Luna stood on her balcony watching the Sun go down with patience. Celestia had been in a particularly bright mood at dinner, and that was spilling over into a very beautiful Sunset. It was also going a fair bit slower than usual, but Luna wasn’t bothered. A couple minutes lost before entering the dreamscape wouldn’t hurt anypony, and the Sunset was gorgeous.

The Sun finally dropped far enough below the horizon to leave the sky mostly dark, and Luna turned to her first, and most important, task of the night. Her horn lit up as she reached out beyond the eastern horizon and found the Moon hanging there. Come on, Luna coaxed the lethargic rock, rise and glow!

The moon stirred languidly, as it was wont to do early in the evening, and Luna smiled fondly as she coaxed it again. The Moon peeked over the horizon, and then suddenly jerked toward the north as if startled. Luna frowned at the odd behavior, but was going to shrug it off when something leaped into the sky from just behind the Moon. It was large, round, rocky, covered in dark craters, and gave off a soft light of faint pink.

“That’s not my Moon!” Luna declared. She released some of the magic connecting her to the Moon and pressed it cautiously up to the pink one. The Pink Moon gave a little start at the magical touch, and then rolled back and forth across the horizon. It felt almost… playful. “Oh dear,” Luna said, shaking her head and applying more magic to the Pink Moon. It leaped higher, joyfully. “Yes, hello there,” Luna said. “Nice to meet you… strange Moon, but you can’t be here. I already have a Moon.”

Luna’s Moon rose up to match the Pink Moon’s elevation, shining with pride.

“See?” Luna said as she tried to push at the Pink Moon. “Go on,” she said, her voice straining a little with effort, “get out of here.” The Pink Moon didn’t budge, so Luna moved her magic over to her own Moon, moved it in front of the Pink Moon, and gave it nudge away from the planet. “Go home,” she said firmly. “Somepony must be missing you.”

The Pink Moon darted back into view and zipped toward the northern half of the sky. With barely a nudge from Luna, her own Moon made chase. The Pink Moon leaped up to avoid the charge, but Luna’s Moon looped around and smacked into it, sending the Pink Moon tumbling up and away until it disappeared from sight. Luna and her Moon waited for a few tense moments, but when the Pink one didn’t return Luna guided her moon back onto its normal path and released her magic with a grunt.

“Well, that was strange,” Luna declared. She went into her room, checked her clock, and gasped when she saw the time. “And now I’m behind schedule!” she wailed, throwing off her crown and shoes as she dove into her bed. The nightmares of the dreamscape wouldn’t wait on her before starting their assaults on pony dreams, after all.

By the simple facts of her talents and duties, Celestia had no choice but to be an early riser. Her day always began before the day itself, and she was perfectly trained in getting out of bed and putting her royal facade together with plenty of time to raise the Sun on schedule.

Alarm goes off and rings for precisely two seconds before her hoof silences it. Two blinks and a yawn, and then the bedclothes are cast aside and she steps out of bed and into her shoes. Necklace and tiara go on as she walks to the bathroom. Once her business is finished, she crosses her her room to the balcony and…

There were two Moons in the sky, one the usual pale white, blemish-free orb and the other pink and pock-marked, so close to each other as to be almost touching.

Celestia blinked. Blinked again. Rubbed her eyes and took a second look. There were still two moons.

“Well,” she said. “That’s new.” She cast a glance toward her sister’s balcony and, finding it empty, flew over and poked her head into Luna’s room. The younger alicorn was snoring faintly. “Luna,” Celestia said, her voice gentle but pitched just right to jolt Luna out of the dreamscape.

Luna sat up with a snort and looked at her sister. “Why are you on my balcony, Tia?” she asked groggily.

“I was hoping you could explain something,” Celestia replied, motioning for Luna to join her. Luna rolled out of bed, clumsily put her tiara on, and stepped out onto the balcony. Celestia pointed to the Moons.

