//------------------------------//
// Surviving the First Night 
// Story: Brony Recon: To Live and Love in Equestria 
// by Freescript the Bard 
//------------------------------//

Luna's POV

I had always walked through the gardens after sunset, when I raised the moon. It seemed that my dear sister had every inch of the garden in the old castle remade in Canterlot, and it provided a nostalgia from before the time of Nightmare Moon. It seemed like a routine night, my walk being as uneventful as ever. That is, until I heard the crash from the center of the hedge maze.

For a split moment, I contemplated navigating the small labyrinth, but foalishly recalled the avian appendages on my back. Spreading my wings, I took off, flying low above the maze. As I neared the center, I heard an audible groan of agony. I peered down to see an admittedly comical sight. The statue of Discord had tipped over. Beneath it, a blue pegasus pony covered in black marks lay unmoving. I landed near the stallion's head so I could attempt to free him.

I could see his injuries would cause him pain. "Try not to move, stranger."

His eyes opened, golden irises meeting mine. He just stared. "Beautiful…" he whispered, "Are you an angel? Wait, that means I'm dead. Am I dead?" I backed off, thinking him hysterical from pain. "So pretty…"

"Sir, please be still. I will attempt to lift Discord off thou, but I beg you remain motionless."

"Discord-?" He flicked his gaze to the statue's head and gave a start, causing him to cringe in pain.

"Stay thy movement, stranger, I will assist you."

"Whatever you say, beautiful…" Most definitely hysterical.

I levitated the statue off his body with care and moved it back to the podium from which it fell. Glancing back down at the damaged pony, I moved my head closer to examine his injuries. "Thou are covered in burns, I must see you to a hos-"

He kissed me. Despite his obvious pain he leaned up and planted his lips upon mine. It was unexpected… yet I held. This display was pure, out of affection for me. I do not know why I kept, but I remained until he had passed out, leaving me wondering what had driven this stallion to do such a thing.

My thoughts were interrupted by a rustling at the exit to the labyrinth. A green earth pony appeared from the maze and stopped when he saw the unconscious pegasus and I. At first I thought he was a gardener, but he had no vest to signify him as such. He then rushed over to my side, staring at the injured stallion. "Oh crap, Skyblaze!" he despaired before turning to me, "Your Magesty, what happened?"

"Uh…" I stuttered, "He was trapped under the statue of Discord, how, I do not know. Neither do I know how he was burned otherwise." I gripped the limp body with magic and turned to the green pony. "We must make haste for the castle physician, or I fear his life may be forfeit." The pony followed me as I made my way out of the maze, the hedges parting as I neared. It took seven minutes to burst through the doors to the medical office within the castle.

Within five minutes, the royal blue stallion was laying on a cot, a salve applied to his burns. I stayed near, standing by the green earth pony who claimed he was the pegasus' friend. "What is thine name, sir?" I asked him.

"Kind Greetings, Your Highness. But for brevity, you may call me Ben."

"And… his?"

"Skyblaze," he said. Kind Greetings trotted to the other side of the cot, looking at Skyblaze with concern. I stood where I was, near the door, feeling rather… confused. This stallion had shown me an affection, true and undoubting. Trust in me, after millennia of suitors, I know if a stallion means true. Skyblaze had not kissed me out of madness born of pain, but of love. Can one fall in love in the mere seconds he was awake to see me?

Skyblaze's POV

Evidently, when you faint of pain, the last few moments of your waking memory play over and over in your mind. Unlike my normal thought process, my subconscious has a clarity that isn't affected by the agony my body felt.

I saw whose lips I locked with in the clear sight of a pegasus. Her face was torture beyond belief, not in the pain that I experienced, but from recognition. Luna was always one of my favorite characters in the show, but now I felt something more for her. A deep emotion, but one I was all too familiar with. And it scared me to hell.

Kind Greetings' POV

"C'mon, Skyblaze, wake up. Markus, please," I sighed and looked at Luna, "I hate to impose, Princess, but why did you choose to stay?"

The Princess looked at me. "I want to be sure he is well," she answered, "what is it you were attempting moments ago?"

"I studied a bit of psychology back home. There are three ways that I remember to wake somepony from a comatose state induced by pain," I said, "the first is asking them by their preferred name to awaken. The second is splashing them with cold water, but that can be… dangerous. The only other way I can think of is…" I stopped, knowing quite well that the last option couldn't work.

