//------------------------------//
// Intermission Three: Luna. 
// Story: No One For the Gallows But Me 
// by Coyote de La Mancha 
//------------------------------//

The snow had fallen for nearly three days.
The blizzard that had begun it all, of course, had lasted only a few hours. But compounded with the additional snowfall and the continued unseasonable plummet in temperature, much of the city had simultaneously been ground to a halt and worked to exhaustion.
Clearing streets, and then repeatedly re-clearing them. Shoveling sidewalks, salting, shoveling again. Wading through snow drifts with supplies for the elderly and infirm. Taking turns supplying what help they could at hospitals, clinics, and anyplace else that needed assistance.
Luna could only imagine what working for the utilities must have been like. Even after the main blackout had been fixed, small ones had kept happening. From old transformers exploding, cars ramming into poles and breaking the overhead lines, and who knew what else. There had even been burst water mains, further downtown.
And then, that afternoon, it had all just... stopped.  
The snow had turned to rain as the temperature rapidly rose, and then the grey clouds had cleared into a bright summer sky. Snow banks had sublimated into steam as birds cautiously began to sing again. The streets and walkways had become dry almost immediately, only a few salt stains remaining here and there to tell the tale.
That night, Tia had gone to bed before the sun had even set. There had been times in the past when Luna had quietly envied her elder sister her light-colored skin and pastel hair. But sometimes there was something to be said for a nice blue. For one thing, it hid the fatigue better.  
Luna tisked as she shook her head in pity.
Poor Tia. She'd looked like a raccoon.
But now, the summer night was dark and pleasant. Luna had napped and wakened fairly refreshed; she'd learned long ago the futility of trying to sleep through the night. And with her and her sister's house guests, she was certain not to be the only one.
Humming contentedly to herself, Luna took the coffee pot off the stove's burner and poured two large mugs' worth. Then, she stirred a generous amount of chocolate into each, picked up one, and sipped, sighing contentedly. Tia had insisted on buying an electric coffee maker years ago, and recently it had taken all of Luna's persuasive skills to keep her from buying one of those new one-cup machines that everyone seemed to love so much. But as for Luna, give her an old-fashioned gas stove and a coffee pot any day.  
Tia still occasionally teased her about being a Neo-Luddite, and even now the thought made Luna smile. But it remained: sometimes the old ways were just better.  
For example: during the blackouts, they'd still had coffee.
The kitchen door opened almost silently as Luna's royal counterpart entered. One of the many things they'd agreed upon, years ago, was how hard it was to sleep at night. And now, here she'd been, trying to live and work on a diurnal schedule in an alien world for three days. But even exhausted, the princess practically glided across the floor, her eyes barely open as she gave the air an exaggerated sniff.
“Prithee, is that... coffee?” she managed.
Luna grinned. “With dark chocolate.”
A midnight hand reached out with the grace of a bleary swan. “Give me.”
Moments later, the two otherworldly twins were sitting at the kitchen table, sipping their dark ambrosia. Luna gave time for both of them to finish their first cup and start in on the second before breaking the companionable silence.
“How's she doing?” she asked.
The princess sighed, looking into her coffee cup.
“She sleeps,” she said. “Too exhausted these last days to dream lucid, which is her wont. Thus, I can hear her moan and whisper things I cannot make out. And in this world, so little of my magic remains. I can ease her dreams with a touch. But I cannot see them, nor advise her from within them.”
Luna nodded. “That sounds pretty hard. How are you coping?”
The princess smiled.
“Well enough, my thanks for asking,” she said. “Art offering me counsel?”
“Well, not professionally,” Luna replied. “I'm too biased. But I'll offer you my two cents' worth as a friend, if you want.”
The princess' smile faltered, and she looked back into her cup.
“Long have I missed this,” she said.
“You and your sister took coffee with you when you were here last.” Luna pointed out. “I don't know how much time has passed on your side, but...?”
“I think a little under two thousand years,” the princess replied. “Though I confess time is not what it once was for me. And yes, over time, the art of growing and harvesting, and even preparing and brewing coffee has become well established. But it's never tasted the same. Something about the soil, perhaps. Or the difference in magic betwixt our two worlds? I know not.
“But that is not all I have missed, you know. I missed you and yours, as well.”
Luna smiled. “We missed you, too.”
Then, the princess smiled warmly, adding, “And how you have changed! No longer students facing magic's dark mysteries, now I return and find you both teachers in your own right!”
