Celestia reached a hoof out for the light of her life, but touched only darkness.
“Luna? Luna!? Luna!!!” The void swallowed her shouts and spit back emptiness. “Lulu,” she whispered to no pony.
After a minute her eyes refused to adjust to the dark surroundings. Or there is nothing out there. Celestia's wings flapped against her sides, now unrestrained by cloth. She pawed one hoof at the ground in front of her and found it solid stone-like material. Carefully, a step became a walk, which transitioned into a light trot.
Celestia had no idea how long she traveled in the blackness, when her back hoof caught on something. Instinctively she twisted around to look and that’s when the distance light flickered into view. Feeling blossomed in Celestia's chest; initially, she took it for joy, but as her brow furrowed and muscles clenched she began to doubt her judgment. Several good shakes of her head dispelled the strange sensation.
Moving closer to investigate the lightsource, she realized that it was a torch in a bronze sconce bolted onto a whitestone wall. Inside the glow was a large dark circular object surrounded by smaller misshapen gray lumps. As she stepped into the light, Celestia was too preoccupied with the peculiar objects to notice that no heat came off the blazing torch. In front of her lay a spiked wheel darker than midnight. She squinted at the smaller things around it. They were chunks of some unearthly stone, veined with an odd thin material, perhaps baby blue sapphires.
All at once, sights and sounds came to Celestia unbidden. The pony she saw every day in the mirror now glared down at her. Instead of old tired eyes, hers were young and alight with contempt. A grinding noise stopped ominously. The crowned alicorn opened her mouth revealing rows of perfect teeth. She spoke three words that slashed Celestia into three thousand pieces, cutting deeper than three million swords. Ponies danced in masks of white and pink, blue and green. Celestia's sobs were seized by their cheers and drowned in the castle's lake; her tears spilled onto dark fur, invisible in the rising light of day. Shadows smooth as sin wrapped around Celestia like a cloak. Their singing soothed the burning gashes in her soul. A high cold laugh came from her black lips, defiant against the sun that stood opposite her in hues of rainbow light and swirling gemstones.
Celestia wretched her mind out of the turmoil, gasping for breath as a shipwrecked sailor grasped for a piece of driftwood in a spring storm. The images were gone, but it did little to quell the tempest inside her. Clammy legs shook, bowels twisted, and her stomach roiled. Worst of all was her heart; something moved around it, slimy and suffocating and whispering. She shut her eyes and concentrated on slowing the pounding in her head. The wheel and cracked stones at her hooves melted away into darkness.
“Where is she?” she heard herself say in a queer voice, part fury and part impatient, part desperate and part longing.
Opening her eyes revealed the great double doors across from her. Something told her they had always been there. Made from thick ironwood ringed with steel, varnished in hazel and shining with the sunrise and sunset, she simultaneously knew everything about them and nothing. These were the doors that countless creatures passed through to come kneel before her and make their pleas. These were the unknown doors that led to her true desire.
Celestia raised an armored black hoof to open them. She stared blankly at the elegant and cruel indigo hoofguard she now wore. She registered the icy metal slide down over her chest, and the pressure from a helmet resting on her head. Drums thundered behind the cold metal. The thing covering her heart started to crawl upwards; bile reached her mouth first. Her mind screamed in pure panic.
Embrace what you feel, let it flow through you, chimed a voice that always made her smile, even in her darkest days. Everything will be alright in the end. Celestia took a cleansing breath. Trusting the night, she let the darkness consume her.
It devoured her greedily, yet the emptiness in Nightmare Moon’s stomach remained. Enraged, she charged forward and thrust her horn at the offending doors, they blew wide open with the mighty gust she summoned. Dark fur flattened as the wind rushed back and slammed the doors closed behind her.
The sun looked up at the disturbance. Princess Celestia’s jaw dropped along with the scroll and tube she held. The items spiraled to the floor and landed hard on the long burgundy carpet connecting the throne to the doors. An image of a strange black cart was stamped on the side of the tube. It was cracked and broken from the fall, much like her sister was about to be.
Nightmare Moon spun back to the doors. A wicked silver light lanced their seam from top to bottom. Runnels of molten steel ran down the entire length and scorched the floor; the scent of charred wood filled her nostrils.
