Renaissance of The Moon

by Habanc


Bonus - A Christmare to Remember

This is a short add-on to the storyline. It plays no real significant part within the actual story, set months after the Epilogue took place. This chapter wasn't designed for much more than the enjoyment of Luna x Fluttershy shipping (Because, to be honest, there isn't nearly as much as there should be). It was inspired, or more specifically made me depressed/angry enough to write, by this picture:

So, yes. I saw this picture, got incredibly sad for a few moments, and then I thought to myself 'Well, why can't Luna have a happy Christmas? Or, for that matter, A happy Christmare? So, if you find this not as enjoyable as the others, here's an explanation.

This part isn't going up on Equestria Daily. It's too much of a pain to get stuff on there.


Luna felt a soft hoof rub her shoulder. “Come on, time to wake up Luna. It's almost morning.” Eyes not even opening, she used her magic to pull her blanket closer to her. She had no intentions of getting up yet, her body and mind still drowsy.

“No! Five more minutes!” She pouted, nestling her face deeper into her pillow. She shuffled herself in a more comfortable position before letting out a elongated yawn.

Fluttershy rolled her eyes, sighing humorously. Even though the lunar goddess didn't need sleep, she had since become dependent on it ever since meeting Fluttershy. Usually she would get the extra few minutes of rest, but today was different. Today required immediate action.

Fluttershy gently flew over the bed and landed behind Luna. She rubbed up close to her companion, whispering in Luna's ear, “Loons, can you get up, if you don't mind?” She tried her best to sound as caring as possible.

Luna's mouth began to twitch into a smile, the rhythm of her breathing changing slightly. Fluttershy kissed her on the cheek, realizing a crack was forming in Luna's stubborn attitude. “Besides, do you remember what today is?”

The alicorn opened a single eye, peering at Fluttershy questioningly. “Oh, you don't, do you?” Fluttershy continued softly. “Because I do, and I remember how it was almost impossible for you to fall asleep last night. You were so excited because you knew today is-”

“It's Christmare Day!” Luna squealed in delight, shooting up out of bed. The blanket was still wrapped around her, now covering her head due to her rapid movement. Fluttershy laughed at the sight of her beloved mare hovering in the air, a blue blanket draped over her head.

Not even wanting to take the time to remove the blanket, Luna flapped her wings, carrying her in the direction of the stairwell. “Woo hoo! It's Christmare Day!” She yelled childishly as she flew. “It's Christmar- Oof!”

Luna crashed into the wall, the stairwell mere inches to her left. She knew Fluttershy's cottage well, but not well enough to navigate it blinded. Bouncing to the ground, the blanket undid itself as Luna eventually came to. “Ouch...” She said, rubbing her horn gingerly.

Fluttershy gasped in surprise as the darker pony slammed into the wall. She was worried that Luna could have been hurt, and scrambled off the bed to reach her.

However, Luna was quicker, shaking her head briskly as she rose again to her feet. “Come on Fluttershy! It's Christmare Day!” She called back, scampering down the stairs.

Fluttershy giggled as she trotted behind her. Despite her royal position and stature in society, she had discovered that Luna tended to act like a filly at times. Not that it was bad, quite the opposite, as Fluttershy couldn't help but find it adorable.

Fluttershy found Luna waiting for her downstairs, sitting by the ornament-laden tree they had put up a few nights earlier. She was happily reaching under the tree, as if to find something. “Uh, Luna... Are you sure you're okay?”

Luna looked up at her, smiling brightly. “Why wouldn't I be? This is my first ever real Christmare Day!”

Fluttershy recoiled slightly in surprise. “It... It is? Don't you and Celestia celebrate it too?”

“Oh, well... Yeah I guess.” Luna waved her hoof in dismissal, “But we were too busy doing parades and celebrations to really do anything like this.” She got up and trotted over the the yellow mare, “Besides, I have the best pony to share it with.” She quickly kissed the now-anxious Fluttershy.

Fluttershy felt her heart drop at that comment. Fear pulsed through her veins, her mind fighting itself over a single fear. 'What if I ruin it?'

“Anyways, can we open presents?” Luna took a step back, looking up at Fluttershy with pleading eyes. “Please?” Fluttershy sighed and nodded, as Luna gave a joyful whoop before charging back to the tree.

Fluttershy settled herself on the couch as Luna came back, presents carried by her magic, perhaps ten in all. Setting them on the ground, Luna hopped onto the couch next to her. “Here you go!” She said cheerily, lifting a present to Fluttershy.

The pegasus grabbed it, it's bulky, rectangular shape hard for her to figure out it's contents. Cautiously, she began tearing off the red and white polka-dotted wrapping paper. Underneath, revealed a white box. Prying it open, Fluttershy removed the translucent wax paper to reveal...

“Socks?” Fluttershy said, picking one up questioningly. It was predominantly pink, with small blue butterflies on them. They were very soft and plush, undoubtedly made by some of Equestria's best tailors.

“Yeah.” Luna said, “They're really comfortable and soft on your hooves. I know you don't like getting the high-end treatment all the time, but these ones are much better than what you'd find in an average boutique.” She stammered slightly, “I-I thought about getting you regular ones, but I felt it would be a dishonor to buy you something that may not have been comfortable as these.”

