//------------------------------// // Chapter Two // Story: Against the night // by Senorita-De-La-Nieve //------------------------------// Twilight shook her head as Spike blew his green flame onto the scroll. What had she done? She had just invited Princess Luna to spend the day with her essentially, since none of her friends actually KNEW about this, nor did they know about the meteor shower. What would she do? She had invited Princess Luna. PRINCESS Luna. Princess Luna. She gulped down her anxiety and awaited a response, plonking her head down onto the writing desk she had somehow moved to during the course of her writing. She began idly working away at the polished wood surface with her hoof. She would probably be chastised for sending the letter so late, what if Luna had been asleep and she had woken her up? What if Luna didn't send a response? Oh no, she thought to herself. What if Luna's become bored with our friendship? Is there no hope for something more? What if she never wanted to hear from Twilight again? It would break her heart. Twilight took a deep breath and laughed to herself. She reasoned that she was over-thinking, and over-estimating the princess's negative reaction, if indeed there was to be one. They had been fast friends up until now, why should there have been a change in the past 24 hours? She turned her chair around and looked at Spike, who was watching her with a curious look. "What?" she asked, and Spike shrugged his shoulders. "You seem to be a bit worked up about something Twi, is something wrong?" he asked, and Twilight smiled at him. "No, nothing's wrong, just excited, and nervous, about Luna's response. If she says yes then I'll have to prepare so much, I'll have to tidy up the library..." she said, and Spike idly looked at his claws, slightly bored and annoyed he had been woken up. "You mean I'll have to clean up the library..." he broke in, but Twilight kept her pace unfazed. "I'll have to clean up the guest room in case she decides to stay..." she said, and Spike once again broke in "You mean, I'LL have to clean the guest room in case she decides to stay" he said with a slight smirk and Twilight finally caught onto what he was saying. "Spike! This is serious! We might have a princess staying here soon!" she yelled, and Spike held up his claws. "Okay, okay, but, this is Princess Luna, you know, the one who you've been friends with since she came back, well, almost since she came back" he said, and Twilight heaved a great sigh. "You're right. She's my friend, I'm sure she won't care about a little mess, right?" Twilight asked, and Spike held a claw to his chin thoughtfully. "Well, then again, she is a Princess, she's been staying at Canterlot Castle where everything is spotless, and she has many handmaids and servants to keep things tidy..." Spike said, counting off the things on his claw, and with every word Twilight's eyes widened and her pupils dilated to near pin-pricks. Before Twilight could suffer a mental breakdown, however, Spike let out a belch of green flames and a gust of fire brought with it a scroll. Twilight caught it with her magic and lifted over to the desk, a bit afraid to read it, but also wanting nothing more than to rip open the crescent moon seal and read. So she did. Dearest Twilight Twilight's heart did a backflip and a smile grew on her face as soon as she read those two words. All worry instantly gone. Spike waved a hand in front of her eyes, but they kept skimming over the page, so he rolled his eyes and went back to sleep, his eyes closing as soon as his head hit the pillow. I am delighted to report that I will be attending this get together with you and your friends. It really was no contest whether or not I could come, I just had to clear things with my sister first. I shall be departing Canterlot first thing in the morning as soon as Celestia raises the sun, so I should arrive in Ponyville within the morning, say around seven or eight AM. I cannot wait for you to show me around Ponyville, as the last time I visited the fair hamlet I mostly saw the chariot station and your vast collection of books (which may I say now rivals that of Canterlot library), I simply must visit Sugarcube corner, as my sister has informed me of their most delightful baked sweets, and she has also told me of Applejack's apple cider (Which she keeps a barrel of in her closet, don't tell her I told you) And in answer to your previous question regarding my well-being, I am very well, thank you. All the better now as I was beginning to worry that you had forgotten about our nightly 'chit-chats' as my sister calls them. I am hoping you are well too Twilight, and just as excited for tomorrow as I. Wishing you all the best, your good friend Luna. Twilight read the letter and felt herself get giddy at the last couple of sentences, then a blush kissed her cheeks, then, a feeling of panic, all within a few seconds. The princess was coming, and there was so much to do! "Spike!" she called, waking the dragon from his slumber on the floor, she had woken him up rather suddenly. "Bah! Uh, what is it Twi?" he asked, immediately standing to attention, and Twilight jumped up off her chair. "Get me the duster, the cleaning supplies and the washcloth, I need to make this place SPOTLESS!" Princess Luna sent the letter with barely a few motes of her concentration. Sending, a letter was such a trivial task, and one she had mastered long ago. It was no different than levitating a brush, as she was doing now to brush her mane. She sighed as the brush worked through her mane an her thoughts wandered to the place that was occupied increasingly so with images of a lavender coat and dark purple mane, with an adorable pink streak running through it. She imagined the purple eyes filled with an almost childlike innocence, she reminded Luna of... well... herself when she had just come back to Equestria, maybe not with the overpowering voice and out-of-synch language. She allowed herself a giggle. So much had transpired since that day in the ancient, forgotten castle. She had been so reluctant to get out of the castle. Many ponies, until recently, thought of her as a shut in, socially awkward princess. She never went anywhere her sister went, and it wasn't until the Royal Court made an official complaint to her sister that a Ruler of Equestria must be able to socialize with the ponies under their command that she went out at all. That was when she had tried to connect with ponyville during the Nightmare Night festival. That hadn't gone well. Another giggle as she stroked through her mane. The night hadn't been a total waste, she had made a friend at the Nightmare Night celebration in the form of the same unicorn who, not a scarce year before, had been her saviour. And in the end she had connected with the quaint town, though in not the way she wanted at first, nor expected. She sincerely could not thank Twilight Sparkle enough for saving her from, well, herself. Nightmare Moon was nothing more than her own jealousy striving to make itself known. She was glad she had gotten rid of it for good, and she had the young unicorn to thank for it. "Oh Twilight" the princess sighed, and closed her eyes, suddenly imagining it was Twilight's hooves holding the brush. She gently craned her neck and imagined the sweet breath on her neck. The hooves holding the brush soon turned into nothing but bare hooves, she could imagine them running through her mane, tugging at it slightly and massaging her scalp. She shivered as the ghostly apparition of Twilight whispered a word into the princess's ear, her own name containing a dripping sensuality that had the cheeks of the Lunar Princess flush with pink.... "Luna..." The brush suddenly found a particularly knotted part of her mane and got stuck, she gasped in pain as the brush tugged at her mane, and the image was dispelled into a ghostly haze. The brush tumbled to the floor. Luna's breaths were coming in scant gasps and slight pants as she tried in vain to regain her composure. Where in the hay had THAT come from? It certainly was unexpected. Though not entirely unwelcome... a cooing voice spoke seductively, and Luna gasped in shock. How could she even think of Twilight like that? She was her friend, she was so far away, she was a SHE. She was beautiful. Luna shook her head to clear her thoughts and finished brushing her mane. Maybe she just felt a slight affinity for Twilight because she has done so much for her. Yes, that must have been it. It was the only explanation for what she was feeling. It was certainly the most logical way to look at the situation. She sighed again and shrugged privately to herself before pushing herself off of the chair and clambering into her bed. She was certain that after a good night's sleep, things would be more clear. She was wrong. With sleep came the dreams. With dreams came the yearning. With yearning came love.