Now that they wouldn’t be disturbed, she lazily surveyed the unfamiliar room. Brightly colored tapestries of silk and gleaming thread hung on the walls between magnificent stained glass windows that rose from the sleek marble floor and nearly touched the ceiling. A gilded fountain built into the dais itself trickled quietly, its waters crystal clear and sparkling. The splendor of the throne room was surpassed by the look on Celestia’s face. Her eyes were large as saucers and her mouth hung open dumbly. Limp was the once proud flowing mane that fell at her back, which spooled messily onto the seat.
Torchglow cast Nightmare Moon’s shadow long across the western wall. It twisted into a grotesque grin, laughing a moment before she did. The shrill cackle pealed around the throne room, stained glass ponies shivered and lights along the walls guttered.
“Greetings sister!” she strolled to the middle of the room as Celestia continued to stare at her, saying nothing. “Oh dear, it seems I caught you unawares. What a shame,” she chortled, nearly prancing the rest of the way.
It wasn’t until she reached the base of the dais that her sister finally spoke. “Is this a dream?” she said in a voice barely above a whisper.
“For me, yes. For you… it’s something else entirely.” Nightmare Moon's saccharine grin exposed every one of her sharp fangs.
“You are back?” Celestia lamely responded.
Her face twitched at the stupid question and slitted pupils narrowed. Nightmare Moon put all her repressed venom into the reply. “Yes,” she spat, “I’m back… and I find myself already bored of the braying of wearisome old nags. I spent too many frigid days on the moon to have this night ruined by you. Fear not, sweet sister, the place I'm sending you isn't quite so chilly.” Darkness enveloped her horn, blacker than black. A strand of white glided from the inky tip, down the curve of her horn, and upon reaching her forehead split in twain and spewed burning light into her irises. “It’ll be the hottest thing you ever laid eyes on!” she mocked cruelly.
“It’s really you!” Celestia shouted and nearly tumbled down the steps as she leapt from the throne. One of her hooves tore through the scroll and another crushed the tube, but she paid it no heed. Nightmare Moon halted and leaned back from the cry. The sheer joy in it sent shivers all throughout her body. Even the thing inside her quavered. A distance wail compelled her to continue the spell, yet she found herself silently awaiting her sister’s next move.
Celestia took the steps two at a time, chest heaving, and was level with her in an instant. Nightmare Moon flinched at the speed and took several unsteady step backs, horn aglow. “Wait, wait, listen please!?”
Nightmare Moon found she couldn’t look away from the sorrowful eyes, no matter how confusing they made her feel. Mercifully, Celestia closed them as she raised a hoof to her chest, pushing out a ragged breath. Then they opened again and poured right down to her black soul.
“I-I know you’ll never forgive me! And I don’t fault you. I wouldn’t forgive me either. I was arrogant, hypocritical, and callous towards you.” Celestia levitated the jeweled crown off her head and placed it delicately at Nightmare Moon’s hooves. “You can banish me to the sun, you can hate me for eternity… and all of that will be okay,” her voice hitched, “because I was an awful sister, and a terrible friend. But before I go I want you to know… I will never be disappointed in you, my marvelous moon.” Rivulets of tears ran down her cheeks, “rule well knowing that you were always right. I am just a stupid cake thief.”
Nightmare Moon’s breath quickened. The thing inside bellowed and rattled her ribcage, yet, it was as if a lightning storm tried to strike down an ancient mountain. No matter how dark and powerful, it could never reach the core. Something bubbled up from within her heart, and the thing trembled.
All at once, sights and sounds came to Nightmare Moon unbidden. A white filly stumbled through the open barn door, moonlight at her back. She plopped herself down on the dirty straw bed they shared, exhausted after a long day of work. Crawling under the moth-eaten blanket she began to sing a lullaby. Nightmare Moon fell asleep wrapped safely in her warm embrace. The pale unicorn dragged her soaked from the flooded river bank. Covered in mud, blood, and tears she carried her to a nearby glade. The look of relief on the unicorn’s face when Nightmare Moon took a shuddering breath was something she would never forget. The young pony cradled her gently as they wept together. Nightmare Moon stormed down the rotten stairs of the abandoned granary in a fury. The lanky alabaster teenager froze mid-chew, hastily swallowed, and tried to act casual. Nightmare Moon sneered and thrust a hoof accusingly at the cake crumbs on her ivory cheeks. The teen's lie was equal parts boldfaced and incredibly insulting. They stared each other down for five agonizing seconds. The laughing fit they had afterwards lasted five minutes. It was one of the happiest moments of their lives.
