“Princess Luna,” Twilight said, careful to keep her tone polite and perky so as not to bely her anxiety, “how can I help you?”
“May I come in?” Luna asked with a serene smile, almost as if there was nothing wrong at all.
No. You cannot come into my library, is what Twilight wanted to say more than anything.
“I’m sorry,” and she wanted it so badly that she had to at least try, “we’re closed today. Can you come back tomorrow?”
“I’m afraid I cannot,” Luna’s tone was cheerful enough, but Twilight couldn’t help but hear an underlying ice in her words. “I won’t take up much of your time, I just wanted to ask you a few questions about your library. It recently sprung up here in Canterlot, and I’m afraid I don’t know much about it.”
“I’d be happy to answer your questions,” Twilight winced, and she managed to keep her hand firmly on the doorframe, even when it instinctively wanted to clutch her heart as it burned from her magic exhaustion, “tomorrow, when we’re open.”
“Twilight Sparkle,” Luna’s smile dimmed, and Twilight swallowed anxiety, “the Moon District of Canterlot is under my jurisdiction, it’s even named after me. How do you think I would look to my colleagues if I told them I didn’t know a single thing about the town’s famous library?”
Luna’s smile returned, but Twilight saw no cheer in it; only a stern warning not to refuse her again.
Twilight wondered why she even tried, but she knew she would wonder what would happen if she didn’t, so she supposed it didn’t matter either way.
“Well,” Twilight said painfully, forcing herself to keep a brave smile on her face, “when you put it like that, I suppose it would be my honor to answer whatever questions you have!”
Twilight headed into the library, and she could feel the ironclad presence of the alicorn princess following behind her, even without looking. Every step the woman took into Twilight’s library was like a cold iron horseshoe pressing against Twilight’s already frail heart.
“Can I get you some tea?” Twilight asked, turning around to look at her guest.
“No thanks,” Luna waved, then tapped at her chin, “though if you have coffee, I wouldn’t mind a cup.”
“Freshly brewed this morning,” Twilight assured, “wait right here?”
“Certainly,” Luna sat down at the lobby’s large rectangular table, folding her arms atop it and glancing around the library.
Twilight headed to the kitchen, but stopped just short of the door. She wondered how much she should tip her hand; Luna seemed keen to reaffirm the plausible deniability she had going, even though it was as obvious to Twilight as it was to Luna herself that Luna could see right through Twilight.
Still, if that were the case, what was she doing here? Why ask to come into the library? Why all the smiles? Why not bring an army or something, or chase Twilight down with torches and pitchforks, like Twilight expected?
What did Luna want?
“Twilight Sparkle?” Luna asked, and Twilight grit her teeth and smiled as she spun around, thankful she didn’t jump ten feet in the air from shock. “Is everything alright?”
“Wha— oh, yeah,” Twilight chuckled nervously. “I got distracted for a minute.”
Twilight paused, and Luna nodded knowingly, politely.
Everything about Luna was ‘polite’, and it was starting to eat away at Twilight. Why? Why be so ‘nice’? Why try to act friendly?
Unless…
Unless Twilight had read the situation wrong this entire time.
What if Luna hadn’t seen through her? What if Luna was genuinely interested in asking about the library, like she claimed? And, more importantly in this moment, what if she really wanted that coffee that Twilight still hadn’t brought her?
“Please wait here,” Twilight said with a bow, her first act of genuine courtesy to her alicorn guest, though she then looked Luna right in the eye to deliver her own warning. “Please don’t leave the lobby. This may be my place of business, but it is also my home, and I do value my privacy, if you don’t mind.”
“Perish the thought,” Luna said firmly. “I would never venture into someone’s home without their permission.”
You’ll just push them until you get that permission? Twilight grumbled in her head, though if Luna really was who she presented herself to be, and not just playing some kind of long game, then that kind of comment would be very rude.
