Luna is excited about astronomy day. Twilight is dragged along for the ride.
Today is astronomy day, and Luna's dragging her marefriend Twilight on a night-time flight. On this flight, however, Twilight learns more about herself than the stars.
Coverart is by RyuRedwings on deviantArt and is used with their permission. Please check out their art as well, because they're extremely talented. Warning: The comments will contain spoilers. Read at your own discretion!
Twilight dragged her hooves along the floor of the Canterlot castle, almost falling asleep on the spot with how tired she was. It had been a long day in Canterlot as she met with ponies from all over the city, giving them friendship advice and then she'd had a meeting with griffon delegates ... Needless to say, Twilight was exhausted.
She finally reached her room and laid her head against the cool stone of the door with a sigh. Twilight thought about collapsing into her bed with a good book or two (or four) and smiled slightly, fantasizing about finally being able to get off her hooves for the first time in what seemed like forever.
"Twilight!" An excited voice shook her out of her pleasant reverie and she snapped to attention, turning around to see Luna trotting towards her, a beam stretching wide across her face. Twilight couldn't help but smile at the sight of her, and she rubbed her eyes with one hoof, hoping somehow to get the tiredness out of them.
"Hello, Luna." Twilight smiled at her and gave her a quick nuzzle, "You seem excited."
"Today is astronomy day!" Luna exclaimed, clasping one of Twilight's hooves to her chest. "I insist you spend the night with me."
Twilight's mouth formed a perfect 'o' shape as a heavy red blush rose onto her cheeks. She tried to string together a sentence, and ended up stammering.
"L-Luna, I-"
Luna was quick to blush as well after realizing what she'd said. She was still getting used to some of the social customs of Equestrian society in this day and age, and it had only gotten worse after finding out that there were certain things you could say that sounded ... well, suggestive. It just wasn't proper for her to say such things to ponies. Especially with Twilight, considering what stage they were at with their relationship.
"Not like that, of course," Luna said calmly, dropping Twilight's hoof as she spoke. "I merely meant that you could, if you'd like to, accompany me on a tour of the night sky. I worked especially hard on it tonight. More and more ponies have come to appreciate my work ever since I came back."
Luna's eyes shone with happiness and Twilight couldn't help but feel rejuvenated by the sight. All her fatigue seemed to fall away in that moment, only lingering slightly, as she thought about going for a refreshing flight. Maybe it was just what her body needed, to feel the air rushing through her mane, to soar and dive and just to be free.
And with Luna by her side, it was sure to be twice as good a time.
"I know how much you value education, so I figure it could be a bit of a hooves-on experience," Luna said, staring at Twilight with her big, cyan eyes.
Twilight's heart nearly melted. "You don't have to try and convince me, Luna," she said, nuzzling her marefriend. "Of course I'll come with you."
Luna smiled as a small blush rose up on her face again, and Twilight smiled back. There was no need for anything to be said, because they knew already what the outcome would be, and accepted it.
"Let us go, then," Luna said, turning to walk down the hallway.
Twilight followed, stretching her wings out, her head already full of constellations and galaxies and shining nebulae.
They took off from one of the balconies, lazily flying slowly through the air. Luna would often fly ahead of Twilight, but then double back to see the expression of joy on Twilight's face as she flew.
Flying was a new experience for Twilight Sparkle still, and she was constantly in awe of the way Equestria looked from above. Everything was put into perspective, and suddenly everything was more detailed. You could see treetops and mountains and the tops of building, all from one point of view. It was truly wonderful, and even for a scholar like Twilight there were simply no words in existence to describe to feeling of soaring through the air as lakes shone and all you could make out of civilization were tiny pinpricks of light.
"I love this," she sighed, turning on her back to watch the sky above her, the stars in their thousands winking at her. She smiled as she felt Luna come up and nuzzle her, listening to the steady beat of their wings, keeping them afloat, moving in tandem with each other.
Everything was so tranquil - Twilight felt like she could stay up here forever.
Luna mumbled something and Twilight turned her head, awkwardly bumping noses with Luna. "What did you say?"
