After the summer sun celebration, I thought a lot about Princess Luna. Even though she wasn't my sister, seeing how they had an entire celebration for Princess Celestia, sealing her away in the moon for the past thousand years, it felt wrong. The best way to describe how it made me think was offputting. It made me feel awkward, even more so when her birthday was approaching, and as I went about my duties, it felt like no pony cared; in fact, it dawned on me that no pony even knew she existed for centuries!? Princess Luna has been here for quite some time now, and there was more than enough time to remedy that. So that morning, I went to the balcony to address the citizens of Canterlot's recent events and various other matters. I decided to drop something. "Next week is my sister Princess Luna's birthday, and I plan on hosting a celebration here at the castle!"
Everypony was surprised by what I said, and they all talked amongst each other. I took a minute for the noise to die down then continued, "I know many of you still have reservations about her being Nightmare Moon. Let me reassure you she understood fully well she was in the wrong, but the blame doesn't fully lie on her shoulders. I realized deep down that I failed as a sister all those years ago, and I have been trying to make up for her mistakes since her banishment. My sister's life deserves to be celebrated, so we're throwing a birthday party for her here in the castle! That is all!"
The crowd started to murmur amongst each other about the celebration, being spur of the moment and somewhat confused. Still, I continued, "I understand that this is sudden, but I will make sure things run smoothly. I will need assistance making preparations."
I left the balcony and went to perform many of my other duties, but I was surprised to see Luna walk over towards me with a worried, downtrodden look on her face. She slowly raised her head and whispered, "You didn't have to do that."
I bent my head towards her and whispered, "Of course I did; Celestia has been making plans for a birthday party for you for a while, and in the past few years since your return, you denied it. Well, this year, things will be different."
"But why I…" she came closer then whispered, "I'm not really your sister; this isn't your responsibility."
"I believe it is while I am in your sister's horseshoes."
"You don't have to; it's not your fault."
"But it's too much. I don't want a big party."
"It doesn't have to be; we can invite a few friends."
"Like?"
"Um, you know Twilight and her friends, we can get Pinkie Pie to help decorate and set up something nice, you know?"
Princess Luna's expression on her face seemed to soften as she replied, "It sounds better the more you talk about it."
"I hope it does. I hope I'm not stepping on your hooves, but I feel that this is necessary."
The princess of the night whispered, "Well, that's all right. Let me know if you need help."
"Of course."
I felt abit worried maybe I was overstepping some boundaries. But deep down I knew that this was what Princess Celestia would have wanted. I then trotted down to the throne room, sat, settled myself above, and continued to hold court.
The next day, I flew off into the air and headed straight towards Sugarcube Corner. Upon landing in Ponyville, many of the ponies started to bow respectfully. I tried to remain inconspicuous, throwing a hoof to get them to rise back up as I briskly trotted to the cafe. Upon entering the door, I saw many patrons, all instantly stopped chatting and turned towards me. I raised my head and whispered, "I apologize for intruding. I came to see Pinkie Pie."
Then I heard somepony shout, "The princess wishes to see me!?"
She hopped over and came right up to me as she hugged her hooves around me. Despite the uncouth behavior, I smiled down at her, wrapped my wings around the mare, and laughed, "It's good to see you, too!"
The pink earth pony looked up at me and chirped, "What is it!?"
I then looked around, seeing other ponies slowly eating and eyeing me, and I started to realize I was making a scene. I then bent down towards Pinkie Pie and whispered. "Why don't we talk in private?"
"Sure! Why not come to my room!?"
"Of course, we shall discuss this matter in your chambers."
I then trotted up the cafe's stairs and entered Pinki Pie's beautiful bedroom. It had a lovely bed with a blue comforter, bright yellow walls covered in balloon stickers, and chests filled with various party supplies. As I looked around admiring the decor, the pink party pony turned towards me and chirped, "So what do you come to see me for!?"
I straightened myself, trying to be as regal as possible, raised my head, and said, "I have come seeking your aid of the utmost importance."
"Oh, let me guess!? Discord returned and flooded Canterlot with cotton candy, and you need somepony to gobble it all up!?"
I blinked, then snapped, "What? No."
"Oh, you need me to host a super fun party for another lost relative!?"
"Well, close, but…"
"Oh darn, wait…" she wiggled as her mane exploded, and she gasped, "Oh, you need me to throw a birthday party for your sister!?"
I was rather surprised by her ability to guess the right answer, so I asked, "Did you hear the news?"
"Nope! It was my Pinkie Sense. I'm sorry I would've gotten the right answer; I was frazzled when you asked me to host a birthday party for a princess!"
