“Oh, good. You’re still here.” Twilight Sparkle’s voice echoed around the library in a cheery fashion, as if the library knew and approved of her, glad to see its owner return to evict the unwelcome guest. The near-horizontal rays from the setting sun illuminated Laminia in shades of fire making her charcoal-grey coat appear as a colorful pegasi with orange coat and blazing hair sitting sullenly in front of the overturned chest.

“Princess Luna wants you over at the ice cream shop right away. Pumpernickel dropped in—literally—and she wanted to talk to the both of you. I need to take a quick shower, so just let yourself out and I’ll pick up the… mess.” The librarian could not help but look at the overturned chest with the heap of disorganized papers, but the squelching noise of sticky hoofprints in her wake forced her into the bathroom for that promised quick shower. Forty-one and a half seconds of hot water later,(*) she emerged back into the library to find the Nocturne mare had seeming not moved a muscle.

“Laminia? Are you feeling all right?” Twilight approached the mare with a great deal of trepidation, and considerable thought about her relatively volatile temperament. The Book of Tradition in this chest had been dumped onto the floor and the chest showed signs of damage, but all the papers seemed to be intact. If she had gone unhinged, it seemed to be the ‘lightly’ variety. For a long moment Twilight thought about making a quick trip up to her room to grab the copy of The Publication Manual of the Equestrian Psychological Association she had tagged with various Nocturne observed behaviors before throwing the thought forcefully away. Laminia did not need a chapter out of a book, she needed a friend.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” The mare stood abruptly and moved for the library door, her motions becoming slower and slower until she stopped completely. “Yes. A little.” She moved back to the inverted pile and picked the book off the top, shoving it at Twilight Sparkle with an abruptness not appropriate for a thousand year old diary. “Copy this.”

“If it’s part of the Book of Tradition for this family, so it’s going to get copied anyway.”

“No. I mean I want a copy of this to go into every single Book that the families pick back up. All of them. And one for Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. And Cadence. And a copy for me. And Lumpy. Make his copy first. Make him read it, even if you have to sit on him.”

“What about you?”

She turned back to the library front door like a prisoner facing her execution. “The Princess wanted to see me. We serve the Princesses. I’m going.”

“Then I’m going with you.” The librarian caught up with Laminia even as she opened the door to leave, the upended chest and stack of papers reassembling themselves in a violet aura that was complete by the time the door closed behind them.

Twilight talked all the way back to the ice cream shop while Laminia put on her listening face. It was amazing how much the librarian talked. It was like every time she exhaled without a book in front of her face, words came out. It came as no surprise to Laminia that during the week she had been sequestered in the boutique with Rarity, accomplishing zip, the big knucklehead had been obediently plowing away with the task Luna had ordered. Twilight had no end of praise of how good he was with the little fillies, or his concern for every step of the duplication and archival process, or even his latest interest in the variations between stories in the Books. The librarian’s praise irked her in some primal fashion. Deep within her heart, a tiny fanged monster wanted to leap out upon her competition for the affection of the handsome stallion and destroy her in a bloody swath. It felt like Jealousy, but why would it hold a place in her heart? She did not like the nut, his flaws were too numerous to mention and his positive attributes were nearly nonexistent. After all, he was just handsome, strong, caring, warm, honest in a stupid kind of way, good with foals—

She cut off the thought abruptly and turned her mind back to the goal she had been studiously avoiding for the whole last week: Fashion. The moon had begun to peek over the horizon and the stars started to emerge as they trotted, side by side on their trip. It made her think of the way Twilight Sparkle could be seen as the Sun and Moon together: Private protege of the Sun Princess and the pony who freed Princess Luna from her insanity, she walked a line between the two Princesses that was blurry and indistinct. Even her name drew from the contest between Dark and Light, making it unthinkable for her to be totally one or the other. In a similar way, all members of the Courts, both Day and Night held their own loyalty to both Princesses, not simply one. As much as the Nocturne clans made of their loyalty to Luna, they had a loyalty to Celestia that fairly crackled in their bones from a thousand years of service. Lines from the Day or Night court dress could merge and flow, each showing just which Princess they served, but the end result had to tie back into one unbreakable block. One key that fit one lock… no, that would not do.