Her smile grew more fond as she added, “Your sister, a leader and organizer; and you, a counselor as well. And what students you have! Would it be remiss of me to say I was proud of you?”
Luna smiled. “I don't think so.”
“Then I am,” Princess Luna returned. “And proud to be your friend, as well.”
They clinked their mugs together, and then silence reigned as they finished their coffee. Luna wordlessly rose and started another pot. It had only just begun to boil when the princess spoke again.
“I always knew I would lose her.”
Luna turned to face her otherworldly friend, keeping her face and stance as receptive as possible. This would be a delicate moment, and she was determined not to make it any more difficult than it already was.
“When we first met...” Princess Luna made a sound somewhere between a cough and a short laugh.  
“Well, let us say it was less than ideal. It was in her dreams, and there were... some misunderstandings between us. And, admittedly, I helped foster them. But then, we met for the second time. It was in the waking world, through Twilight's introduction. I looked upon my Sunrise...”
She turned to Luna, her eyes almost haunted. “I saw her, Luna. I looked upon her, and I saw her, almost against my will! You know that, despite what some may say, I pry not into the hearts of all. I respect the privacy of others, allowing myself to see their dreams only when needs be!”
“I know you do,” Luna assured her. “Anyone who knows you does.”
“But looking at her,” the princess went on, “All I could see was her soul's desire, written across her heart in flame! Never had I ever seen such beauty, such determination... e'en bound as it was by such pain.
“I couldn't look away. I could only stare, mesmerized, absolutely convinced that I was terrifying her and driving her away.”
Accepting a fresh cup from Luna, the princess sipped and nodded her thanks before continuing.
“I blush to say it, but almost immediately passion guided us."
Luna's eyebrows rose as she smiled.  "Oh, really?"
"Yea," the princess confirmed, her cheeks flushing slightly. "But then, as suddenly as we'd begun, confusion fell. Sunrise has no cutie mark, you see.”
For a moment, Luna frowned. Then, her eyes went wide.
“Ouch,” she said.
“Indeed. And faced with this, I... well, I panicked,” the princess admitted.
“Understandable.”
Princess Luna sighed. “Mayhap. But when I did, she thought I had rejected her. She cried out for me not to leave her, and I promised I would not.”
Holding the cup in both hands where she sat, the princess lowered her head, closed her eyes in pain.
“Yet, even then, I knew. I knew beyond any doubt that one day, she would leave me. She would have to. Whether through death or the offer of a better partner, I knew that someday...”
Her voice trailed off into silence.
“That's a terrible burden to take on, even for someone as strong as you,” Luna said softly, placing a gentle hand on Princess Luna's shoulder. “But I think you're underestimating yourself. And I don't think Sunrise leaving you for someone else is even likely, much less inevitable. In fact, I'd bet money she's just as scared you'll leave her someday.”
The princess did not reply, and Luna considered her friend for a moment.
“Have you talked to her about any of this?” she asked.
“Certainly not!” the princess exclaimed. “T'would be cruel. I know how she would answer now... and such an answer would only bind her through obligation, years later.”
“Well, I don't know her as well as you do,” Luna acknowledged, “And I don't know your relationship. But Sunrise doesn't strike me as someone who's easily taken advantage of, even by accident, and you're both pretty good communicators. I'm just saying it's something you may want to consider in the future.”
Crossing her arms over herself, she looked away, “Believe me, I know how badly things can go if you don't talk about what's bothering you.”
Then she smiled at Princess Luna, adding, “As for her mortality, that's a more common concern than you may realize, though your situation is admittedly more extreme. Mostly, it sounds like a good argument for making the most of every day with her... which, from what I've seen over the last few days, you're already doing.”
The princess gave a sad smile in return, but said nothing.
“Thinking back to your certainty about her leaving, would I be out of bounds if I asked where that certainty comes from?” Luna asked. “Have there been a lot of relationships between mortal and immortal ponies on Equus?”
“There have not,” her friend admitted.
“Then it sounds like you're in uncharted waters,” Luna pointed out. “This is a scenario people theorize about, write stories about. But who can say what will actually happen?”
Princess Luna arched an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
Luna sighed. “Yes, seriously! For example. In this world, there's an old movie about an immortal. Early in his life, he marries, and they stay together for decades until she finally dies of old age. Towards the end, she asks him why he never left...”
But the princess shook her head.
