The Great and Powerful Night Owl [Luna]

[Deleted]

Luna smiled at her student's confusion and doubt. Clearly she'd seen something, which was good... but whatever she'd seen, she questioned its reality. "Only you can see the result of the spell, Trixe." the Princess explained, gently and reassuringly. "If you hast doubts, check the words on the scroll, clear your mind, and try again. We have time yet." After all, it had been a first try, and Luna wanted to give her new student every chance. It wasn't fair to expect perfection in an unfamiliar area of magic right away. The alicorn settled back on her cushion and sipped her coffee with the calm and relaxed air of one enjoying a break from the stresses of the day. She didn't look like a teacher, impatiently waiting. She didn't have the resigned and regal patience of a diarch, either. She merely gazed off at a wall of books as though she could see through them, all the way into space. She was lost in her thoughts, and somehow, giving Trixie a measure of privacy to take all the time she needed. Luna considered Fossil Stone and his student. They would have something to talk about, the next time they met. She understood his subtle pride a lot better now. She'd had one lesson, and that not even over yet, with her student, and already she wanted to show her off to her valued friend. Perhaps he could even give her some advice. He was a teacher after all. She finished her coffee and set the cup down, absently. The Moon Princess had a sense of some time having passed, and she collected her thoughts to the moment, giving a quick, inquiring glance to see if Trixie was ready to tell her what was in the box.

[Trixie Lulamoon]

Wait, so Luna couldn't see the vision Trixie was having? Well, that helped to reduce the embarrassment somewhat. Still, Trixie figured it would be best to be quiet about what she saw. If Luna thought that Trixie was wanting to be an Element of Harmony, she might have thought that Trixie was too ambitious or arrogant. Not that Trixie had any problem with having a secure level of confidence, but it didn't seem to be a good impression.

"A-alright then..." Trixie said, a bit more nervous this time.

Taking a deep breath, Trixie looked over the words again before taking another shot. She tried to keep her mind clear, but her focus shifted to watching as her teacher sat patiently off to the side. Even just sitting there sipping coffee she looked regal and mysterious, her starry filled hair gently flowing around her. For a moment, just a moment, Trixie wondered what it would be like to be like her...

A glance at the bowl showed a vision of Trixie as an alicorn, similar in design to Luna but with her own colors. She was standing on a balcony, waving at all the adoring citizens of Equestria.

"No, no, no, stop doing that Trixie," she said, shaking her head as she looked away from the bowl.

Why was her thoughts immediately going to something like that? Element of Harmony, alicorn princess? Trixie was trying to reform, right? She was working on making friends, she apologized to Twilight Sparkle even if she clearly didn't need to. Tartarus, she was the student of Princess Luna now! But she just kept thinking of wanting more...and she kept liking what she saw.

Frustrated, she laid her head on the table, glancing over at Luna who was now looking over at her.

"...do you think maybe we can move onto something else? I'm...it's just not working right," Trixie replied, her eyes glancing away from Luna.

[Deleted]

Luna might not be able to see what Trixie envisioned, but she certainly could watch her student's reactions and guess that, whatever Trixie was seeing, it both utterly delighted and utterly embarrassed her. And Princess Luna also knew that the contents of the box were not that exciting. Trixie was clearly envisioning something else, but whether it was wishful thinking or a true vision... who could say? Certainly not the Moon Princess, who couldn't even see what the vision was! "...do you think maybe we can move onto something else? I'm...it's just not working right," Trixie didn't even want to look at her. Luna thought that she could guess the problem. "One more try, my student. Don't give up just yet. And if you cannot get it this time, then we'll set it aside and try again tomorrow." Luna felt a strange (for her) urge to comfort her student. Trixie was, really, trying so hard. As her teacher, it was up to her to push her a little, even when she was frustrated and felt like she couldn't do things. "Now, try again... Clear your mind, Trixie. This is an important step. If strange thoughts keep intruding, close your mind and imagine your favorite color. Think of nothing but that color. Think oft its exact hue and shade. And when you cannot think one more thought about it, your mind will be clear. Then begin the spell. Should stray thoughts come back after you cast it, force yourself to think again on your favorite color. Only ask the water to show you what is in the box while your mind is clear, blank, empty."