Twilight hopped into the kitchen and procured the coveted coffee, and poured herself a glass of chamomile tea while she was at it. She took the time alone in the kitchen to process some of her thoughts, and to calm her nerves; though the consistent throbbing pain in her heart from the magic exhaustion was not helping.
She briefly wondered if she could take Princess Luna in a fight if it came down to that, but quickly decided the answer was absolutely not— exhaustion or no— and then wondered if she needed to, would she be able to get herself and Spike away from the library and to safety if Luna became hostile?
Again, she surmised the answer was no. She could get Spike to safety with a pre-prepared contingency spell, but her and the library would likely be destroyed if a fight broke out inside it.
And Twilight wasn’t about to let the library burn down when Rarity was looking forward to coming back to it, when it was the most steady home that Spike had ever known, when it was the place where Twilight had met Rainbow Dash, partied with Applejack and Pinkie Pie and the others, and made so many incredible memories.
For now, so long as Luna was interested in staying polite, Twilight would play along.
“I’m back!” Twilight said cheerily, putting the coffee in front of Luna and sitting across the table from her. Luna took a sip of the coffee, and Twilight tried to relax her shoulders. “So, what did you want to ask about?”
Luna tapped her chin, pretending to—or rather, likely thinking of what it was she wanted to ask.
“I suppose my first question is,” Luna said, “when did you arrive here?”
“In Canterlot? About three months ago now.”
“Hm, interesting,” Luna nodded, and gave a faint chuckle. “But what I meant was, when did you arrive in Equestria? I asked around about you, just a little bit, and I hear that you’re from… Zebrica? Is that right?”
“That’s right,” Twilight said flatly.
That was a red flag, but it didn’t necessarily mean anything. Twilight had been rather open about her history with the library’s patrons, so it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for someone to share that knowledge, especially if Princess Luna asked them for it.
Twilight took a deep breath and tried to recall the answer to Luna’s question; she hadn’t realized just how long she’d been in Equestria until the answer left her lips.
“I’ve been here, just over a year now,” Twilight let out a sincere chuckle. “Wow, time sure flies.”
“What made you decide to settle down in Canterlot?” Luna asked abruptly, taking a sip of her coffee.
“When I arrived in Canterlot’s Moon District for the first time,” Twilight recalled, “I pegged it for a rather sleepy town where not very much happened. I’m happy to say that I was right! Besides,” Twilight giggled, “you didn’t have a library before I moved in, and how could I stand by and not correct such a horrible mistake?”
“These books all belonged to you already?” Luna asked, her tone taking on a surprised note that made Twilight smirk proudly. “This is quite a collection to just be carrying around.” Luna smiled at Twilight, resting her cheek against one hand. “Are you something of a hoarder?”
“I’m an avid collector,” Twilight replied immediately, trying to ignore Luna’s shift in tone that felt like a cat about to pounce on a mouse. “I use magic to carry all these books around with me, though I must admit I prefer just leaving them in the library.”
“You’re quite an accomplished magician, I hear,” Luna looked down at her coffee and tapped her fingernails against the porcelain cup. “And I could sense the powerful protective spells placed around the library as soon as I walked in. You’re no amateur, that’s for certain.”
“I’m naturally gifted,” Twilight moved to take a sip of tea but found her stomach was too knotted to enjoy it. “And I’ve had excellent tutorship.”
“I see,” Luna glanced over at the stairwell leading to the attic, and Twilight’s already frantic heartbeat quickened its pace even more. “As I said, I can feel the protective magics you’ve cast over this place, though the magic on the second floor seems even more powerful. Why is that?”
“That’s where my son is,” Twilight answered, her voice momentarily losing its cheerful tone and gaining a cold edge in its place.
“Your son?”
“Yes,” Twilight said firmly, locking eyes with Luna. “A pegasus named Spike.”
“Oh, would it be alright if I said hel—”
“No.”