Luna looked, and her jaw dropped. “Oh no,” she groaned. “It came back.” Celestia looked at her quizzically, and she returned the look. “Did you not notice?” Luna asked. “That Pink Moon showed up when I raised mine last evening.”

“I went to bed as soon as the Sun was down,” Celestia said.

“Well, I thought I managed to chase it away,” Luna said, “but apparently it thought the Moon and I were just playing.” She reached out to the Moons with her magic, and the Pink Moon responded by… cuddling up to Luna’s Moon, by all appearances. Luna’s Moon shied away and dropped toward the horizon a little. Celestia giggled, and Luna blushed. “I promise, I’ve done nothing to encourage that kind of behavior,” Luna said. “I’ll be more firm this time. Take steps to make it stay away.”

“Why not let it stay?” Celestia asked.

Luna boggled at her sister. “Let it stay?!” she exclaimed. “Are you mad, Celestia?”

“Isn’t it adorable, though?” Celestia asked, looking at the Pink Moon fondly as it tired to cozy up to Luna’s Moon again. “And so affectionate. It’s obviously taken a shine to your Moon.”

“Equestria does not need two moons!” Luna said. “Especially if one of them isn’t behaved enough to hold still.” She shot the Pink Moon a scathing look and pushed it away from her Moon, which she coaxed back onto its course and mostly below the horizon. “How do you think our subjects will react to seeing two Moons in the sky, anyway? I predict panic.” Celestia opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a scroll materializing in front of her. “Ah,” Luna said with a small degree of triumph, “and there’s Twilight Sparkle about to prove me right, no doubt.”

Celestia opened the scroll and read the contents aloud. “Dear Princesses. I hope this doesn’t sound too presumptuous, but I thought you ought to know that the local night owls and early risers here in Ponyville are, for the most part, in favor of the adorable new Moon that Luna is apparently taking for a test run. I’m sure you’re already aware of how adding a second Moon to the planet’s orbit will affect tidal cycles, but if you need help with those calculations I’m quite willing to open my schedule up for you. Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia rolled the letter back up and gave Luna a smug look.

Luna pouted. “I refuse to be pressured into this,” she said. “The night is my domain, and I do not want a second Moon in it.”

Celestia looked mildly disappointed, but shrugged and said, “You’re right. It’s your decision. Good luck convincing it to go away!” she finished in sing-song as she flew back to her own balcony, leaving Luna to contemplate the Pink Moon.

Luna grabbed the Pink Moon with her magic and pulled it away from its continued efforts to snuggle with Luna’s Moon. “Stop it,” Luna ordered. “You may be able to charm everypony else, but not me. You are irritating, undisciplined, and nopony asked you to come here in the first place. You have to leave. Go back home, wherever that may be.”

The Pink Moon quivered and turned its back on Luna, but didn’t move from its spot. Luna prodded it wit her magic, to no avail. She was about to push harder when she sensed… loneliness.

“Do you not... have a home?” Luna asked. The Pink Moon quivered. Luna sighed. “Fine,” she said. “I suppose you can at least rest here for the day. You have give my Moon space though, understand? We’re not used to company.” The Pink Moon bobbed joyfully and then dropped below the horizon. “Ok,” Luna exhaled, turning to go back inside. “The sky’s all yours, Tia,” she called over to the other balcony. “I’m grabbing a quick morning snack and going back to bed.”

“Ta-ta,” Celestia replied, waving at Luna’s retreating form. Growing serious, she faced the east and lit up her horn. Watching Luna deal with the stray Moon had put things slightly behind schedule, so Celestia decided to forgo some of the usual ceremony and simply lifted the Sun up over the horizon and set it on its course. Nodding with satisfaction, Celestia started to turn away, hoping to catch up to Luna at the breakfast table, when sh noticed a strange light out of the corner of her eye. Turning back, she saw two tiny, blueish Suns dart up over the horizon and begin to circle around her Sun.

“Oh...” Celestia said. “Oh dear.”