Luna felt the metal chestplate hit the throne room's floor more than she heard it. With both hooves she removed her helm and tossed it aside. Black ooze flowed down her shrinking body, revealing smooth blue fur. The thing inside her perished as only a pathetic creature could, friendless and in misery. Luna didn’t bother to watch the smoking remains of the parasite slither into a corner to die. She was wholly focused on the most important thing in the world.
"Come here Tia! My big dumb windigoat!” Forelegs opened wide.
“Lulu!?” Celestia sniffled. Without waiting for an answer she filled the remaining distance between them and lifted the smaller alicorn off her hooves, twirling her round and round. Luna wasn’t an expert on the room, but she could have sworn there weren’t that many stars a minute ago. She landed laughing on her hooves. Celestia leaned in and nuzzled their noses together. The sun beamed down at her, letting out a giggle that bordered on a whine. “You do know I made up windigoats, right? They were never a thing.”
A blue wing reached up and moved a green lock away from the face Luna adored. “Of course, Tia. You’re awful at acting… but you do make the most wonderful speeches.”
Celestia hiccupped and gave her a small lopsided smile. Luna's heart melted at the sight. She drew the pony she loved most into a fierce hug. “I’m so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!”
“I missed you too," she cried.
The stars shone beyond the glass windows, brighter than they had in centuries.
The roar of the fireplace was the first thing heard when they returned.
Luna hastily looked around to see if any embers had ignited the rugs or furnishings. Subconscious spellcasting was a confirmed phenomena. In its rawest form magic would usually flow towards the primal leylines first, such as heat. After confirming the royal suites weren’t on fire, she checked on the fiery royal.
Celestia wobbled on her hooves, teetering to and fro.
“Woah there big girl!” Luna exclaimed. She kicked the coffee table out of the way in case Celestia fell, then braced her with both hooves. At her touch, Celestia seemed to stir gradually.
“Luna… Lulu… that was…” she murmured.
“Underhoofed? Convoluted? Reckless?”
“Incredible,” she answered and licked her lips. Her face screwed up.
“Right, apologies about the aftertaste. Daydream magic and memories are a potent mixture. And I’m a little rusty on the former.” She smacked her own lips together before wiping her mouth with her foreleg. “Blegh! Metal and coconut.”
Celestia’s wings rustled the shawl covering them and wool drooped limply onto the floor. “Thank you… I didn't know… had almost forgotten…" She took a deep breath and woke fully.
Princess Celestia looked down at her, pretending to be composed, "I appreciate you sharing, truly. But returning to the matter of my plan. I still feel I should apologize for-” tender blue feathers covered her mouth, bringing the princess up short.
“Nothing,” Luna finished, dropping the wing. “You never need to apologize for what you did.” Indigo light surrounded the fallen edge of the shawl and lifted it back onto Celestia’s shoulders. Luna made sure her grip on both sides was tight.
“Tia, you literally moved a mountain for me.”
“Technically, I only moved to a mountain."
They both laughed at that and Luna positioned herself. “Your plan was ruthless and cunning… but also incredibly sweet and thoughtful. It was everything I love about you.” She pulled Celestia down by the shawl and kissed her.
Metal met cloth as they pressed against each other. Luna delighted in the taste of the full sun. Coconut quickly yielded to the mango and honeysuckle they had served downstairs. Celestia’s lips were soft and pleasantly humid. Their tongues wrestled each other, two titans enjoying the nimble competition.
Celestia broke off first at a loud snap from the roaring fire. “Lulu, we can’t,” she said breathlessly.
“I know,” Luna whispered. Silver bit into her rising chest. She took a sharp breath and the fluttering slowed. “I know,” she said firmly.
“We can’t, she’s my sister. It won’t work, they’ll make us marry stallions. I love her, but this is complicated. We shouldn’t, our subjects need stability not uncertainty. Tia, I had all those thoughts and came to the same conclusion as you.”