"Machina Electrica," Luna exclaimed, flying further away from Twilight and gliding for a while, pointing to the sky above her.
Twilight looked to see where Luna was pointing, slowing down to glide with Luna.
"South of Cetus. Between Fornax and Sculptor." Suddenly, Luna's mouth was against Twilight's ear, her breath cool and sending sparks of something explainable down Twilight's spine.
Twilight's breathing grew heavy and Luna paused to take a breath in, and licked her lips. Her tongue darted close to Twilight's fur, and she could feel herself turning pink again.
"It's the forgotten constellation. Modern astronomers don't acknowledge it's existence because it was never wildly accepted back when it was named by a pony from Germane-y. The stars are dim, but it is a comfort to know they are there," Luna said, and them she flew away from Twilight quickly, bursting through clouds as her wings beat them away like flies.
They had been flying low, skimming Canterlot rooftops, but now they had risen higher, and to Twilight it almost felt that they were closer to the stars now. She knew it was ridiculous, but it felt like if she stretched her hoof up just a little bit further, she could touch the stars, hold them close and feel them burning, see them shining ...
Without warning, she found herself yearning for this power, wondering what it would be like to have total control over nature. She felt like she'd never wanted anything else more in her lifetime. She shook her head to get herself out of this daze.
"What's it like to control the night?" she asked Luna. When she looked over her shoulder she saw Luna staring at her with a slightly puzzled expression.
"What's brought this on?" Luna asked.
"I've just been thinking about the power you have. All the things you can do ... It's wonderful," Twilight said. Luna's face turned dark for a moment.
"Not all power is as beautiful as you describe it, Twilight Sparkle," Luna said, her voice laced with pain.
Twilight knew that now was not the time to say anything. Luna still ached, she knew, pained by what she'd done in the past. No matter what she did or how much everypony loved her, she would always be trying to redeem herself for what happened over a thousand years ago.
And it broke Twilight's heart.
"I can make beautiful things, true," Luna continued, "I can make stars shine brighter than light itself - but I can also destroy whole galaxies, turning them into nothing but memories and dust. I can summon constellations and create stories that enchant. I sooth foal's dreams - but I can also make their worst fear become their ongoing nightmare.
"I can do terrible things, Twilight. Power takes a lot of self control."
Twilight nodded, all her attention focused on Luna.
Luna's face remained dark for a moment, but then she smiled at her marefriend. Twilight knew that Luna was still scarred by her past, but maybe there was a way of moving forward from all that. She had turned a new page and started a new chapter, and Twilight was the happiest mare in Equestria knowing that she was a part of it.
"Watch this," Luna said, closing her eyes and casting a spell with a look of concentration on her face. Her cobalt blue magic aura surrounded her horn and she smiled as it faded away. Twilight looked confused for a moment, until she felt Luna's hoof on her chin, guiding her head upwards.
"Just wait," Luna murmured, and suddenly it seemed as if the sky was raining light, shooting stars streaming down the sky. They were everywhere, surrounding them, and it felt as if there were hundreds. Once again she felt as if she could reach out and hold on to one of the falling stars, and never let go. They lit up the sky like diamonds, and Twilight felt as if she was inside a giant storm, but instead of fear there was just beauty. She let out a euphoric laugh and she turned to look at Luna, glee shining in her eyes.
Luna was staring at her, and there was something in her eyes, an emotion that Twilight just couldn't place. Whatever it was, it made her heart soar and her stomach was filled with butterflies.
Twilight nuzzled Luna and pecked a kiss on her mouth. "This is wonderful," she whispered in her partner's ear.
"I thought you'd like it." Luna sighed, Twilight's touch completely relaxing her. There was something about Twilight that felt different form her other lovers. Something about the feel of her mane gently brushing hers, their wings beating in tandem ... It painted a picture of perfection, but Luna just couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen. With Twilight, there was always an unusual sense of excitement and - strangely enough - power.
"You're so good," Luna muttered.
Twilight pulled away from their embrace. "Excuse me?" she said with a bemused look on her face.