[Trixie Lulamoon]

Trixie flinched a little when Luna asked her to give the divination spell one more try. She knew the princess meant well and was trying to be encouraging, but Trixie still wasn’t sure. Even with full knowledge Luna couldn’t see the visions, Trixie felt embarrassed about having such dreams of grandeur shown to her right in front of the princess. Still, she was the student, and if Luna wanted her to give one more try then she was going to do so. Taking a deep breath, she took her head off the table and listened as Luna gave some advice on how to clear her mind.

”Think about my favorite color. Got it,” Trixie said with a nod as she walked up to the bowl one last time.

She focused her thoughts on the light blue that made up her coat. That worked for a favorite color, right? In any case, she focused all she could on that color as she read off the words and focused on the pool in front of her. As she finished she cleared her mind of the color, keeping her mind blank of everything but the desire to see what was in that box.

Soon a vision began to form, and Trixie tried to refrain from thinking anything as it became apparently it was not yet another vision of grandeur on her part. Instead, it looked like…a mirror?

Trixie looked up, head tilted a little bit in confusion. Sure, it looked like it was the correct thing since it wasn’t an Element of Harmony or her being an alicorn, but why was Luna giving her a mirror? The only reason she could think of was that it was some kind of enchanted artifact, which made the gift seem slightly more interesting. Depending on what it did of course.

”So then, I guess there is a mirror in the box then?” Trixie asked, looking to Luna for confirmation.

[Deleted]

Trixie would know that she had it right when the Moon Princess's face lit up with delight, even before she gave that confirming nod. "That is correct, my dear student." she announced in a voice warm with pride, using her magic to lift the lid of the box. The Mirror was a half-length style, meant to be hung upon the wall. Its frame was simple, but elegant, in silver gilt with the occasional gold filigreed star or swirl. The surface was flawless, reflecting back an image that seemed almost more lifelike than reality. Like a pane of glass so clean you couldn't tell it was even there. "'Tis of course, a magic mirror," Luna added. "Like the starglass we created together, It can record memories thou wisht to put in it, and t'will play them back for thee. But," the Princess sounded amused, "It can also be used more practically. Thou canst tell it to remind thee of appointments, audiences, spells, interveiws, lessons, facts, tests, to-do lists... just about anything, really, and add a time, so that it will remind thee at the set time. I suppose thou couldst even use it as an alarm clock, telling it to remind you to wake at a set time." Luna laughed. "'Tis something of a seneschal, or perhaps... what was the word... A Personal Day Assistant." When the Princess had said it was a gift for Trixie to remember her first night of lessons by, she hadn't been kidding! To Luna, it seemed the perfect kind of gift, both pretty and practical. Sure, it might not be as grand as, say, the deed to a treasure house full of gold, or as honorable as an elevation to a baronetcy or duchy, but it was, (at least in the long run) significantly more helpful than either of those.

[Trixie Lulamoon]

Trixie, having been in bad spirits before, instantly picked up when Luna told her she was correct in her guess about what was in the box. It had taken a few tries, but the inevitable triumph had occurred. She watched eagerly as Luna pulled out the gift. Trixie admittedly never had much in the way of mirrors: not a great thing to drag around on the road, but despite that she could tell it was a very high quality mirror. And, based on Luna’s description, was magical as well. Granted, in terms of magic it was more of the practical side of thing than something grand but, well, Trixie had to admit that in terms of things she could get it would be more helpful than other possibilities. And hey, it was a pretty stylish mirror.

”Well then, I guess I should make sure to set an alarm on it for classes then,” she replied, nervously laughing about her earlier mistake. She was still a little bothered by the whole thing, but hopefully finding some humor in the situation would help.

”So then, how exactly does it work then? Same spell as we did with the snowglobe or something else?”

