Ash woke in her own bed. Luna was already awake and brushing her hair at the mirror nearby, "Morning, Luna," she grumbled as she sat up, "When did we get here?"
The priestess came over and started fussing with her hair before drawing her to her feet in order to coax her into shifting forms, "Not too long ago, really," she responded, "He stayed with you almost the whole night."
Ash smiled slightly at those words and did as the priestess asked, changing her form so they could get started on the morning routine. Once they were finally seated in the living room once again, Ash asked curiously, "And what's the plan for today?"
Luna grumbled as she made breakfast, seeming a little frustrated though Ash doubted it was at her. The Starlight Festival was due to kick off in just four days which meant Luna would have no choice but to take care of things in Terra before long. The priestess likely would take her leave the next day after Ashterra's morning routines.
"We're going to Gold Arches today," she said, continuing at the confused look on Ashterra's face, "We'll be using the teleportation array instead of actually traveling the long way. You, me, Gardenia, Yarrow, Fi and Fel will all go enjoy Gold Arches for a little while. We'll see some shops, try some food, I'll annoy you until you let me buy you some new clothes," she grinned at the slight scowl that brought about, "It'll be fun."
Ash shook her head, "I know you're putting off going back to deal with the Starlight festival as long as you can but shouldn't Gardenia and Fi have work to do?"
Luna moved to sit across from her, placing a plate of food in front of Ashterra and motioning for her to eat. She absolutely refused to talk until after the meal was done. She then explained that things were done differently in Fantastoria from Terra. Entire towns came together to plan the festivals with the temple whose god was being honored taking charge of the bulk of it. All of the temples would join in, the gods would sometimes even visit the festivals for a short while.
"Their work is already done," she finished the explanation, "And you don't have to do anything for this year's festival besides enjoy it here in Fantastoria in Redwood Stars. I've already spoken to the temple, even if they don't like it, they understand that you can't afford to be conscious right now. I won't risk your well-being just so you can be a figurehead while they cannot have Lord Sidus."
Ash nodded and reluctantly got ready. Luna scowled at her with an all-too-familiar look on her face. As far as Ash was concerned, it meant mischief. She pointedly reminded the priestess that she wasn't in possession of a large amount of funds.
"Actually," Luna grinned as she ushered Ash out of the door and joined her in teleporting to the array just outside the temple, "That's not quite right, Asha."
The unicorn scowled, almost certain Luna was about to tell her some ridiculous thing like the temple providing her with funds. Lunarilia knew quite well that she wouldn't accept it, even if it was supposed to be some sort of offering rather than direct charity. Instead, the priestess told her that the two goddesses that had visited the day prior had offered a monetary reward in return for Ash spurring them to collaborate on a spell together.
Considering it was a reward from gods, it was not exactly a small sum either and they wouldn't take no for an answer. The money was hers and they considered it well-earned. She wasn't going to be able to return it and would risk angering them if she tried to do something cheeky like leave it as an offering at their temples or give it to the temple of Sidus to use.
With a rough sigh, she accepted it as simple fact that she had a bit of money and that Luna was taking charge of it. As such, she wasn't particularly surprised when the others were already waiting and they made their way to a shop in town before leaving.
Once they left, Ash had a few new outfits to wear around town casually instead of always being stuck in the robes of a priestess. She wore the one Luna had fawned over the second-most, promising the priestess to save the other outfit specifically for the day of the Starlight festival.
"It's been so long since we've had a day out," Luna grinned.
When they were younger, Luna might have tried to coax Ash into a dress like the one she wore. Instead, she played into her dear friend's no-nonsense nature and had gotten her into an outfit that made her look marvelous. The silvery shirt was made of a material that was good for working in, something that wouldn't stain easily or tear if she caught it on a particularly unruly vine in the garden. The pants and boots followed the same trend.
Next to the priestess in her charcoal and cream colored peasant dress, Ashterra looked like a knight in casual-wear escorting a princess dressed much the same. The silver of Ash's new shirt drew attention to the opalescent sheen in her hair and Luna couldn't help but grin every time she looked at her dear friend.
With her finally appropriately dressed for an outing, they all stepped into the teleportation array in the center of town together. Ashterra and Lunarilia were able to tag along to Gold Arches without having to travel there on foot.
Gold Arches was as beautiful as its name implied it would be with sweeping granite arches in a golden color supporting the upper section of the city. The lower section of the city seemed to be dedicated largely to shopping while the upper section seemed to be dedicated to libraries and living structures.
They made a short stop as they wandered the city to show Ash the place where the auction would be in just two days, the day before the festival was due to kick off. That meant if Ash wanted to go to the auction, it would have to be alone. Even if the majority of the work was done, everyone associated with Sidus' temples would be busy the day before the festival. Still, it was safe enough considering she couldn't be attacked in town and could teleport home from wherever she wanted.