With her right hoof she lifted Celestia’s left. “But I know what it feels to be without you.” Luna brought the hoof to the metal chestplate. The tip pressed right over the hunter's cold empty heart.
Still holding the hoof, she ignited her horn. The iron mooncrest buckles on Luna's back collapsed under the weight of her magic, and the plate dropped onto the rug with a dull thud. Matted fur rose from her glistening chest along with a whiff of lavender. Celestia bite her lip.
"And with you," Luna moved the hoof to her chest again, this time it pressed against a warm damp coat. She could feel the blazing beat of her heart through it, like a miniature sun. The hoof eagerly dug into the fluff. Swan bumps rose under its touch and all over Luna's skin.
“We've spent countless days apart, each one its own terrible solitude. After nine hundred years of longing, all I ask is one night together. But before you answer, I want you to know… I will always love you, my splendid sun. No matter what."
The fire crackled in the hearth. Light and shadows played off the statues. A cerulean shawl fell next to a polished chestplate.
The red oak doors to Celestia's bedchamber nearly burst off their hinges as they entered, tangled around each other.
Brass rods shook as their lilac drapes flapped noisily. Several thickset candles blew out in the sudden blast of air, slivers of ghost-gray smoke rising from their wicks. Rising with the smoke was a dark blue alicorn, held aloft in cloudlike hooves. For a moment, she seemed posed to ascend to the heavens, until the stars came crashing back down.
Luna landed on her back on the plush mattress with an oomph. Chuckling, she wrapped her hooves around Celestia and dragged her in close. They rolled. The bed sank further as Luna straddled Celestia's midriff. Grinning savagely she attacked the veiny white neck below her. Celestia moaned under the assault of bites and kisses, large wings flared wide on top of purple covers. A hoof pressed against Luna's bare chest. "Lulu, wait."
Luna nibbled at her chin before straightening. "Oh, of course!" She climbed off Celestia and made for the open doors. Taken into indigo magic they were closed as best as possible. One leaned like a drunkard and a sinister crack ran the length of the other; a repair spell was in order, which Luna promptly decided could wait till morn.
Incandescent blue light suffused her horn, and a flick sent a pulse through the entire chamber. Gleaming strands leaked underneath the doors to the hallway beyond. For a split second, the entire room was bathed in a translucent shimmer. The drapes continued to sway in the night air, but no noise escaped their folds.
"No- well actually good thinking." A white hoof played with a clump in the exposed silk sheets. Celestia looked up. "I had a different idea altogether."
"Okay," Luna responded, intrigued.
Horn lit, Celestia sat up and wiggled closer to the edge, staring off into the ether. Luna noticed her pupils darting around, till they briefly flashed back to her. "A couple years ago," Celestia started after the pause, "I struggled to fall asleep, so I spent uh… several nights browsing a book on advancements made in copulation techniques between partners in the last half-century."
"And I suppose there wasn't a section on dirty talk?" Luna smirked.
Celestia ignored the sally and continued her search. "I was thinking it might inspire us. You could take a look and we can have a discussion about it. If you're completely comfortable with it, that is." Round pupils halted their wandering in the upper right corner of her violet eyes. White light sucked back into her horn. The light returned a moment later in front of Luna. First as a pink ball, which then materialized into a red hardbound book. Near the bottom, written in graceful cursive, were the names of the authors in black ink.
Flaxena Falik was a modest unicorn spellslinger when she met bubbly pegasi librarian Silvia Sitzfleisch. Together the two mares learned to sling more than spells and books. With Silvia's help, and many helpings of Silvia, Flaxena wrote the premier guide on intimacy in the last two hundred years. New editions were still being printed by the couple's descendants to this day, helping consenting adults throughout the realm. Luna didn't know any of this.
Luna also didn't know what to be more surprised by: The thickness of the book or the innumerable markings sticking out of the top in a kaleidoscope of colors. She took a second book in her magic. If there's a third tonight, I qualify for my expert license, she mused, turning curiously to the sole mark in blue. It highlighted the first pages of section F, an upturned color sketch of two mares accompanied the text and authors’ note.