[Deleted]

When her student mentioned, nervously, using the mirror in order to wake up in time for classes, Luna grinned and shrugged noncommittally, as though the whole affair were no heavy weather. It had not been her purpose in presenting the mirror to chastise her student. Indeed, had she intended to do so, she would have first needed to know that Trixie would be late ...Which she might have done, seeing as the first night's lesson had included a divination spell... but then again, the unicorn had not been late because she had overslept, she had been late because she was lost, and if Luna had known she were going to get lost... ”So then, how exactly does it work then? Same spell as we did with the snowglobe or something else?” "Something along those lines," Luna confirmed, nodding, "That is how t'was made, but to use it, no spells are required. Thou- You," she corrected, reminding herself to speak in the modern tongue, "You need only to think of the things you wish it to remember while you are in the same room with it. For memories, visualizing the event is efficacious. For lists and things you wish it to show you later, visualizing them as written words will allow the mirror to project them upon its surface. Right side out, of course." The Princess's smile quirked, just a little. "And for things which you wish it to speak, 'tis helpful to think oft the words being spoken aloud. The mirror will know when you are directing thoughts and memories at it, so you need not fear accidentally 'recording' an embarrassing thought or unpleasant memory."

[Trixie Lulamoon]

Trixie was worried when Luna said it worked by thoughts, but relaxed when she said the mirror was aware when she was directing the thoughts towards it. Considering just moments ago her mind had wandered into dreams of alicornhood, it was a good thing it wouldn't catch her idle thoughts. The thought of Luna using the mirror one day and stumbling onto that....Trixie didn't want to think about what she might think about such things.

"Well, that sounds easy enough to use," she said as she looked over the mirror again. She was almost afraid to touch it, still not exactly believing that she was being bestowed such an object by the princess herself. It a weird way, she was afraid if she touched it all this would just prove to be a dream and fade a way. It was a silly thought, but it was her thought none the less.

"Thank you for the gift," she said, remembering the last time she had failed to say thanks when the princess was nearby. This was definitely something she needed to thank the princess for.

[Deleted]

"You are most welcome," Princess Luna assured Trixie, both kindly and warmly. The was a moment of hesitation. The dark alicorn studied Trixie solemnly. It was too early to say so, but Luna was longing for that special closeness and affection that her sister Celestia seemed to have with Twilight Sparkle, and Fossil Stone seemed to have with Vinyl Scratch. She knew it was too much to expect that Trixie would have shed most of her sense of awe and forgotten their relative station in just one lesson... Luna glanced towards the window as though checking the time. She didn't need to, of course. She knew exactly where the moon was, in its course across the sky. She'd put it there! "You have done very well this night, and T'will be dawn soon..." The princess began, tentatively. "I must lower the Moon now, and I suppose our lesson is concluded for tonight..." There was a hint of regret in the alicorn's tone. She wanted to invite Trixie to come with her and perhaps try her hoof at putting out a star or two, but... if she offered the invitation, would the unicorn accept because she wanted to, or because she felt she was required to? Luna didn't want such a thing to feel like a chore. So she didn't ask. "I have given you much to practice and to play with," The alicorn said instead, her tone brightening. "When shall we have our next lesson? Three days hence? Four?"

[Trixie Lulamoon]

It seemed that other than her early mess up Trixie had survived the first night of her student-hood. Luna seemed to be rather warm towards her, which was good. Trixie had been worried that she would mess up somehow and Luna wouldn’t like her anymore and cancel the whole deal. It seemed, however, she was going to keep her around. That was enough for Trixie right now, although she had a thought about something….

Before she could express it, however, Luna asked when she wished the next lesson to be. Trixie had thought this was going to be an every night thing, but she guessed that might have been too much to ask. Luna was a princess after all; she would have plenty of other things to do than tutor Trixie. And learning spells was kind of a hard assignment; giving only a day to learn would have a lot to ask for. Still, Trixie was eager to meet up again as soon as possible. Tonight had been one of the best days she had had in ages and she couldn’t wait to do it again.

”Oh, well, I think I could probably get some good progress on that smell illusion in three days, so…could we do that?”

