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At first, Twilight doesn't understand why Princess Luna wanted them to watch the coming eclipse together - but as it turns out, Luna has something very important to ask of her. For Luna fears always being known as the cold and distant Princess of the Moon, incapable of forming true connections. Can Twilight help her, or will Luna be forced to grow resigned to what appears to be her fate of eternal isolation?
The world is upside down. Dash in my fics and Twi and the Princesses in yours...
Lovely work. You picked good language to convey the mood and the text had a solid lingering melancholy that is very good at giving the impression of quiet introspection.
Excellent.
You're pretty cynical about that, aren't you? Not that I can say I blame you.
What we should do
Is I'll write a cutesy but thoughtful Dash/Pinkie fic and you write an overwrought cosmic melodrama of Twi and the Princesses, and then publish them under the other's name and see if anyone notices.
Anyways, "Cold Light..." jumped right up towards top of my favorites on the site immediately. Very well done.
Reading this at night made me feel very calm. The imagery and ideas of coldness with such a beautiful nightly sky scape definitely made this a nice, chill read. Also had me thinking about how many things I've acted cynical towards, when in actuality they were more than I gave credit for. All it takes is a new perspective.
Very good, thank you for this.
Awesome! I've been interesting in reading a fic that dwells into Princess Luna's loneliness not only after being imprisoned on the moon but after returning and not being able to fully deal with the new world around her and everypony rejecting her because of it. I'm sure there are other fics like that on this site but one thing keeps me from reading them...
...I fear they might be too depressing. I suppose I'm holding myself back, in that sense. I'm almost afraid to let myself get too emotional about a story, I don't know why. This provides a perfect balance though, between sadness and happiness. Also, TwiLuna is a shipping I haven't seen much of yet have always liked.
Now I'm just rambling though, aren't I?
I'd like to see you continue this story and perhaps get a bit more romantic between Twilight and Luna? Not that it isn't, it's just everytime they get close they step back to normal again, almost as if afraid to pursue their implied feelings. I'm picturing in my mind a romantic kiss under the stars. (I'm so sappy.) 
AbsoluteAnonymous, thank you again for another wonderful storytelling! Such a lucid, painstaking portrait of sky, of loneliness... a heartfelt bravo!
I find your writing is impressively provocative. There is a shimmering, whimsical way you weave these elaborate tapestries, yet they're bordered by gripping dramas and unrelenting desperations - I laugh, I cry, and so on. Brilliant. You never seem to repeat a stitch, to overkill a metaphor.
I can't wait for your next work! Yay!
>>536472 - Anthropology over TGWP!? Hm. I never found Anthropology gripping, just a fun little story with ALOT of short chapters. TGWP is a sweeping masterpiece! I... er. That is to say, um. Hm. Ah, it's only my opinion. Just ignore me. What can I say? AA made me a Mare-Do-Well maniac. Thankfully!
Oh, this was just beautiful. I love that despite Luna's sadness and loneliness she's not really (to my mind) pitying herself or blaming the world - she understands why she's viewed the way she is. She accepts it. Even though it still makes her sad, she knows that it's the way it has to be and she'll have to work for it. This is excellent. Hm. I'm not, personally, hugely fond of Luna in general except for her snark and hilarity, and there are very few stories i've enjoyed about her -which isn't saying there aren't a lot of great Luna stories, because there surely are - but this? This is excellent, and I loved every word.
Not only that, but you captured Twilight's voice - internally and externally - exceptionally well. I hear her voice reading her lines and I can picture the story unfolding in my head. I've said it before, and I will again - I love your writing, and as long as you keep writing i'll always read it. Amazing work, boss.
That was absolutely beautiful. As somepony who has spent many a night silently beneath the stars with a telescope, or binoculars, or just with my naked eyes and the quiet sounds of the night, I think you captured the mood perfectly with this piece. There's both an essential loneliness and an essential greatness about it.
Thank you!
Came here by way of "...Ultrasounds"! This fic is highly relevant to my interests, and it's amazing how similar our respective Twiluna wellsprings are, except yours is keening and lonely, and mine has, um, giant bear attacks.
You've got a good hand with the prose. If I had one wish for this story, it's that we could have seen more of the long narrative exposition passage come out in the form of interaction between the two principals. My critical bias is to say that something happening is usually preferable to merely being told things, and you started out the fic so wonderfully immersively that I was disappointed at being taken out of the scene you crafted so quickly in favor of background exposition. By contrast, if it had been Luna doing the talking, I wouldn't have had to leave the scene at all. I think it's a testament to the strength of your scene-setting that I didn't want to leave it. Also,
Somehow, I'm not surprised to see you drawn to this one as well. Some things never change, eh?
I wanted to read this earlier. Put it away at first, wasn't feeling in the mood. Turns out I only needed to complete some school work, sleep and murder people with my USAS to get in "the mood"!
And so I read it. Very good piece of work indeed! I'd cry for more, but there really isn't else to add to this story. You're good at one-shots, aren't you?
...
I PROMISE I'LL READ TGWP ONCE SCHOOL IS OVER! ... and after my MLP marathon that I oh-so desperately need right now.
Tata!~~
Very good, but I'm going to have to say it's a bit too repetitive, I found myself skimming over some parts just thinking "Get to the bloody point now please" haha.
This was definitely interesting and from any other author I'd say this was spectacular, but you've done a lot better and I think you know it too.
4 smiling Twilights out of 5 
I think this has the same sort of gentle, contemplative vibe as "The Light Goes Out." So much so that I wonder if this wasn't conceived as a companion piece to your Celestia/Twilight story. But maybe that's just me.