Titling the book sideways allowed her to fully grasp what she was looking at. The art was immaculately drawn. Luna drank in the fierce determination on Gold's detailed face, then followed across the full length of the page and ended on the rapture in Silver's exquisite expression. She levitated the book back to Celestia, rotating it so it was readable.
"Yes," Luna said comfortably, concluding the discussion.
Celestia hopped off the bed, her smile as bright as the gold in her glowing horn.
She buried her nose into the midnight mane, inhaling the aroma of lavender, stars, jasmine, and sweat.
They lay together amongst crimpled sheets. A single white pillow remained on the bed, the rest littered the floor in front of them. On the opposite side, stained covers slumped against the wood frame. Half-hard wax pooled on the nightstand while orange candles burned low, bathing the room in ever softer hues. Beyond the glow, moonless shadows crawled closer, lacking any real menace. The only threat they posed now was as a reminder.
Luna snuggled closer to her, driving thoughts of sworn duties far away. Celestia felt a slight stirring between her back legs. The dark alicorn hugged the white foreleg draped around her tighter. Lips gently kissed the appendage. Celestia giggled when the hot breath tickled her fine hairs. She prayed to all the gods this moment would last forever.
After the briefest minute, the goddess of the night sighed, the breath exhaled noticeably cooler. Luna started to rise out of bed. It seems the gods weren't listening today, but Celestia didn’t surrender to deities that easily. Her foreleg refused to release its grasp. "And where does my moon think she's going, hmmm?"
Luna turned, mane tussled, mischief written on her face, "To get ready to lower the actual moon. Or else a certain silly sun will never be able to bring the dawn. Remember?" she asked playfully, but the kiss she gave felt like goodbye.
Celestia remembered many dawns in her long life. There was the dawn after the inaugural Summer Sun Festival, where she woke blurry eyed and dehydrated. Taste of salt still on her lips, she clambered out of bed then. Ignoring the stains of wine and thousand shards of the smashed tankard, Celestia had stumbled her way to the balcony. When the first wisps of light emerged over the horizon it struck her. She spun around. The room stood out starkly in the rising sun, all dark blues and grays painted in golden white. Then Celestia remembered why she had been crying. The room no longer smelled of lavender and jasmine, only regret. The scent she wanted had been taken far away, up into the night sky, leaving her with nothing but the dawn.
Luna's smile faltered for a moment. "Besides, we agreed on only one night."
"I swore no such oath," Celestia said.
Blue ears perked up at the earnestness in her tone. Luna tapped the limb covering her, assuring its owner she wasn't trying to escape. Celestia brought the foreleg in as Luna rose and turned fully; her haunches sunk into the mattress. Dark wings flexed and folded in on themselves. She gave her a long searching look. "What do you mean?" she almost asked it evenly, but the slightest hint of something like hope crept in towards the end.
Celestia pushed herself off the bed and folded into a seated position, close across from the dark alicorn. “I think we should reconsider our stance on… well us. There is no real need to stop after one night, is there?”
“Do you know what you are saying? Truly?” Luna asked nonplussed, eyes disbelieving.
Celestia was done being coy, and tired of lonely dawns. “Yes,” she declared adamantly.
“Lulu, we raise the harmony-forsaken heavens, I think we can manage being together." White feathers shook. “It all comes down to planning and a little discretion. We start with the suites, they already serve as our sanctum. Then we carve out safe rooms in the castle to meet. Modifying our hoofcodes should be simple. And, inevitably, when we desire to get away from it all, we simply arrange 'diplomatic trips' together. To Zebrica or perhaps Gryphonia. Busy places that don’t dote on us and lack proper scrying"- she noticed the way Luna's ears folded back-"spells. Did I say something wrong?"
Luna smiled, the light never reaching her eyes. "Nothing… that I haven't already thought of. As much as I relish the notion of stuffing you in a closet, it won't work. Eventually, the novelty of sneaking around like promiscuous youths will wear thin. Either we'll grow overly bold and get caught, or become bitter with the whole arrangement." She scowled, "I don't desire the latter."
Her scowl fell away and was replaced with a reticent look. She said her next words slowly, "We could roll the dice and openly court each other?"
