//------------------------------// // Chapter 20: Of Potions And Partners. // Story: To Equestria And Beyond (Rewrite In Progress) // by NightFurySpeedey8156 //------------------------------// At Canterlot's renowned hospital, Luna, while happy over her newfound feelings for Night Fury, was still worried about his overall health and mental state. The princess had practically ordered her feline lover to get checked up on his state. Luna was waiting impatiently to hear the doctor's diagnosis. I hope all his energy has not caused any permanent damage. I can be thankful that the public now condemns Blueblood not Night Fury though. Still I just hope things will be positive. She said to herself. Soon the doctor overseeing Night Fury walked out of his room. Luna practically jumped up to hear what he had to say. "Well doctor, how is he?" She asked frantically. "Good news, your highness, he's going to be fine." The doctor said with confidence. Luna let out a big sigh of relief at the news, she was glad that Fury was going to be okay. "However, he will need some time to recover. We traced the mana signature of the blue energy back to a nerve piercing spell in one of Princess Celestia's personal spell books. The spell is specialized in dealing disruptive blows to the nerves, mostly used just for stun attacks. But, if performed in a specific manner, it can be deadly. Thankfully, with Blueblood having taken so much of a beating from the ambassador, the spell only caused minimal injury." The doctor explained. Luna was not too surprised by this news. She expected much worse if anything. I guess I'm thankful Night Fury had that brief storm of berserker fury. "That's good tidings. When will Night Fury recover fully?" "At best it might take a month. Try to make sure he doesn't do too much fighting or that energy dash. And no adventures going through caves right now." The doctor said sternly. Easier than done. This is Night Fury we are talking about. Luna said to herself. "I'll have Twilight Sparkle keep an eye on him every so often and keep him from doing too much of that." Luna said. "And if he is in trouble, I have some of my Thestral Guards, ready to fight instead of Night Fury." "I say that's a good plan, princess. For now, we need to run some tests to make sure that we are both sure that he is stable and make sure we're prepared if this happens again." The doctor said, causing Luna to raise a brow. "Tests? Of what kind?" "Well, besides the usual medical examinations and such, we have been permitted to run tests on Fury's biology once he's stable enough. And before you ask, yes, he was conscious and agreed to let us test his biology to further improve our medical support for him if this ever happens again. Once he recovers enough to remain conscious on his own and doesn't need to be held here, he will be allowed to freely roam Canterlot. Although, he will be advised to take extreme caution with anything other than simple tasks until he is fully healed." Luna was not expecting this. She never expected Fury to actually agree to something as long and laborious as this. Maybe he has more patience than she thought. It was nice of him to agree to do this science for the common good. Nevertheless she knew someone had to watch over him "Thank you doctor. I'll make sure to give him company and to ensure he does not do anything too dangerous." Luna said with confidence. "Now when will I be able to talk with him?" she asked, somewhat anxious to talk with him more. The doctor gave a relaxed laugh. "I see you really wish to see him. He will be awake in an hour. Then you can have some time with your new friend." He said, giving a knowing smirk. Luna blushed at the doctor's words, she didn't think that word of their little scene would get around so fast. "That will do. I shall be off now, the duties of a princess are not to be interrupted." She said, returning to her regal demeanor. "Of course, we shall notify you when he awakens." The doctor said as he watched the princess of the night walk off. – For Luna, she was sitting doing some paperwork. The typical fare. Taxes, requests for special aid in nightmares, thestral guard pay. Normally she looked forward to this as a way to have a break from all the interaction from other ponies and work in the dream world. But she felt quite bored. She would rather be exploring a cave or sneaking some delicious pastries. With Night Fury of course. Perhaps he had corrupted my mind. she chuckled to herself. But she kept on going with the monotonous paperwork. But then she saw only black and felt someone cover her eyes. "Who is there?!" Luna cried out. "Guess who?" She