"Yes?" Luna asked.

"If you must know, it is for somepony the patient cares for or feels compassion toward to… erm… hug or kiss them. But there isn't anypony like that for Sky."

I looked back at Luna, but she was staring at Skyblaze. It was a long minute before she moved. Suddenly, the moon goddess leaned over the comatose pegasus and kissed him on the forehead. My rational and logical mind broke down, and I was reduced to a blubbering idiot. She pulled back, and for a second nothing happened.

Sky's eyes shot open and he grabbed the nearest pony he could. Gripping my head between his hooves, he looked into my eyes with an extremely panicked look, his irises near pinpricks.

"I am in love with LUNA!" he said with complete terror, "Ben, you gotta help me! Nopony can EVER find o--" he stopped. "She's behind me, isn't she?"

I nodded, and he was once again unconscious.

Shift's POV

I have this recurring nightmare. It's not all scary, but it does kinda explain why I hate the cold. Like always, it starts with a normal dream. I was at a party with Pinkie Pie and the rest of my friends, along with the mane six and the princesses. For some odd reason, Skyblaze asked Luna to dance during a slower song. While they were swaying in an odd spectacle, Luna being twice as tall, the nightmare began.

I fell, like all my nightmares, through the floor. I only tumbled twenty yards to a snowy ground, but if I looked up, I would only see a starless, moonless night. But none of that occurred to me as my Changeling body began to freeze. Being more insect than mammal now didn't help. All I could do was shiver and feel my organs shut down.

But this time, I felt something different. I felt a heat emanating from some thirty feet away. By instinct, I moved involuntarily toward it. I crested a snow bank and was blasted by comforting warmth. In the bottom of the copse, there was an inferno, burning brightly in midair. I moved closer, welcoming the searing heat. Now only a yard away from the blaze, I could see the heart of the flame.

A literal heart, mind you. It was no larger than my holed hoof, and was a shade of lavender. The fire burned around it, but it did not consume. From the small heart, I felt love, and it was feeding the fire keeping me alive.

>>><<<

I woke up, nearly jolting. It was still midnight, the moonlight filtering in through the library's windows. I was laying in the guest bed Twilight had set up on the second floor, moving me with magic up to it the previous evening. There was something wrapped around my shoulders and pressed against my torso. I couldn't see what it was until the taste of comfort or bliss (they taste the same, trust me) hit my metaphysical tongue.

Opening my eyes, I almost jumped at the sight of Twilight cuddled up against me. This was almost as weird as my ex-girlfriend trying to do that when we were together. That relationship ended like many others; me confessing my love for My Little Pony. But since I couldn't admit that I loved a show that the one I'm… okay this is getting over-complicated. The immediate matter is that Twilight was in my bed.

As much as I would like to let her sleep, the situation was getting kinda awkward for me. Suddenly, for the briefest moment, there was the sweetest taste I've ever known. There is no comparison, the emotion not lasting long enough to identify. It was concerning enough to nudge the sleeping unicorn. "Huh… Wha…?"

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Huh? What am I… oh!" she started out of her tired trance, "Oh my Celestia! Um… I…"

"You were cuddling me," I said matter-of-factly.

She sighed. "You were shivering, so I tried to put more covering on you. But even after four extra blankets, you were still cold to the touch," she stammered, "so I… tried to share my body heat with you, and you started to warm up."

Holy Luna, I thought, SHE was the lavender heart in the fire. She saved me from a frigid fate in the dreamland. Twilight saved me from myself. There was no words to express my gratitude, so as she moved to leave the bed, I hugged her tight. "Thank you Twilight," I said, "you saved me from my nightmare."

I tasted confusion, Twilight looking at me with inquisitive eyes. The perplexed vibe turned to relief. "You're welcome, Shift," she said, "I'm always there for a friend." She snuggled against my chest, making me want to 'D'aww'. I closed my eyes as well, feeling her emotions.

"Um… Twilight?"

"Yes?"

"Can you… erm… can I stay here tomorrow? And can I sleep by you again?" It sounded almost foalish, like a small child asking her mother if they could sleep by them because of a monster in the closet.

She shifted a little in my grasp. "Of course."