They turned the corner next to the ice cream shop to see the entire street filled with ponies, all looking entranced at the sky. Silhouetted against the rising moon was Princess Luna, resplendent in her regalia and surrounded by her magical aura. Laminia’s breath caught in her chest. She had watched Celestia raise the sun many times, but this was as if she had never seen Luna before. A chord seemed to chime in her heart, the moment frozen in time impressed over her whole consciousness. If she could impress that feeling onto cloth and thread, the entire world would know of her majesty and power. Lunar light flooded the street to the awestruck gasps of the ponies, and finally the Princess glided down to a landing at the far end of the street.

“I never get tired of that,” said a deep voice somewhere to her left. “Hey, Lumpy. Your marefriend is here.”

“She’s not my… Look, she’s… Well. It’s complicated,” said a voice that her mind absently managed to identify as Pumpernickel. She turned to look at the three Guards, all sticky and covered in multicolored stains when something on one of their chests managed to catch the moonlight just right. It was like being hit by lightning all over again; a surge seemed to flow up her legs and hammer into her heart, she opened her mouth but nothing came out.

“Laminia, are you feeling alright?” Pumpernickel’s deep voice barely penetrated her mind. Her entire being was consumed by the pattern of darkness and light on the Night Guard’s armor.

”rarity.”

“Heh, looks like she needs reset. Hey Lumpy, you want to do the honors?”

“Oh shut up. Can’t you see something is wrong? Laminia, do you—” Something moved to block the moonlight over the pattern, forcing her hoof to raise up without thinking and shove. The pattern was still there. She called out again. “Rarity!”

The deep voice chuckled, “No, I’m Sunny Meadows. Rarity is a bit lighter in color with a horn. Why don’t you—”

The Night Guard shifted position and the pattern vanished. She grabbed him by the pauldrons of his armor and shoved him back into the moonlight. ”DON’T MOVE! RARITY! COME HERE NOW!”

The crowd noises around her stopped, and the delicate sounds of hoofsteps approached behind her. “Laminia, darling. Why do you have that nice Royal Guard pinned up against the building?”

“Look right there.” Laminia pointed with a trembling hoof.

“Oh, what a sticky mess. What do— Oh! I think I see.” A faint image of a white unicorn impinged on her peripheral vision as Rarity leaned forward.

“Now tilt your head to the right and look again.”

“OH! Yes! White satin for there.”

“Purple silk for there. And there. It will need a background.” Images whirled in Laminia’s head, threads and fabric combining in patterns that blinded her to the street and the rather nervous looks from the crowd.

“I found a darling bolt of fabric in Canterlot that may just work.”

“Let’s go!” Laminia bolted down the street, only to come to an almost immediate skidding halt. She dashed back to the three stunned guards and gave a quick kiss on the cheek to Pumpernickel, almost a brushing of the lips before blurting out, “I need to borrow him, I’ll bring him back!” Using her teeth, she grabbed Sunny Meadows by the ear and dragged him down the street at almost a gallop, the Royal Guard stumbling along in her wake and clearly unwilling to risk the loss of an ear by trying to stop.

“I’ll need a model too,” shouted Rarity, and a light-blue aura grabbed Redoubtable by one ear before the two of them went galloping down the street after Laminia in the direction of the boutique, making one of the strangest parades to be seen on Ponyville’s streets in ages(1).

Pumpernickel remained just standing there on the street in stunned silence when Princess Luna trotted up, the look of Royal Calm on her face nonplussed by the view of two of her Royal Guards being abducted for purposes unknown.

“My trusted Royal Guard. Would you care to explain what just happened?”

“She kissed me.”

The Royal Gaze traveled from a rather distracted and sticky Pumpernickel down to Twilight Sparkle, who promptly added, “And she didn’t kick him in the head this time.” The gaze continued until Twilight added, “I think inspiration struck your designers.”

“Indeed,” said Luna with a dry tone. “If it struck that hard, it should have left a crater. Rusty Pin, please attend to my Hoofservant and ensure they are not lacking for any materials or assistance.”

“Of course, Your Highness,” said the rust-red pony, looking entirely too pleased with himself as he trotted off happily down the street after his adopted daughter.

“Guard Commander Buttercup. Please move your security perimeter to the outside of the boutique and ensure my designers are not disturbed. Any more than they already seem to be, that is.”

The elderly Commander seemed to just appear out of the shadows and bow, his yellow eyes glittering in the moonlight. “Of course, My Princess. I have a detachment already in position prepared for this eventuality. I do not anticipate any difficulties.”

“Good,” said the Princess with a nod. “Go with them. Pumpernickel, Twilight Sparkle, please attend us. We wish to have a private conversation with you.”