Glancing out at the window, Trixie nervously rubbed her foreleg. She didn’t know what the decorum was for the whole moon-raising thing. Celestia had public performances at time, but Trixie didn’t recall ever hearing of Luna doing such things. Actually, other than her encounter with the starglobe thing, Trixie rarely ever heard much about Luna. Was the whole thing a really private affair? If so, it would be kind of rude of Trixie to just join in. But, on the other hoof, how often would she get a chance to see such a thing? And Trixie was Luna’s student, so maybe she would be a little more lenient…

”But, uhm, before I leave…do you think that I could watch you raise the moon? I mean, if it’s something you prefer to do alone that’s totally fine and all but I thought it might be kind of interesting to watch…”

[Deleted]

Luna smiled at her student. Had Trixie also felt a pang that such a distance of time would separate them until their next meeting? Still, Luna felt she could not assign more work until she had allowed the unicorn adequate time to master the smell-spell. "Three days it shall be, then." she decided with a nod and then made a motion as if to rise, but hesitated. Trixie had an uncertain, almost pleading look on her face. Before the Alicorn could even ask if there was something else, Trixie seemed almost to read her mind and ask for the very thing the Moon Princess had wished to offer. Luna could not hide her own feelings of warmth and affection, and she didn't try. "I do not know how interesting it will be," she confessed, kindly, "But I wouldst like the company very much. Perhaps you wouldst even like to try turning off a star or two. 'Tis surprisingly simple, once one learns the trick of it." Luna turned away for a moment, and made a very slight gesture with her head to a dark corner. From that corner, hidden out of sight and out of mind until summoned, came a butler, who bowed respectfully. "Wouldst thou please takest Miss Lulamoon's things to her room," Luna requested, politely but a little distantly. It was not at all like the way the Alicorn spoke to her student. The butler bowed his assent and Luna rose from her seat, smiling. "This way," Princess Luna urged Trixie, "There is a very particular balcony I like to use when setting the Moon. It offers a most wonderful view."

[Trixie Lulamoon]

Trixie felt as if her heart was going to jump out of her chest. First, because she did not know about the butler and thus his sudden presence scared the crap out of her as he went to take her things. Second, and more relevant really, was Luna’s agreement to let her see the setting of the moon. Not only that, but she was willing to let Trixie try her hoof at putting out a star or two. First night and Luna was already going to let her deal with the cosmos. Her shyness at asking had quickly disappeared, replaced a beaming grin as she followed the princess to the balcony.

”You’d really let me turn off a star or two? I would have thought would require some kind of special alicorn magic or something…” Trixie said, curious and still a bit surprised. But hey, if it was something even a unicorn like her could do – in the sense of her being one of the best around of course – then she would gladly take up the chance. Seriously, how many ponies would get to say that they have the power to turn the stars on and off?

[Deleted]

The night outside was clear and a little chilly, with the promise of autumn rain on the air. Yet the freshness of it felt especially good after the bookish, dry air of the library. As they stepped out upon the balcony, the city of Canterlot lay below them, ghostly and deserted in the moonlight. Only a rare, random twinkling in some building or other, sign of a pony who had gotten up very early to begin their day... or some pony who had not gone to bed yet...showed that there was any life in Equestria other than Princess Luna and Trixie. It was... rather lonely. ”You’d really let me turn off a star or two? I would have thought would require some kind of special alicorn magic or something…” Luna started a little. For a moment, she had forgotten that she was not alone after all! She smiled warmly at her student. "My sister and I did not always manage these duties," she explained, supposing that Trixie probably did not care much for history. "Before our time, t'was a great many unicorns, such as yourself, who shared the burden of raising and lowering the sun and moon as well as lighting and snuffing the stars." Luna glanced upwards at the sparkling sky above them and added, a little softer, "That is why many of them, even today, have names and family names that have to do with the time of day, or stars, or the sun or the moon, though most do not know why they follow the tradition." The Moon Princess glanced off to her right. Some distance away, she could make out the form of her sister, ready to do her part when the time came. She turned back to Trixie. "Tis not as hard as you might think, to snuff a single star. Simply feel for it with thy magic, and, once finding it, give it a sharp command to go out, as you would a candle or lantern. Some stars, however, art playful, and they will relight if thy command is not stern enough. Generally, the brighter the star, the more of a mind of it's own t'will have." Luna laughed and gave Trixie a wink. "Now choose a star and command it, with your will, to go out."