"Well, it is a lot of responsibility. You can turn it down if you cannot handle the stress."
"What and lose out hosting the biggest birthday party of the year!?"
She bounced over and started taking out a large notepad, then said, "So tell me everything I need to know about her, likes, dislikes, what she wants for a birthday party."
I took a pause because I wasn't fully aware of what I wanted, but I replied, "Alright, I'll do my best."
I took a seat on Pinkie's bed, pulled my mane back, and started to go over everything I could about Princess Luna and how to make this party as good as possible.
Over the next week, I took a lot of time to work on the palace itself. It started to look like a massive birthday celebration, and I couldn't be more proud or accomplished. Then the party started with dozens of ponies coming over from all sorts of life. The castle was buzzing with nobles with drinks, snacks, games, and a massive birthday cake decorated in a dark blue frosting and with a thousand candles placed on it. I looked among the guests, thanking many as they approached me, and then the room became quiet. I looked across the grand hall and spotted Princess Luna strolling into the room. She wore a beautiful dark blue dress covered with silvery stars and moons. Her mane was done in corkscrew curls around her head, and her eyes were aglow with wonder as she looked around the place, seeing how beautiful the decorations were and how stunning everything was. Princess Luna slowly came over and faced me, tears in her eyes, "this is so beautiful, thank you. You seriously didn't have to do this for me?"
"You would do the same for me, so I'm returning the favor."
"Well, it was thoughtful, and I'm glad you did it."
"So what shall we do first!?"
"How about we party!" Pinkie cheered. She threw her hooves up as silver and blue confetti blasted over them. DJPony3 rose on a platform and started blasting beats from massive subwoofers, and the entire castle boomed as it shook with each beat. I started to dance to the music, shaking my flank and throwing my mane back as I danced alongside my sister. We shook to the beat hoof to hoof and started to dance through the night. It was wonderous and made me feel so happy and enjoying myself letting go of being regal for a night.
After a few hours of dancing, we turned to a massive birthday cake pushed out towards Celestia's sister, who stood before it and started to blow on them. As she did, she shoved my face into the cake, and I squeaked, feeling the frosting hitting my muzzle and making my wings fling out in surprise. I then took a handful of cake and shoved some into Luna's face, making everypony gasp. We laughed, faces covered in pastry as we chowed down and nuzzled each other. After cleaning up, we opened the presents, and she revealed many boring ones, such as dresses and jewelry. When she got to my gift, she unfurled, revealing a journal. It was the journal she and Celestia had when they were foals, and she looked over, flipping it, and tears filled her eyes. She threw her hooves around me and hugged me close as I held her back, and then she whispered, "sister I wish you to come upstairs."
I was abit surprised by the request as she rose up and exclaimed, "I apologize but I wish to retire with my sister for the evening please feel free to continue enjoying the festivities."
With that, we got away from all the noise and trotted up to my sister's bedroom. As we strolled through the doors, she closed them tightly. Then she turned her attention towards me and gave me a nervous look as she whispered, "Now we can talk alone."
Seeing her this way, I was a bit concerned as I asked, "Yes, anything on your mind?"
"First of all, I appreciate everything you did for me throwing that party, the gift…all of it…"
"Thank you, but most of these ideas stem from what your sister wanted. I'm only doing as she would wish."
Luna turned towards me and said, "I understand. In truth, I do not know why my sister has you as her proxy…I talked about it with her, and she was vague about what she was going to do or why. But everything you've done, everything you've been doing…you have been going above and beyond the call of duty, and I appreciate the efforts to not only be a princess but also my sister."
"I…I am glad to see your appreciation of my efforts to maintain the royal status in her absence."
"Now, since it is my birthday, I do wish for one more gift, and it may seem abit uncouth."
I eyed her and asked, "Yes?"
Princess Luna looked up with a fearful look in her eyes as she asked, "Would you cuddle with me?"
I took a step back, astonished by the request, "Cuddle?"
She started to rub her front hooves together as she explained, "Yes, I…I have had issues with intimacy with my sister still since my banishment, and I wish to feel her warmth…but I've been too nervous to ask her. I feel asking you in her form would help ease me in asking her one day for this request."
I could feel my cheeks burn from embarrassment, and I started to feel fidgety, with my tail whisking back and forth. I wondered if I should deny the request because of how awkward it was. But deep down, I felt that Celestia would want me to grant her this desire. So I gulped, sucked down my instinct to deny it, and stammered, "Well, um…if that is all, I don't see why not?"