The white-haired Guard Commander hesitated before departing. “If it pleases Your Highness, I shall detach a security contingent for your personal protection while I am—”

“All right now, you heard the Princess,” came a small voice in the crowd. “Members of the Office of Correspondence and drivers, please report back to the carriages. We will be sending you back to Canterlot once the seating checklist is complete. Don’t forget, we have a party scheduled for tomorrow after the last Book is copied. Be prepared to stay late.” The small pegasus filly buzzed around the back of the crowd much like a terrier herding cattle as the unicorns of the OoC began to filter back to their transportation. “And the rest of you citizens, go home and give Princess Luna some privacy please.” Turning to the Commander, Scootaloo saluted sharply and announced, “The perimeter is secure, sir!”

The Night Pegasus Guard Commander stood, seemingly frozen. “Thank you—” He broke off and glanced wide-eyed at his Princess for help.

“She’s a Guard Trainee,” whispered Twilight.

“She?” The elderly Night Pegasus remained nearly as frozen in place as Pumpernickel, while a square-peg idea rattled around in his round-peg mind.

Thank you, Guard Trainee Scootaloo. That will be all, Commander.” Luna watched as the citizens dispersed to their nighttime residences and the Canterlot unicorns all trotted off to their transportation while the stunned Guard Commander staggered on his way to the boutique, supported by two of his (male) guards. In a remarkably few minutes, the street was empty except for one Alicorn, one unicorn, and one very sticky Night Pegasus.

“Ahem.” Princess Luna gave her best Royal Stare at Pumpernickel. “Did you have something to say, my most trusted Night Guard?”

“She kissed me.”

“Eww,” muttered Scootaloo. “That’s disgusting.” Dead silence(2) filled the street until the little pegasus filly cleared her throat. “Sorry, Your Princessness. I’ll just… wait over here.”

“It’s not my fault,” said Pumpernickel, slowly coming up out of his daze. “Oh, the Commander’s gone. That’s good, I thought—” He came to a slow halt as Princess Luna’s presence soaked into his awareness. “I’m sorry?”

“Twilight Sparkle, has my guard served his sentence to your satisfaction?” asked Princess Luna, looking very stern.

“Yes. Um, no? I mean yes he’s been very helpful around the library and teaching the others about his family history but we still have a day’s worth of work. Pinkie Pie will be throwing a party tomorrow after the last book is copied, maybe after then?”

Princess Luna nodded. “Very well, Twilight Sparkle. You may have the use of Our Guard for an additional day and night, after which he will be returned to his duties in Canterlot.”

“What about Laminia?” The question seemed to hang in the night air as Pumpernickel wondered just who asked it. Oh. That was my voice.

“What of her?” The Princess turned, a sheen of moonlight glinting down her horn and face as she favored the guard with a piercing look. “She shall remain here with Lady Rarity to work on the task which she has been assigned, a task which she has neglected for an unconscionable amount of time. Do you have any objections?”

He started to open his mouth, pausing in the moonlight at the impassive look on Luna’s face. Everything she said was true, Laminia had disobeyed Luna’s Royal command, she could be rightfully banished or punished to a far greater degree than to be told to remain at her task. “We serve the Princesses,” mumbled Pumpernickel with head bowed low and ears flat.

“Very well then. Twilight Sparkle, once you have completed your task of copying the Books of Tradition and the copies have been properly archived, I will release you from Our service back into the exclusive care of my sister. I will find another member of the Royal Court to remain in Ponyville and supervise the Night Pegasi families as they return to pick up their Books. We see no need for you to be troubled.”

“You’re not going to meet with the families when they return?” There was that voice again. He was certain it was not his, but it sounded just like him and emerged while his jaw was moving, so it must have been.

“We said we see no need.”

“I agree,” said Twilight with a shudder. “They all seemed so cold when they were dropping off their books. Present company excepted. Although present company did break some bookshelves.”

“No,” said Pumpernickel somewhat distantly. “You can’t do that, Princess.”

A chill breeze seemed to blow down the street as Luna turned to her guard. “I fail to see any reason why my presence is needed to accomplish this simple task.”

“Are you blind?” There was that voice again. Is that me? If the voice did not belong to Pumpernickel, certainly the anger that Princess Luna generated certainly did.

“What did you say, Guard?”