Luna blushed and flew away from the embrace, gliding towards a nearby cloud. The stars were still falling, still lighting up the sky. It was a pity nopony else could see this because they were all sleeping, yet in a way Luna was glad. This way, it was just for Twilight and her - something special they could share together.
Twilight sat next to her on the cloud and extended one of her wings, draping it over Luna's back. The feathers rustled but were soft on Luna's own, pulling her into a warm embrace.
"You seem to always be doing the right thing. You're always there to save the day, and everyone in Equestria looks up to you. You're the hero. And what am I? The forgotten princess of the night?" Luna sighed and stared up at the stars. Her beautiful creations were shining, and they almost seemed to wink at her. Seeing the night through her eyes was a different experience. It was her canvas, and her magic was the paintbrush, the spells the colours she used to paint her masterpiece.
Every day she worked so hard on her designs, but what was the point if when you went outside little foals ran away?
"You're too good for me. I feel so lucky to have you in my life, because I wake up every day knowing that you appreciate me, and I am worth something to you, and that is the best feeling in the world. I just feel that sometimes ... sometimes I just know that you are going to be the hero in grand tales, and that in a thousand years time they will still be singing your praises, and I just wonder where I'll be. What they'll remember me for. And I know it's not going to be for the good I do but for the things I've done in the past. And that's why I'm so glad that I have you - because I know you're going to remember me," Luna said.
It felt almost as if she'd been carrying rocks on her wings, and now she was almost free to spread them and fly. There was still something she was missing, the lift that would get her off the ground and the weight that would keep her in the air. She had come to her conclusion, and now she was waiting for her revelation.
She looked and Twilight and her heart caught in her throat. Twilight was staring up at her, her eyes as big as saucers, with an expression she could not place - was it joy or sadness? Fear or awe? Luna had thousands of years of experience at reading ponies, but she could not fathom what those amethyst eyes were trying to say, even now.
"Twilight Sparkle." She licked her lips, unsure where she wanted this sentence to go. "I-I don't -"
Twilight cut her off with a kiss, pressing their lips together. It was a short kiss and it never went anywhere, but it filled Luna with more love and commitment than ever before. It made her feel like a meteoroid, and Twilight was the comet she was a fragment of.
They parted, panting, and Twilight stared into Luna's eyes lovingly, stroking her face with one hoof. Luna's eyes shined with joy, but it almost seemed to be dimming now, and her face turned serious. The shine was partially gone, and what remained was just a shimmer.
Here was Luna's revelation, and it was crystal clear, as if it was the only truth that mattered. It was all the truth that was in Luna, and she believed in it with all her heart.
"Twilight Sparkle, I think I might have the pleasure of being in love with you."
Being told that someone loved you was a strange experience, and Twilight wasn't quite sure what to think. Her head was reeling from all the truth that came with that statement, and she needed to put on a clear, logical head if she was actually going to handle this situation with care.
It was almost like a punch to the gut, the way it hit her so suddenly and without warning. It left a dull pain too, and Twilight wasn't sure whether this was good or bad.
And that scared her.
Relationships, on a whole, were a lot like a fight, she reasoned with herself. First comes the casual push and shove, the balance of weight and the easy taunting, before the passion and anger builds and the real emotions start to come through in scratches and kicks and screams.
Happy with her revelation, she turned back to face Luna. She had been staring at her all this time, and the expression on her face was clear - she was afraid. Afraid of what twilight would say and how she'd react, afraid of where their relationship would be going. And when Twilight looked into Luna's eyes and saw a shimmer of tears, she knew that her marefriend was a little bit afraid of herself.
Twilight looked up and the stars and vowed to tell Luna how she felt. The only problem was, her feelings had been scrambled by that dreaded punch to the gut, and she wasn't quite sure what was going on at the moment.
"You love me?" she said in a small voice, looking at Luna. Luna nodded.
"I think so. I might even know so. But I ... I'm not sure. I don't really know. It's certainly a lot to take on board," Luna said, suddenly conscious of the fact that she had her wing around Twilight. Would it be improper to keep it there? Or would it be ungrateful to remove it?
