... NO! WHY!" Luna's wide eyes stared in disbelief at her sister.

"But just look at him, he's adorable!"

"AN ANTEATER?!"

"Shhh!" Celestia glanced over to Luna's new companion who was staring blankly at the two. Celestia was almost giggling out of control, but she was indeed holding back a lot of laughter. The look on Luna's face was, in fact, priceless.

Luna felt her tense body loosen as even she couldn't resist her sister's humor. She couldn't help but strike a little smile before giggling herself, even if her mind was mixed between "I'LL KILL HER" and laughter.

"I know it's a bit random," Celestia spoke through her laughs, "but I assure you, give him a chance. I'm sure you'll come close to this little fellow." Her gaze turned towards the anteater, still clueless and watching the confrontation. Luna let out a big sigh as the laughter died down.

"... What's his name?" Luna asked after a moment of catching her breath. She glanced over towards the anteater.

"Actually, he has none, Luna," Celestia answered. "In fact, he's an orphan," she added in, her voice lowering to a more grim tone.

"Oh... Oh!" Luna choked; she wasn't expecting the sudden turn in emotion. The eyes of the anteater, although were simple and circular, seemed innocent. But through the innocence, a strong sense of tragedy bothered Luna. Whatever it was, the animal knew it was looking at its new guardian - its new companion in the strange new world. It almost made Luna cry.

"So, what are you going to name your new friend?" Celestia asked calmly, already sensing a connection between Luna and her new pet.

"Well... Uh. I'm not good with names," Luna hopelessly mumbled, snapping out of her thoughts.

"He's your pet," Celestia added in, causing Luna to feel a little pressured. Luna was an intelligent pony, but brainstorming names wasn't entirely her profession. She thought back to her books, hoping to remember some names of historical figures or places. But there was nothing that entirely captivated her mind like Celestia's notes.

"Noodle. I'm going to name him Noodle," Luna proudly stated, a timid but bright smile appearing on her face. Celestia simply nodded and laughed, as if she somehow knew Luna was going to pick that name. Somehow.

Next Chapter: Luna's New Pet - Part 2 Estimated time remaining: 11 Minutes