Pumpernickel had never done well in front of crowds. The hardest speech he had ever given was when he spoke in favor of the Night Guard swearing exclusive loyalty to Princess Luna in order to help her with the troubled time she was going through. And that turned out so well.

Now it seemed that not only was he the focal point of an angry alicorn princess, but that every single star in the sky was looking down on him with barely-leashed rage. He dropped to the ground on the cobblestoned street with a squishy, ice cream saturated thud and put both forehooves over his head in supplication. He felt a faint crackling across his back as the sticky ice cream dried almost instantly under the Lunar Diarch’s gaze.

“Speak. We command it.”

His tongue had frozen to the top of his mouth in self-defense of his mind and all of his attempts to free it were in vain. The warmth of the sun still infused the cobblestones beneath him while above him the icy stare of Princess Luna held his top half in its arctic embrace. He gave a valiant swallow and managed to rasp out, “Twilight.”

“What?” The purple unicorn looked back and forth between the flattened guard and the angry alicorn. “I don’t have the answer. Oh, is this a test? Like, ‘List three reasons why Princess Luna should be in Ponyville when the Nocturne families return for their Books?’ Well, you are their Princess, and the Nocturne clans take a great deal of pride in their history, their Books of Tradition go all the way back to the night they were… made.”

Twilight Sparkle gave an introspective look at the suddenly uncomfortable Princess of the Night. “Is that it? You’re embarrassed about—”

“NO” Luna turned abruptly from Twilight and came face to face with a suddenly petrified Lickety Split, holding what looked suspiciously like an itemized bill. Without a single nerve impulse from his brain, the earth pony reversed his forward motion, climbing backwards up his front steps and vanishing inside the ice cream shop with a faint ‘click’ of the closing door.(3)

“No,” continued the Princess in a much lower tone of voice, sounding more like ground glass. “I am not embarrassed about my creations. I am quite proud of them.” She glanced down at Pumpernickel. “Most of the time. Is that not correct, my loyal guard?”

“That is true, my Princess,” came his somewhat muffled response. “You are not embarrassed, you’re afraid.”

“WHAT?” The glare from above intensified and Pumpernickel could swear he smelled burning hair from his suddenly warm coat. “Why, pray tell, would I be afraid of my loyal Nocturne, who have waited over a thousand years for my return?”

He could not say it. She was his Princess. Even when she was wrong, he could not rub her nose in it like some disobedient puppy.

“I-I think I understand,” said Twilight hesitantly. “Princess Luna, I think I understand now why all the Nocturne were acting so peculiar when they brought their Books of Tradition into the library. And I understand why you don’t want to meet with them. And I understand now why he wants you to meet them so badly.”

“Enlighten us, Twilight Sparkle. Your Princess commands it.” Princess Luna’s voice was flat and devoid of any emotion at all, making Pumpernickel shiver and sweat at the same time.

“Well.” Twilight looked conflicted as if it were a verbal exam conducted in a foreign language. “Consider this. Suppose it had been Princess Celestia who had been possessed by Nightmare and banished to… the sun a thousand years ago, and freed last year. What would you think if your sister merely sent you a letter, requesting that you mail your diary to her? What if she did not want to meet with you at all, after you had spent a thousand years away from her?”

“Why! That is…” Luna spluttered in frustration. “It’s wrong! Celly would never do that!”

“Two hundred and thirty five families,” said Pumpernickel quietly from the ground. “They waited for you for a thousand years. I’ve seen what they wrote in their histories this last week, as the centuries passed and you went from their Princess, to their legend, to their myth. They stayed steadfast in their oaths to your sister, and remained intact to wait for you. Would you cast that loyalty aside?”

“No!” snapped Luna. “Very well then, your argument is sound. I admit my failure in judgement, and will meet with your families as they pick up their Books. Will that make you happy?”

Pumpernickel shook his head and remained face-down on the ice cream shop bottom step. “That’s not good enough. Even the Night Pegasi within the Royal Guard had doubts about your return. They saw you every day, but could only think of you as Princess Celestia’s sister, a long-lost Princess, not the creator of our race. I might have too, until you did something that brought it home to me. I’m sorry.”

“No.” Luna had slowly paled as her Guard spoke until she was forced to turn her head aside. When she did speak, her voice was barely audible. “I cannot. Let it die, let that part of my history fade away and be forgotten.”