"It is," Twilight agreed. She turned her head back to the stars. It was easier to look at them - they were constant and shimmering, a comforting presence for Twilight. She was afraid that if she looked at Luna for too long then she might be overcome with how beautiful she was, and then the rushing punch to the gut would come back to her again.
Suddenly, she found herself chuckling; she tried to mask it but failed. Luna looked at her inquisitively, but then joined in, their laughter rising, the only sound to be heard in the dark of the night.
They laughed for a while, their voices rising and falling, and eventually it died down.
"I'm sorry. It's a bit of a funny situation," Twilight explained, looking at Luna bashfully.
"Is it?"
Twilight blushed. "Well, I've never had anypony tell me that they loved me before. I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to say."
"Maybe you should try starting at the beginning?" Luna suggested. "I've never been in a situation like this before either, Twilight, and I am just as lost as you are. This is all very new for me."
"But you've had, uh, lovers before me right?" Twilight said, hesitating. She hated the word 'lover' - it always made her think of Rarity's bad romance novels she kept trying to lend to Twilight - but it seemed appropriate in this situation.
Luna gave a throaty chuckle. "A few yes, many thousands of years ago, but ... I did not care for them in the way I care for you. They were merely, as you said, lovers. All mortals too. You can predict the way that went even if you are not psychic."
Luna sighed. It was true, she did not love those ponies like she loved Twilight, but they were still pieces of her heart she could not shatter.
"I'm sorry Luna," Twilight said, nuzzling her fondly, "I know that your past still hurts you, but I can help you," she whispered in Luna's ear, and Luna took in a deep breath, "if you just let me."
"I have started a new chapter now, Twilight Sparkle. The past is behind me, and it shall stay there." Luna pulled away from their embrace and gave her a small smile.
Twilight frowned and turned her head away, mumbling something to herself.
"Hmm?" Luna said.
"You're always pushing me away," Twilight said as she turned around to face Luna again, "You did it earlier, and you're doing it now. Every time we get intimate, or we start talking and I feel like we're getting somewhere new, you turn away from me and change the subject. I understand that it hurts you, but it's going to hurt you forever if you don't talk to me about it - and it's going to hurt me forever too. You've just told me you loved me, so act like you do!"
Twilight drew back, shaking slightly and surprised at how much her outburst actually angered her, and how much of it was true.
Luna drew in a breath nervously, and turned her head away. "I did not realize you felt this way," she said quietly after some time had passed. Twilight had calmed down a bit now, but she found her anger growing because of the remark Luna just made. Why did she have to be so passive?
"Well, I do," Twilight said stiffly, ruffling up her wing feathers again and stretching away from Luna. Earlier her embrace had felt comforting but now it felt suffocating to Twilight. Had it always been that way, or was this just because she was angry? She shook her head and sighed, her emotions stirring inside her like a brewing potion that someone had got wrong, added different ingredients until it was a mess. She was supposed to like Luna. Luna was her marefriend and she was happy with this. She might even be supposed to love Luna - and she did, in some way. Somewhere in her heart, she knew that she did, but she was too angry and too confused to tell whether or not it was real love.
"Twilight, I understand that you feel this way, but I ask of you that you understand. I'm trying, Twilight, I really am. I try so hard every day," Luna murmured, feeling cold now that her marefriend had left her side. "I try so hard and it's because of you. I don't want to make a scene and I don't want to elaborate, because that's not the truth. I could go on and on, making extended metaphors about stars and galaxies, but that's not what this is. The truth is simply that you make me happy." Luna paused, looking Twilight in the eyes. Twilight saw that they were shimmering with tears once again, shimmering with sincerity. "And happy is the best possible thing you could make me feel. Happy is what makes me love you.
"I'm not asking you to think the world of me. I'm not asking you to think that I'm perfect, because I'm not. I want you to see my flaws and love me anyway, but that's not what you're doing. You want me to be faultless and flawless and all these things I'm not because that's what will make you love me. But I can't be that. You don't want a pony with flaws, you want a robot who tells you it loves you."