Twilight stared Luna right in the eyes with no smile on her face. She was fine with playing the plausible deniability game all the way until Spike became involved, and she needed to make it clear to the Princess that the only way she was going to engage her son was if Luna walked over Twilight’s dead body to do it.
“Uh, right then,” Luna cleared her throat and tapped a nail against the wooden table. “I suppose I only have one more question.”
Now Twilight smiled genuinely, feeling a breath of relief coming on as she could see the finish line just ahead.
“And what is that?” Twilight asked.
“Why are you here?”
Twilight wrinkled her nose. She understood perfectly well that Luna was no longer speaking of the library, or even Canterlot; she was asking what Twilight was doing in Equestria. And it didn’t matter to Twilight whether Luna was being genuine or trying to bait her, Twilight’s honest answer would remain the same.
“I came here to raise my son,” Twilight said without hesitation. “This is where he was born, and it’s where I was born and raised too. Zebrica is home, yes, but Equestria is our home too, and I wanted him to experience it before he got older. I want him to know the magic that I see in this place, the peace and the harmony that I knew as a child.”
If Luna was dissatisfied with Twilight’s answer, she didn’t show it. She merely took one last sip of her coffee, and let out a long, arduous sigh.
“You’re truly a queer woman, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna let her cheek rest against her hand and gave Twilight a crooked smile
“I do like girls,” Twilight answered smugly, and Luna just rolled her eyes, and in that moment she reminded Twilight of Rarity, and Twilight wondered how Rarity was doing right now, and if she was safe.
“Let me give you this word of advice, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said as she rose from her seat, and Twilight bolted to her feet, eager to see Luna on her way.
“Yes?” Twilight asked, trying not to look as desperate for Luna to go away as she felt.
“Equestria is a land of harmony, but it has its shadows just like anyplace else. There will be ponies who want to do you harm, and not all of them can be so easily pacified by a good cup of coffee.”
Translation: ‘don’t push your luck, because not everypony is going to look the other way like I’m doing’, Twilight thought nervously.
“Thank you, Princess Luna,” Twilight bowed her head, and Luna bowed in return.
Luna went on her way without another word, and Twilight leaned her body against the library door and breathed an enormous sigh of relief once Luna was gone and Twilight was certain she was safe.
Twilight looked out the window, and saw that the sun was getting ready to set. Ponies would be asleep in their beds soon, and Twilight would be safely resting in the mountains. She just hoped that Rarity wouldn’t need her company too terribly when she returned.
Twilight sat down and looked at her tea. It was probably cold now, but that wasn’t beyond her power to fix, and now that she could relax a little, perhaps a sip of tea would be just what she needed to—
A loud knock at the door disturbed her thoughts and she wondered if anypony in this town could even read or knew what the word ‘closed’ meant.
Twilight’s protection spells didn’t allow her recognize whoever was knocking, but the feel of their magic brushing against Twilight’s did seem nostalgic to her somehow.
There was no way that could be Princess Luna again, so it must have been some customer, too eager to arm themselves with knowledge and the power of books to read the closed sign. Twilight respected that kind of enthusiasm for reading, but she wished whoever it was could be experiencing it on a day when Twilight’s heart didn’t feel like it was about to explode.
Another loud knock, more eager than the last.
Twilight sighed and supposed that it wouldn’t ruin her day to talk to one customer, at least to tell them to come back tomorrow.
Though when she opened the door, she realized how wrong she was.
“Heeeey, Twilight,” a pale blue ‘unicorn’ grinned proudly at Twilight from the other side of the door, “long time no see, huh?”
Twilight slammed the door in Trixie’s face. She didn’t have time for this garbage today.
How did she even find me?
A loud CRACK resonated behind Twilight, who didn’t even flinch; she merely turned around and glared at the intruder who teleported into her library, only briefly recognizing that her protections spells did nothing to stop Trixie from barging in.
Twilight supposed she would just have to make time for this garbage today.