“I know the story well,” she said. “In my own lands, there is an opera much like your movie. The story of Highlands Walker, the immortal swordspony. It is a foolish tale, written by those who know nothing.”
Luna cocked her head, inviting her to continue.
“The wonder of such a story, you see, is not that the immortal stays with their mortal love,” the princess explained. “It is that the mortal would remain. Year after year. Always growing older, growing sicker, finding every day a greater burden than the day before.  
“And always in the company of one who, despite the love they share, cannot share the burden of age with them! One who cannot join them in weathering such struggles. One who ultimately becomes a daily reminder of everything they are losing. And one who they know, one day, will bury them.
“Bury them, dust off their hooves, mourn...”
She gave a ragged sigh, and went on, miserably, “...and ultimately, leave their grave behind. Living forevermore without them.”
And then, in a hoarse whisper, “I always knew she would have to go someday. And that, for her sake, I would have to support her choice. And I know that you and your sister have a plan, and I can guess with whom. So I know Sunrise isn't really leaving me. I'm not losing her. At least, not yet.”
Then, looking up at Luna at last, her face contorted in misery, “But it feels like I am.”
Luna began to put an arm around her, and her alicorn friend stood, hugging her desperately. 
The mantle of Her Dread Majesty, Queen of the Night and Whisperer of Impossible Secrets, had finally been... if not fully discarded, at least briefly set aside. The princess' eyes were a little wet when they finally parted, and she sniffled slightly as she smiled her gratitude. But it was obvious that, even now, she simply could not let her tears truly fall.
Luna smiled back at her, and gave her shoulder an affectionate squeeze. She knew exactly what that was like.





Afterwards, they moved to the living room. There was more conversation, though of a lighter tone, and a round of hot cocoa with marshmallows in. The two spoke, laughed, raided ice cream from the freezer, and eventually Princess Luna returned upstairs to get at least a little sleep before facing the challenges of a new day.
For her part, the vice-principal stayed in one of the living room's overstuffed chairs, sipping her chocolate and thinking. She rose twice: once to do the dishes she and her magical friend had used, and once to fetch her cell phone, putting it on the side table next to the couch. Eventually, she dozed where she sat, her drink growing cold on the table beside her.
Night ultimately gave way to morning, as it always must in the human world, and morning slowly gave way to wakefulness throughout the house.  
Breakfast was a quiet affair.
Princess Luna had descended first, freshly showered and wearing a sweater and jeans borrowed from Vice-Principal Luna's collection. Next, Sunrise had padded down the carpeted stairs in sweats that Sunset had loaned her days before, yawning and wiping the sleep from her eyes. Human-born Luna had inquired about what breakfast Sunrise would like, and then set about happily cooking while Sunrise and Princess Luna cuddled on the couch, the three of them making light conversation.  
Then, Principal Celestia had positively bounced down the stairs, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, earning identical eyerolls from both Lunas while Sunrise laughed.
But breakfast itself...  
It felt to Sunrise almost like it was her last meal. And, barring a miracle, she knew that in a sense it probably was. She willed herself to think of something, anything else. But nothing came. And looking around, she could see that the others were having the same problem.
Finally, there was no more food that they could distract themselves with. Sunrise gave a noise of frustration and stood up.
“Okay, elephant in the room time,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck. “There's no more snow, and no more emergency work, so there's no more sense in putting this off.  Anypony got a phone I can borrow?”  
The princess touched her lightly on her arm. “Be not in such haste to go, please. There is yet time.”
But Sunrise shook her head.
“Honey, I have to,” she said quietly. “The more I put this off...”  
Looking down to where her love still sat, she ran her fingers through the princess' hair.
“The more I put this off, the harder it gets,” she sighed. “I'm scared I'll chicken out if I don't do it now.”
Princess Luna stood and kissed her gently.
“Then do it now, my love,” she said. “And know I shall always stand with thee, so long as thou desires.”
Smiling, Sunrise kissed her back.
“Then that'll be forever,” she said softly.
The princess gave her a sad smile as Sunrise accepted the vice-principal's phone. Twilight's number was on speed dial, right below Celestia's and Sunset's.
The phone rang once and was answered.
“Hey, it's me,” Sunrise said. “Hope I didn't wake you? Okay, good. Um, yeah. So, anyway.”
Princess Luna slipped her hand into Sunrise's, and Sunrise squeezed it tightly. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath.  
“Tell your brother I'm ready.”