"It would help if I knew what your flaws were!" Twilight exclaimed. "I can only go so far with what you tell me, Luna. I need you to talk to me, because if you don't then I'm lost, like a traveller without a map. I just ... I don't even know what you're thinking when you look at me anymore - and that scares me a bit."
"I look at you and I think you're beautiful," Luna said.
"That's not what I mean," Twilight said quietly.
Luna took a deep breath, and Twilight thought for a minute she was going to say something. Her heart lifted. Maybe they were getting somewhere now, and not staying stuck in an endless loop of poor communication and hope.
Because that was what was keeping them together, Twilight realised.
Hope.
Luna loved her, and wanted her, and hoped that Twilight would stay with her. Twilight loved Luna as well, but differently. It was true, she loved what Luna could be and the potential she had. Twilight had already achieved goodness, and she hoped that Luna could rise to be as good as she could be - as good as Twilight.
Twilight might not have wanted a robot, but she wanted a hero. Twilight endlessly hoped that Luna could become something more, the something that she loved deep down inside her heart, and that was what kept them together.
There was silence for a moment.
"Are we breaking up?" Luna said softly. Twilight almost laughed; it was such a foalish statement to make, yet the optimistic innocence of it all brought her crashing back down to earth. Their relationship was still new by all common standards, yet they already had built a sense of security around themselves. On the outside they may look like any new couple, but inside there was something mature and dissatisfying about it.
Twilight remembered her earlier revelation about relationships and combat. They had experienced the casual push and shove, and now all that had built up to the real brawl.
"I don't know," she answered Luna. She sighed. "I really don't know."
"I love you," Luna said. Twilight turned to her and saw her eyes were shimmering with tears; the sight made Twilight tear up too.
"Luna - "
"Don't you love me too?"
Twilight pushed Luna away angrily. "Don't try and manipulate me! I don't have to care for you just because you care for me! You may love me, but that's encompassing you, and I can't let it suffocate me. The world doesn't revolve around our relationship Luna. Please, just ... give me time to think."
Luna scrunched up her eyebrows. "I was merely asking. You expect me to trust to and tell you everything, but you're always so angry with me. Give me some time Twilight. I'm not going to fully recover in a few minutes. Your fairy-tale happy ending hero will just have to be put on hold for a while!"
Twilight sat back, stunned into silence.
"I do love you, Luna," she finally managed to say, "but I'm not quite sure my heart can take it."
Luna leaned forward, tentatively nuzzling Twilight. "Let it try," she murmured, before kissing Twilight deeply, her tears dripping down onto Twilight's own face, mingling with her own.
Twilight let Luna kiss her, let Luna's soft lips crash against her own like a tidal wave and let her mouth be explored by Luna's inviting tongue.
"Are you sure you want to -" Luna began saying, her mouth not even having left Twilight's own. it was a whisper only she could here, and the hot breath that danced across her skin made her want to die.
"Don't ask questions I can't answer, Luna," she said breathlessly, before imitating their kiss once again. It was hot and sweaty and Twilight realised that she had somehow managed to rest her hoof on Luna's wing. The cloud was soft underneath then and she pushed Luna down onto it aggressively, climbing on top of her and kissing her again almost desperately.
Luna ran her hooves down Twilight's side and sighed. It was true that she wanted this, and had wanted it for some time now, as new as their relationship was, and she was sure Twilight wanted it to. But after all they had just discussed, there was a feeling of wrongness about it, of desperate desire. Their love was crumbling down right before their eyes, yet they still had this lust to cling onto, something to salvage. They were sifting through the rubble and dust, looking for anything valuable they could get their hooves on.
She wasn't even sure of what she wanted anymore. It was clear that her relationship with Twilight was floundering, and they needed to fix their mistakes, but there was a part of them, a foolish part, that believed everything could stay as it was, though if that did happen Luna knew she wouldn't truly be happy.
But then what did she want? To stay with Twilight in an emotionally crippling relationship? Or to once again have to face her demons alone?
But that was the problem with Twilight. She never wanted to face Luna's demons, only her own. Luna's demons were constantly put on hold.