I like that the story begins with Twilight's POV and ends with Luna's POV. It seems right and appropriate that we're being introduced to Luna in this story via a third party's eyes, that Luna begins as a mystery to us as much as she is one to Twilight. I also like the inherent tension that's been set up between the two protagonists--Luna as the relic of a bygone age, one that valued mystery, and Twilight very much a product of modernity, a scientist in spirit and by training, with science being the very thing that destroyed the mystery of the night. The tension never gets too melodramatic but stays low-level and mostly implied, which I liked.
I also like how you structured the story, the insertion of scene breaks even though the scene hadn't concluded, to indicate that there has been a shifting, a revelation, a change. I think that was very nicely done, as well as subtle.
Although she knew it was silly, Twilight couldn't help but worry that it would mean she'd somehow lose the princess's respect if she gave in to the chilly weather.
I really like your characterization of Twilight. Her insecurities, her enthusiasm, and her frequent ability to shove her foot in her mouth, ala:
"Yeah. Astronomy's the science and study of the moon, stars, and planets, you know. Well, of course you know - sorry."
This time, the sigh came from Luna.
(Oh, Twilight.)
I dig your interpretation of Nightmare Night and its origins, how it was originally meant to soften the public's terror of Luna. That strikes me as both very practical-minded and very loving of Celestia. And Celestia does strike me as a bit of a schemer, as a chess master, but one who genuinely wants what is best for everyone. It also fits with what Luna later says about Celestia, too.
"That's kind of cynical," the unicorn answered. There was none of the intimidation or awkwardness that she'd displayed in Luna's presence before, as though she'd let go of her hesitance. "Couldn't the same be said of the sun, or flowers, or music, or any other beautiful thing in the world?"
It's very interesting that the first example Twilight gives is the sun. I wonder if that was intentional on her part or just instinctive. But it's a good move, I think, either way--the implied message being "your night is just as good as Celestia's day."
My favorite part of the story was its emotional climax:
"You're not just the moon," she said firmly. "You're the entire night. That means you're also the stars and galaxies and mysteries. And the sun is really just a star, you know; so even if the moon is cold, that's not all you are. You ... you're also all of those thousands of suns."
Twilight released her hold on Luna's hoof and made a grand, sweeping gesture indicating the sky above.
"You said that the light of the stars is cold, too, but that's just because you're too far away from them to feel their warmth. You just need to go closer, and then they'll shine as bright as the sun."
First off, you get points for scientific accuracy! The sun is, in fact, just a star. Our own sun isn't even that big a deal, in comparison with other stars--it's utterly dwarfed by red supergiants. It's a pretty average star. It's just important because it's OUR star.
Also, it's a beautiful thing for Twilight to say, that really, Luna has not only had her own sun this entire time but has had THOUSANDS of suns. And really, it's not about the stars themselves, so much. It's about Luna. She's been the one keeping herself separate and apart from other ponies, as a defensive mechanism, and she's created the coldness she feels. Though Twilight diplomatically phases things to imply that it's other ponies who need to come closer to Luna, this part ...
The shivering ceased, but Luna remained where she was, so that they were sitting close enough to touch.
... indicates to me that Luna understands the truth behind Twilight's phrasing. Understands that it is SHE who must approach closer to other ponies. And that she starts, in this hesitant and simple way, with Twilight is a lovely, beautiful moment.
AA, I'm sorry to give a bad review when you're having personal issues besides, but this story has some problems. It's too repetitive. It's a talking heads story. Luna is supposed to be an immortal, but comes across as self-absorbed and whiny about problems she has created for herself, rather than as having a larger perspective. She says she wants a friend, but shows no evidence of wanting friends - she wants admirers, or worshippers. On top of that, all that dialogue about understanding taking the mystery out of things - that's wrong. I take fiction seriously; it has the power to give insight, but also the power to reinforce ignorance - and that is what promulgating the myth that ignorance is superior to knowledge does. I don't know if you were agreeing with Luna or not - that part's connection to the rest of the story is unclear to me.
I like the angle that Twilight's encouragement to Luna is only made possible because Twilight understands the stars. I don't know if that was intentional. That would be a good connection between Luna's love of mystery and Twilight's love of knowledge. It could be made more explicit if it was intentional.
I like Donny's Boy's review - he's better at seeing the good in things right now than I am. Those are all good points about the story.
This is good and you should feel good.
Can't help but feel this could've used a bit less talking and a bit more description. Usually I shout for more dialogue but describing the atmosphere and body language of the two ponies probably would've made this a bit better. Still other then that it was beautifully written and a fascinating story. Added to my favorites and archived to my Kindle.
First off, this story was very boring for me to read because I’m mostly plot driven (like i need some suspense and a “greater” meaning to keep me going and feel invested in the story) and it really didn’t have much going on in that regard but it did kinda reminded me of ”Common Sky” and it had some really good points retarding Luna and the whole lore behind her and how the other ponies see her as, but it’s still a shame that this wasn’t a shipfic, it would have made this story so much more appealing to me (at least). Also when i saw the episode about Nightmare Night my first thought was like “huh... what a way to celebrate luna, oh wait... i meant Nightmare Moon... wait, who is luna again?” -_- but honestly i found the story a little too boring to read and it took me ages to get through it (not that it was poorly written or anything). But thumbs up for not being one of those stories where Luna just walks around on the surface of the moon for a 1000 years like some kind of clueless dimwit whom apparently had no problems travelling back to Equestria in the first Episode of the show... even the lore said she was “inside of the moon” so i really I dislike that stupid idea as it makes no fucking sense (with her just walking around the moon not doing anything for a 1000 years)... so congratz for that one and best of luck with your future stories :)
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Wut?
I wish I had time to write reviews like this.
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Now I remember why I watch you. Because of beautiful stories like this.
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