[Trixie Lulamoon]

”Oh, right, I forgot about all that…”

How could she have forgotten the Hearth’s Warming Eve story like that? Of course, Trixie never paid that much attention to history class, but just about everypony in Equestria had been in at least one pageant in their life. That included herself obviously. She had been a windigo if her memory served her correctly. And her last name was Lulamoon for crying out loud. Speaking of which, did she ever tell Luna that was her full name? From the softness in her voice when she talked about ponies having last names like that, Trixie wondered if that was particularly important to Luna. Still, Trixie was never fond of giving out her last name for personal reasons…but if there was a pony who probably deserved to know what it was, it was probably the princess of Equestria who was tutoring her.

Trixie waited for Luna to finish instructing her on how to command the stars before walking up a little closer to the edge of the balcony. Glancing to the right she too saw the figure of Celestia waiting, and Trixie wondered for a moment what she thought of this whole apprentice thing. Deciding that going down that path would probably not be a good idea, for it would most likely involve comparing herself to Twilight more, Trixie ignored it and pushed through to focus on the stars.

”You know, that thing you said about family names that have to do with the stars or moon and stuff. Just for reference, my full name is Trixie Lulamoon. I don’t know if my family ever raised anything or put out stars but I figured I’d mention it. Maybe it’ll bring me some luck right now,” she said, giving a small but nervous smile to Luna before taking a deep breath and focusing her magic.

Following Luna’s advice, Trixie reached out towards one of the stars using her magic. It didn’t feel all that different to when she was reaching out for a ball of light in one of her shows, except bigger, farther away, and resisting just a little bit. Apparently it didn’t like the idea of somepony other than Luna or Celestia trying to tell it to go out. Just when Trixie thought she had gotten it turned off she could feel it come back to light. Her teeth grinding just a little, she mentally barked out one last order to it to just knock it off and go to sleep.

Apparently that did the trick, for when Trixie opened her eyes she saw the spot in the sky she had been looking at seemed to have one less star shining. Regardless of how bright it had been beaming, it was like a small candle compared to the smile that lit up on Trixie’s face as she turned to face Luna.

”I did it, didn’t I?”

[Deleted]

”You know, that thing you said about family names that have to do with the stars or moon and stuff. Just for reference, my full name is Trixie Lulamoon. I don’t know if my family ever raised anything or put out stars but I figured I’d mention it. Maybe it’ll bring me some luck right now,” Princess Luna shared a knowing smile with her student. "I am much of the same mind," she replied. "Though I couldst not say for certainty without searching the old records, a family name like Lulamoon seems to suggest that thy forebears were indeed involved in putting the moon and stars to sleep each morning." This seemed an encouraging thought to Trixie, and Luna watched the unicorn collect her will and command the star. It dimmed and wavered, either uncertainly or playfully, but eventually decided to blink out. ”I did it, didn’t I?” Luna slowly and deliberately looked from Trixie to the place in the sky where the star had been and back again. The alicorn's smile was almost as bright and as full of pride and joy as the unicorn's own! "That thou hast! And, if I may sayest, thou seemest to have a knack for it, in as far as I am able to judge such things." In her excitement, the princess realized she was slipping back into Olde Equestrian. She made an effort once more to speak more modernly. "Now, I shall lower the Moon. If you wish, you can continue putting out stars- do not worry about getting them all." she added, quickly. "T'would take a single unicorn much too long to put them all out one-by-one. Just do as many or as few as you like. Now..." Luna turned away from Trixie and, after a nod over to Celestia, fixed her gaze upon the moon. She drew her will and her magic around her once more, then sent it away, out to capture that luminous sphere in the sky. Softly, and yet securely, she cupped the silver orb in her magic, and then, slowly and surely, she brought it down from its place in night sky to its resting place, out of sight. The sky darkened significantly, violets turning to dusky blue and black hues, and then almost immediately, began to brighten as pinks, oranges and golds began to fill the sky. Luna felt the moon settle into its bed, and gradually she released her magic on it. She stood silent a moment, contemplating the brilliant and fleeting colors of sunrise, then, with a toss of her head that sent her starry mane a-shimmering once more, she whisked a sweeping command across the sky that put the remaining stars to sleep. "There..." Luna said, softly, as she watched the sunrise.