But you put them on hold yourself, an angry voice inside her head protested. You never tell Twilight what you're fighting.
Luna pushed the voices away in disgust and focused on Twilight Sparkle - the way her eyes shimmered in the moonlight, like pools of amethysts rippling. The way it felt as her hooves, soft as silk, made their way across Luna's wings. That was what really mattered at the moment. Luna knew that after this they were going to have to talk, and she would have to fix things, but she wasn't sure what would happen after that? What would their relationship be like, knowing all the problems they had faced? Could they still survive?
For the moment, Luna was not focused on the future, but on Twilight. In her eyes, Twilight was everything and nothing, the universe and the world.
Twilight was what she wanted. She pushed way all thoughts of trust and demons and her worries and let the lust overtake her, shimmering in her eyes as she brought her on hoof to Twilight's wing.
Twilight was what she wanted. That she now knew for certain.
She was still uncertain, scarily uncertain, of what she needed.
Her uncertainty wasn't what scared her about that.
It was the fact that what she needed was not Twilight anymore.
That was what terrified Luna and what she pushed to the back of her mind as Twilight made her come undone and stitched her back together again, on a cloud far above the twinkling lights of the city of Canterlot.
Twilight was on her back, staring at the sky above her, feeling herself cooling down from her ecstatic high. The stars twinkled at her, and somehow they seemed brighter than before. Briefly, she wondered if it was to do with what they'd done together, and blushed.
Luna lay next to her, her eyes closed. Twilight couldn't tell if she was sleeping or not, and wondered if she would ever get a chance with Luna to discuss how they really felt. All they did was dance around the truth with each other - but now all that had to stop.
.
The sky had never seemed as dark as it did tonight, and Twilight remembered something Shining Armour had once said about his ex-marefriend when she was just a small filly
If you love somepony from far away, you'll only love the idea of them. Once you see them again, you can't love them properly because you've built up this perfect fantasy for yourself, and that's just not the truth. You have to love more than the version in your head, you have to love the real pony.
Twilight struggled with this for a while. Surely she just didn't love the idea of Luna? She knew Luna. They were friends before they were lovers, but now all that seemed to have come crashing down.
She loved the idea of who Luna could be. But she also loved the pony ... didn't she?
Twilight groaned softly. Her head was beginning to ache and all she wanted to do was sleep and forget this night had ever happened, take the easy way out. But when Luna shifted beside her, she knew that in life the easy thing may be what you want to to, but the hardest things in life are what you need to do.
"Luna?" she muttered softly. Luna opened her eyes and stared at Twilight. "We need to talk."
Luna sighed. "I don't want us to break up."
Twilight laughed quietly. "At the moment, I don't even know what I want. I thought I did, but ... Now everything seems to have changed," she said sadly.
"Are we a bad couple?" Luna asked, her head turned towards the sky, staring up at the stars she'd put there herself and waiting for Twilight's answer.
Twilight Sparkle paused for a minute, thinking it over in her head. "Theoretically, yes. I'm neurotic, self-entitled and selfish, and you are temperamental, demanding and possessive. We can never hold a steady conversation about what we want because we are too paranoid of the answer being anything remotely close to wrong, so we avoid all communication and procrastinate. I want you to be perfect and you want me to shower you in compliments, except you can never be my fantasy mare, and I can't lie to you.
"So, yes. Yes. We are a terrible couple."
"Splendid," Luna huffed. She knew that was going to be the answer, and yet somehow, deep down, she had been hoping she and Twilight could be the perfect couple.
But there was no such thing as perfect. Luna learned that the hard way.
"But that's not necessarily a bad thing," Twilight continued, and Luna looked at her, confused.
"I don't understand," she said.
"We love each other." Twilight smiled. Luna tried to return it, but failed. She sighed.
"That's not enough. It's a lovely sentiment, Twilight Sparkle, but it's never enough. Love can conquer evil, but there are just some things it cannot survive."