The scowl rose again, this time on Celestia’s face. "Remember Fullamb? Those are loaded dice, except they aren’t in our favor now. Oh, I’m reasonably certain our subjects would acquiesce to us… for a year maybe. But what happens when summer whispers become autumn curses, and turn to the whetting of knives in winter? At best, our ponies would think you seduced me with some kind of dark magic." Luna shrugged, gesticulating to the disheveled bed they sat on together.
"More likely, come spring, they would denounce you as a demon returned… and try to kill you."
"Oh, right.” Luna huffed, “My speech tonight was a nice convenient reminder of that, wasn't it?”
Celestia nodded dismally. "I wouldn't let that come to pass… but I don't want to don the Hammer of the Sun unless I absolutely have to," she suppressed a snarl at the old moniker. "We can't do this by taking a page from Nightmare Moon's book." Celestia hated to see Luna look so crushed, but better than crushing their ponies.
Ears swiveled forward above a swirling mane of glittering stars. "Or can we."
Celestia looked at her askew. "Did that bump on the headboard cause you to take leave of your senses?"
"No," Luna shook her slightly tender head, "no, we only need to borrow a page from the right book. Because anything is possible, with time and a solid foundation.” Her black opal pupils glowed in the orange candlelight, cyan irises sparkling like diamonds.
"Yes," Celestia remembered, eyes wide. "Yes," Luna repeated.
They would build their foundation together. In the meantime, Celestia couldn’t stop the thoughts now cascading through her head. Nourish public sentiment… win them, and the nobles will follow readily… then change becomes triumph, not tragedy. "This, this could work." she nodded.
Luna had an unfocused look, thinking, " Winning hearts and hooves to the idea will take years, decades really. Are you prepared for that?" she added absentmindedly.
The wheels spinning in Celestia's head came to a screeching halt. One broke off its axle and went rampaging down the cobblestone streets. "Did you seriously ask me that question?" the words were harsh, but her smile was as gentle as summer clouds.
"Uh-yes, it seems I did," Luna responded, cheeks reddened. That's the second time tonight, Celestia noted. Luna rarely showed her vulnerable side, so when she blushed, Celestia positively adored every second of it. Much like the first time, it elicited the same electrifying reaction in her.
Luna inhaled and let out a long breath, dark blue returning to her features. Celestia watched her straighten, steeling herself. "If we are truly going to do this, then we need to be resolute in the days ahead. Us together. That spell. All of it must be held aside after tonight." She frowned. "If we're discovered, or harmony-forbid one of us gets with foal too soon, then we lose any chance we have at a plan succeeding."
"Too soon?"After all the things said tonight, that truly took Celestia aback.
Luna turned a deep crimson. Third time. "A slip of the tongue," she sputtered. Clearing her throat, she valiantly attempted to get ahold of herself. She failed. "All I meant was, that spell carries little risk and high reward-I mean it’s a huge reward. No, it’s- forget about the whole-" a hoof cut her stammering short.
The silence seemed to stretch for an eternity. Somewhere far away a filly cried out. Their shout of joy was followed by the merry drumbeat of tiny hooves. Celestia lowered her hoof from Luna’s mouth to her chin. Luminous cyan rose to meet radiant violet.
“You asked me for one night, well, I promise you one day: We will talk. We will work it out. And whatever we decide, we will do together.”
White wings pulled Luna into a tight embrace. Dark forelegs encircled her back. “One day,” she vowed, nuzzling into the soft blue neck. As Luna pressed her warm body closer, Celestia's resolve stiffened.
Luna must have felt the stiffening, for velvety lips soon grazed her ear. “One day,” she agreed, in a voice that promised the night wasn’t quite over yet.
Celestia broke off the hug and gazed at her. A sultry predator leered back, looking like the roc that caught the drake. The drake gulped, flushing. Score one for Luna, she thought. Other thoughts fled the moment the searing kiss touched her neck. Then her mind blanked completely when the moist tongue stroked her cheek. Preoccupied, she was unable to figure out where the intense throbbing in her body was coming from: her heart or elsewhere. As Luna descended to find the answer, Celestia heard herself repeating the same mantra with every new caress.
“One day,” she pledged.
“One day,” she swore.
“One day,” she promised.
“One - da. Da. DAYYY.”