“As long as we live, we bear witness to your power,” Pumpernickel recited as if repeating a well-memorized text. “Our very flesh and blood were made by you, we but reflect your glory as the moon doth reflect the sun. None would dare call you mother to our race, but it was by your actions we were born, it was for your sins we shall serve the Crown in the hope of redemption until the last star goes out and the sun gutters into darkness.”

The guard looked up with tears flowing down his face. “Can’t you see? None of the Nocturne expected you to return as mere mortal flesh if at all after all these years. There must be hundreds of Laminia’s out there, each one expecting you to descend from the sky wreathed in glory and set right whatever wrongs they imagine. And you sent them a note.”

The Princess of the Night had turned her head away from the painful words, but a ripple of shame flowed through her on that last frigid syllable. “I-I cannot. You do not understand. Don’t make me do this.”

Pumpernickel laid his head back down on his hooves. “Of all the Night Guard that followed us to the ruins of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters that damnable night, none cary doubt in their hearts. If there was only one good thing that emerged from that night, it is this: Your Night Guard believes in you, and knows you are truly our creator. Our loyalty to you has never been in question, but now we know. There is no doubt in our hearts.

“I am sorry for causing you this pain. I only ask that you look into your own heart and see the truth. With your sister, you are the rulers of the entire nation, but by yourself, you are also… I don’t know.” All the energy seemed to flow away from Pumpernickel and he slumped until a light weight touched his shoulder. It patted gently, making little sticky noises in the leftover ice cream residue until he looked up.

“Part of your family?” asked Twilight Sparkle with a sniff.

“Yes,” he replied, still prone on the ground. “One that they have not seen in many, many years.”

The moonlight was blotted out over Pumpernickel as Princess Luna moved forward to touch him on the other shoulder. A sense of power and purpose seemed to flow through her, and the ethereal breeze that flowed through her mane made it stream behind her like a banner.

“It must be done in that cursed place. Not all of the families at once, no. It would feel too much like that first night. I shall speak with your families as they return for their Books of Tradition in small groups with my Night Guard at my side. I shall speak with them at the place of their ancestor’s creation, and of the pain I caused from my fall to weakness and corruption. They shall know all of it, and they shall know the joy their loyalty has brought to us. It shall be… Traditional.”

Twilight Sparkle spoke softly, “I know Princess Celestia would be more than willing to stand with you for support. It will be difficult, but I know how much she loves you. In a way, they are her family too.”

The three of them remained in the moonlight, listening to the distant noises of the night until Princess Luna sighed. “I must apologize, my loyal guard. Your heart was in the right place, although your words were lacking. We must schedule your time among some of our diplomats, so that your—” Luna paused as if she had bitten into a lemon “—advice may be better phrased.”

“Apology accepted, My Princess, although the slight was minor and does not warrant an apology. Um… Just one thing.” The Night Guard seemed to wriggle about on the ground for a moment before looking up. “Two things actually. It is Traditional to ask the eldest mare in the family for permission to pursue a romantic engagement with a young mare in their family. Might I have your blessing to… um… well…”

“Pursue my Hoofmaiden, I presume?” Luna sighed with a slight giggle of released tension. “This Tradition should remain within the family of the mare, but since she is my own Hoofmaiden and without a Traditional family, I suppose we can make an exception in this case. Yes, you have my permission. I will no longer attempt to separate you two with dreams. It was a very frustrating experience anyway. What was the second thing which you wished to ask of me?”

The Night Guard struggled for a moment but remained with his chest firmly against the bottom step of the ice cream store. “Could you help me up? I’m stuck.”

(*) Source: The Lost Dissertation - On Water Conservation and Equestria. The result of several months worth of difficult research showed how reductions in showering time for ponies (41 seconds) and baby dragons (105 seconds) would result in great savings for the government in water treatment and heating costs. Unfortunately the presentation to Princess Celestia in the Royal West Bathroom and Tub Complex was spoiled when Twilight Sparkle slipped on some soap and fell into the Princess Bubble Bath and Backstroke Tub. Luckily she was promptly fished out by a well-trained team of bath attendants, but at the regrettable loss of the only copy of the dissertation amid the acres of suds.

(1) Excepting the Great Onion Festival Parade of 4 A.P. (After Pinkie)

(2) Both Princesses could generate a silence measured at a negative decibel rating, but only Luna was able to make one that would stick with a pony for up to eight hours.

(3) When a Royal Courier dropped by to pay the bill later, a substantial (with a comma) tip was included from Princess Luna’s personal funds with a notation of ‘Apology fee.’