Twilight turned onto her side so she was facing Luna. "But we can make it survive, I know we can," she said with hope in her voice and eyes. Luna felt like she was driving a sledgehammer down on that hope, crushing it with reality and watching it die slowly in front of her, minute by minute.
"Terrible couples can work out," Twilight continued. "We just need to make it work."
"I don't want to break up with you," Luna said, resigning herself to the fate that was inevitably coming. Their whole relationship had been based around inevitability: the were destined to be together, to have something magical in their hooves - and it was inevitable that it would fall through like stardust, slipping away from them. They were destined to rise and converge and them disappear again, as ponies have done for centuries. They are just one in a million, one page in the age-old story of ponies who fall in love and then fall apart.
"I don't want to break up with you either," Twilight said, pressing her lips to Luna's with a fevered desperateness. Twilight didn't understand why this wasn't working. When things were broken, you used logic to fix them. She and Luna could fix this, she knew it. It was the absolute truth.
"Some things just aren't meant to be," Luna whispered as she pulled away. She wanted this, she wanted Twilight and her to have a carefree loving relationship, but at the same time she was too much of a realist to ever let that happen.
Twilight frowned at her. "You said we had a connection. How could you just throw this away?" she exclaimed.
"I'm not throwing it away! Don't ever tell me that I'm doing that, because that is something I would never do, ever, especially to somepony like you," Luna said, feeling anger quickly swell up in her. She too a deep breath and calmed down before continuing. "I'm not throwing it away. I don't want to do that. But you and I both know that it's time to shatter the illusion. This is not a healthy relationship for the both of us. We're not a good match, and as much as we want to be you just can't force things like that. Our paths are entwined, but we were never joined."
"We're toxic," Twilight muttered to herself. Luna nodded and sighed, burying her face into Twilight's mane, trying to consume her almost, not wanting to waste a minute.
"I just don't think we're working out," Luna stated simply, and then looked confused as Twilight started giggling. "This is no laughing matter, Twilight Sparkle."
"It's very hard not to be. Most problems just repeat themselves over and over again and cannot be solved no matter how much you try."
"A bit like our relationship?" Twilight asked, and Luna only chuckled in response.
"So this is it," Twilight said. A thousand different things to say rushed through her mind, but none of them seemed appropriate. "I'm sorry," she finally decided on.
"Me too. But I guess the end finally has to come at some point," Luna replied.
"But maybe this isn't the end. Not completely. I mean, you never know," Twilight said.
Luna smiled at her. "Your endless optimism never fails to amuse me."
"I'm serious," Twilight exclaimed, clasping Luna's hooves in her own. "Like you said, we're entwined. We can't escape each other. Something like that doesn't end like this."
"So what are you suggesting?" Luna asked. Twilight's hope was infectious, it had attached itself to Luna now and she could feel it buzzing inside of her, like lemonade on a warm day. She allowed herself, just for a minute, to think that their might be a brighter future.
"Well, we're clearly not working out at the moment," Twilight said, and then she kissed Luna once more, quickly. "But I love you," she said as she pulled away, "and you love me. And maybe it's like you said, maybe it's not enough at the moment and maybe it never will be. But it could be. I hope it can be."
"So you want to put us on pause?" Luna asked skeptically. Twilight nodded, biting her lip, and Luna wondered whether she would ever stop loving her.
"I just think maybe it would be best for us if we spent some time apart from one another, and figure out what we want," Twilight began to ramble, but Luna stopped her with a kiss.
"I hope one day we can look back on this and remember, and maybe it will be a good memory," she said in a low voice, looking into Twilight's eyes with a sincere passion, and Twilight felt her breath catch in her throat. She was overcome with want for Luna, and suddenly she found tears in her eyes. She blinked them away and smiled at Luna.
"Pause," she said to Luna, and Luna smiled back at her.
"Pause," she replied.
Twilight thought about the pause, and somehow she knew (or maybe it was her eternal optimism) that someday they would unpause, someday their love for each other would shine once again, and they would be wonderful. It was true, it had to be true because she believed in it with all her heart.
Pause, Twilight thought to herself once more, and grinned.
They were entwined, and they would be joined, because that was how the story went.