Fluttershy couldn't find any spot to disagree, not speaking as she felt the expertly-crafted hoofwear. These socks were indeed the perfect things to wear around the house, especially in winter. They were light, yet incredibly cozy and warm.

“I love them.” Fluttershy said, a smile forming on her face. She noticed that Luna withheld a doubtful expression. The nagging fear about ruining Luna's first Christmare Day raced back to the front of her mind. “I really do, in fact I think I'll put them on after we finish with the rest of the presents.”

She looked down, grabbing a blue present in her hooves and tossed it to Luna. “Speaking of presents, here's one for you.” All remnants of her previous emotions dissipated as the alicorn squeaked in joy and began opening her present. Unlike Fluttershy's dainty procedure, this was more like a mad dash to discover what was inside. Wrapping paper flew as the eager pony charged onwards, landing on Fluttershy amongst other places.

Pushing a piece of vibrantly-colored paper out of her eyes, Fluttershy saw Luna hugging a small blanket. It was dark blue, with a sole crescent moon in white. “How, how did you know about this?” Luna asked, looking up at her.

“Oh, Celestia told me about it a month ago. You never told me you had a special blanket as a filly.” Luna blushed furiously and tried to respond, but Fluttershy cut her off, “She said you lost it a long time ago, so I decided to make you a new one.” Then she added in more quietly, “Do you like it?”

“Of course I do!” Luna said loudly, only changing her voice after seeing Fluttershy cringe and massage her ears. “It's perfect... Just as I remember it.” She rubbed her face into the comfortable texture of the blanket one last time, nostalgia almost overpowering her before setting it down.

“Time for another present!”

-~-

“Aww, this is perfect!” Luna said cheerfully, putting down a small card, “This spa pass is going to be a wonder for my back. Although, how'd you get it?”

“Oh...” Fluttershy began quietly, “Y'know, I just asked Rarity to get a deal with them. It was nothing.”

Luna looked around, the hill of wrapping paper almost half a pony high on the floor. There was a stack of boxes and gifts on the small coffee table, almost creating a short wall. No other present remained, and she smiled as she looked back to her love. “Anyways, this was perfect, Fluttershy. Thanks so much for making my first Christmare day so amazing, I'll remember it always.”

She leaned in to give the pegasus a peck on the cheek, but was stopped by hooves along her chest. Luna looked down, and noticed that the hooves barring her way were yellow. She looked at Fluttershy, her quizzical looks rapidly forming into a confused frown.

“It's still not over, Loons. I have one last present for you, the most important of them all.” Fluttershy said, withdrawing her hooves off Luna and retrieving something from behind the couch. Pulling out a small brown box , she passed it to the blue mare.

“What is this?” Luna asked, mystified. She shook the box with her magic, pressing an ear to it.

Fluttershy giggled, “I guess you won't ever know, since you aren't opening it.” Luna blushed quickly, before being replaced by a joyful expression as the opened the box. She poked her head inside, smiling in anticipation.

When she looked back up at Fluttershy, a sullen look was on her face. Her bottom lip was trembling. “You got me a piece of string?”

Fluttershy smiled warmly, shaking her head. “No. Try pulling it out of the box.”

Luna sniffed slightly, before her horn lit up in a magical aura. Fluttershy could see as the string made it's way out of the box, until it stopped short with a twang. Not backing down from the challenge, Luna's face hardened and her horn grew a little brighter as she put more force into pulling the small tendril.

The string flew out into air, Luna's magic tearing it out of the box. She hardly noticed it fly by, as a small compartment opened within. Carefully, she lifted the hidden objects out of the cardboard box.

Two thick slips of paper were held in the air, suspended by Luna's telekinesis. She brought them close to her face, it's expression morphing rapidly back to joy. “Are these what I think they are?” Luna asked, giddiness rising in her voice.

“I-I think so?” Fluttershy said, sounding uncertain, “I mean... I certainly hope they are. You've only been talking about going to the Haliflanks Convention for weeks now.” A playful glint appeared in her eyes, if only for a second.

The Haliflanks Convention was a musical jamboree hosted within the city square on New Year's Eve, where performances were held unlike any in Equestria. Musicians and bands came from all across the spectrum of music to play there. What made the convention special, was the types of music that were played. More often than not, musicians of totally different genres would be paired together and given only a few days to come up with a song to perform.

This year, the main attraction was a performance by two earth ponies. The first was the renowned Double bassist from Canterlot's royal ensemble, Octavia. Second, was a dance music composer, a pony from Germaney known on stage as “Moguine”. Luna admired both of them, and it was undoubtedly the only time the two musicians would perform together.

Fluttershy was caught off guard as Luna wrapped her arms around the pegasus. A small “oof” could be heard as the air was expelled from her lungs. However, all sense of discomfort disappeared as she felt the alicorn nuzzling up against her. It was times like this that could cause a pony like her to just forget about the world.

Fluttershy hugged her back, whispering, “I'll take that as a yes.” Then she added in a less humorous voice, "I love you too, Luna."

Luna said nothing, instead enjoying the pulses of emotions that soared body. Although it'd happened to her before, merely knowing that she was loved was a euphoria. It was indescribable by any words created by ponykind, impossible to create at any laboratory or scientific facility.

This sense of belonging, of being deeply cared for... This was what truly made her Christmare Day one to remember.