Celestia's sister then undressed herself and threw herane back as it unraveled into the long streaming mass of dark blue starry mane. She then lay underneath the blankets and snuggled deep into the sheets. I then slowly placed myself next to her, digging under the sheets. As she turned her back towards me, I wrapped my wings around her tightly. We lay there close. I could feel the heat of her body press against mine as she nuzzled my neck, and we lay together as we lay in her bed as I pressed my muzzle into Luna's mane. I slowly closed my eyes, embracing the feeling and being in this moment. It was awkward, feeling abit too interment, but there was nothing sexual about it, just the desire to feel close to somepony Luna had lost touch with. I sniffed her mane, smelling of lavender and rain; those were my last thoughts before drifting off to sleep.
I could hear the pitter-patter of rain outside my window, thunder crashing, and lightning creating a flash of light outside. I slowly raised my head, my mane falling over me as I awoke. I looked around the room and saw it was relatively small, with a few chests filled with clothes, my other loose belongings, and pictures of the child drawing of herself with her sister. She then heard a shout, "Tia!"
The filly turned towards the bedroom door as it flung open, and a young blue-coated alicorn filly ran into my room, her dark purple mane waving over her with her teal eyes with tears filling her eyes. I looked over at her, groaning as I rubbed my eyes, then said, "Luna, what's wrong?"
The little filly started to tear up as she rubbed a hoof over her eyes and cried, "Tia, I can't stay awake alone; the thunder and lightning, all of this is so scary."
Celestia held a hoof, waved it, and said, "Sister, it's alright, come here."
My sister quickly trotted over and crawled into my bed. She snuggled beside me, slowly edging towards me, and I let my wings drift over her. She whispered, "Why is Starswirl insistent I stay up all night? I hate it."
"I know; I'm sorry; it's a part of the training to become the princess of the night."
"It's not fair! It's so lonely and horrible; I'm always tired. Starswirl is making us study and practice magic, and we barely get to play with each other anymore."
I thought about all my magic training yesterday and whispered, "Starswirl cares, but I agree with you—he's being too hard on us."
The thunder crashed, echoing and reverberating across the castle, making Luna cry as she hugged me and I held her. I could feel my sister shiver beneath my touch as she whimpered and cried. I brushed her mane and hushed her, whispering, "It's okay; I'm here."
"Tia, promise me you'll never leave me. You'll be there for me if I get scared or alone."
I could feel my sister close and being so vulnerable I didn't honestly know if I could keep that promise but bent close and whispered, "I…I promise…"
The shaking subsided as my sister nuzzled beside me and whispered, "Thank you."
I brushed her mane and lay with her in my bed with the gentle pitter-pat of the rain hitting my window. I laid my head back on my pillow and felt my eyelids grow heavy as I fell asleep.
I woke up with the light of the moon shining through my window and feeling Luna stir next to me. I realized my dream was another memory, a flashback to when Celestia was a filly helping her sister during a rough night. It was so vivid once again, and it felt like I was really her in her horseshoes. I looked to see Luna was gone, and I was lying in her bed alone. I got up, went to my room, showered, got my mane done, and fed Philomena. I went out through the Grand Hall, seeing many ponies fast asleep strewn about from last night's partying. I gently flapped my wings and flew over them as I raised the sun outside. Afterward, I trotted back to Luna's room to see her with a tired smile. "Morning."
"Morning."
She trotted over and then gave me a nuzzle as she whispered, "I saw your dream."
I sighed as I went to her bed, plopped my flank down, and said, "I don't think it's a dream, I think it's a flashback… I'm starting to believe that whatever this spell makes me have these vivid memories of your sister…first it was when Philomena was sick a month ago, then last night when we were lying together."
Luna looked concerned as she said, "I believe that these memories are a side effect of my sister's spell upon you. I wouldn't worry about them."
"Yes, I don't mind them, but I feel like I'm prying into private things."
Luna shrugged, "Don't get me wrong; my sister lost her right to some privacy when she turned you into her proxy."
I couldn't help but laugh and nod in agreement. I then laid my head back and let out a sigh, "I guess, but still, it feels off as I know deep down I'm still just plain old North Star, but at the same time, I could feel myself truly believing I'm Princess Celestia."
"And that's perfectly fine," the princess of the night whispered as she snuggled up next to me. This time, she wrapped her wings around me and hugged me close, her thick, feathery wings folding around me. She then pressed her face into my mane, rubbing her face into it. As she whispered, "Don't take this wrong, but you can be my sister any day."
I nuzzled back, and then, seeing I was firmly in Luna's embrace, I sighed, "Don't I have some royal duties to attend to?"
"Oh hush, it's still my birthday; just lay here with me and wait until I'm asleep, okay?"
"Alright….goodnight Luna."
"Goodnight, North Star."