instantly felt relief at that familiar voice. She turned around to see it was Night Fury. He had that smile she had grown to love. And his eyes filled with foallike energy. "Night Fury, it is good to see you!" She said, about to hug him tightly until she realized he had some bandages on him and did want anything harmful for him. "How are you feeling now, Night Fury? What did the doctor say?" "Oh he said I'm okay, as long as I-" "He already told me about them." Luna said. "But I'm glad you are doing well. It has been very tough for you this month." "Yeah, you're telling me. Anyway, whatcha up to, moonpie?" Fury said, eliciting a confused giggle from Luna. "Oh you and your lines. I was doing paperwork like taxes, answering dream requests and-" "Boring!" Fury said. "I see now my lady, I must save you from this boredom. But luckily for both of us, I have something very fun." "It cannot involve any exploring, Fury!" Luna warned. "I know that, Your Highness! This one is totally safe. There are some hidden shooting stars of multiple colors that can only be spotted with Speed Shifter eyes. But if we do this right, you can see it as well. I have a special potion from this scroll that can increase your sight for one hour." Luna was excited to hear about this. "I would most certainly be pleased with that. Even more than an opera!" Luna said, trying to restrain her excitement. "Now the problem is I am not experienced at all with potions. So I was thinking, maybe we can get Twilight's help! I heard she is good at these spells. And maybe for you to relax, you can have a vacation in Ponyville." Fury said, showing he planned this whole date up. "You really are quite a strategist when it comes to something you really want." Luna chuckled. "Well all I want is you. And for you to be happy, moonpie." He said in a suave manner as he nuzzled her neck causing her to giggle. "Stop it! Stop it!" Luna laughed. "But my duties…" "I've already told your sister about it, she'll take over for the day. I talked with her before doing all of this. She said okay to it. You're free to do whatever you want, dear." Fury said. Luna was now excited and giddy like a school filly. "Then we shall go to Ponyville! And make our entrance there!" Luna said, running out the door. "Luna! Not now! We'll be leaving in a few hours." Night Fury said before she went too far. "Oh." Luna smiled awkwardly. "Now who's really the impatient one, hmmm?" Fury teased her. They both had a good laugh. "We'll talk more on the train. I actually have some meditations that I haven't done yet. And the emperor will yell at me if he realized how little I was keeping up." Fury said. "Very well I shall see you then, um uh," she said, trying to give a pet name for him, "Handsome." "We'll work on your flirting skills too." Fury chuckled to Luna's slight embarrassment. "Anyways see ya, sweet cheeks." He gave her a peck on the cheek before leaving. Luna felt like she was truly going to begin something special. A new beginning to a new love she had only known in fairy tales she used to read. – Hours later… The Friendship Express stopped in Ponyville with a hiss, ponies bustling on and off the train as the steam cleared. Luna and Night Fury stepped out of their carriage and began walking towards Twilight's library. Luna took in a breath of fresh air as she walked along the dirt paths of the small town. She had to admit, she missed having no obligations and duties to attend to when she was younger, so much of the time she was cooped up in the castle that she never really saw the light of day and it's relaxing beauty. Meanwhile Night Fury just smiled as he walked beside her, feeling happy that he was back home and finally on familiar ground. The two soon reached the big tree in the town and knocked on the door. Twilight came to the door and was happy to see that Fury was up and moving again. "Come on in!" Twilight said. "Spike, we have some old friends. Go and make some tea for them." All of them sat down and had a good meal. Then Twilight finally asked. "So what brings you two here? Are you here for a book? I've gotten some new ones recently." Night Fury explained what they were here for. All about the stars and wanting greater vision. "Wow, this sounds very exciting! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who loves shooting stars." Twilight said. "I am a bit busy with a certain thing Celestia gave me. This spell by Starswirl. And I'm trying to find out about it. But maybe this spell will help Luna to see the stars too! Perhaps me as well!" "Maybe we should leave the iffy unknown spells and go for something simple, like a potion." Luna suggested. "Yeah, same here. Rather use a potion over a couple thousand year old spell." Fury added. Twilight understood their concerns and agreed. "Very well. Follow me, I can help with that potion in no time!" She said, motioning for her guests to follow her to the basement. They came down to see a bunch of potions and books on potion making. "So give me the scroll that gives the instructions." Twilight said. She was then given the scroll. Some parts of it were torn or made undecipherable. "Hmmm, I'm going to have to do some guesswork for this potion. But I have made potions like this before. So it will probably work. I'll test it on myself first and you'll have the potion perhaps in a week." Twilight explained. "Well that won't do, tomorrow was going to be my vacation with my little… fuzz ball here." Luna said, still trying to come up with a nickname for her feline companion. "Still working on a pet name, huh?" "Shhh! I'm working on it." Twilight interrupted their romantic dialogue. "Well I guess I could try to make it by tomorrow." Twilight says. "I'll need extra concentration with it. I'll try to do it as effectively as possible." She said, gathering what she needed. "Okay, let's get to work. Stay focused." Over the next few hours, Twilight toiled away as best she could with what she had. The ancient scroll she was given was a pure mystery of its contents, but she did her best, with Night Fury translating the parts that were not too ancient for him. Soon enough she had made not just one, but three different potions somehow. The group were rather confused as to how that occurred, but it was the best thing that was available. "Okay, phew, that should do it." Twilight sighed. "Well, nothing else to do but test it. Luna, you were the one who wanted this, so go for it." Fury said. Luna simply nodded with a serious look. She quickly took the potion and ingested it. … "Hmmm, it does not seem to be working." Luna said with disappointment. "Don't worry. It says on the scroll that the effects should kick in by tomorrow, so there should be time for us to just relax and enjoy ourselves." Fury said, looking over the scroll once more. "Well that's good. And before I forget, Fury, does the scroll say anything about any side effects or anything when making these potions?" Twilight asked. "Hmmm, nothing damaging. But it does have some strange symbols on it. I wonder what it could be talking about?" Night Fury pondered. "At least it says it is not dangerous." Night Fury looked over the scroll again. And he was able to see certain symbols that he didn't understand. He saw a ball of cheese, a blue circle, and someone yelling. "Huh, some of these symbols are out of my league. Not even I know what they mean. Maybe they're some sort of imagery of the side effects, but I don't know." Fury says. "All it says is that there are no permanently harmful side effects and they only last for as long as you have the Speed Shifter vision." He said reading it out. "So that's good enough for me" "Yes I agree. I cannot wait to see the wonders of the night tomorrow. I must have a good rest and in the morning we shall see something truly marvelous!" Luna said with wonder. "We'll stay at my villa." Fury said. "I have many rooms for you. And you'll love it! Once tomorrow comes, we'll have quite a view." Fury said. Luna was excited. She always lived in one castle. And while it is grand, it lost its luster for her since she was in it for so long. So she appreciated being somewhere new. "Tis a good idea, my romantic interest! I will see you, Twilight and tell you the results of this spell and I wish you luck with Starswirl's spell as well." Twilight thanked them and said farewell to them. Fury and Luna both went into his mansion. And they both slept inside. - The next morning… Yawnnnn. That was a great sleep. Night Fury walked out of his bedroom to get some fresh air in the open courtyard. He was feeling optimistic and as Twilight said nothing positively could go wrong. Everything would be great. He panned to go into the closet where preserved meats were kept and was ready to eat. But before he did so he saw Luna in the kitchen. He decided to talk to her. "You must have had a really good sleep, huh? You must be excited about today huh, moonpie?" He said, giving her a peck on the cheek. "Pfft, yeah! Totes agree with ya, my hubbie." "You got that right!" Night Fury said walking away then turning around after realizing what she might have said. "Uh, what did you just say? "What ya sayin' babe? I just said that I'm vibin' with whatcha saying, chill out." The Princess of the Night apparently stated. Fury looked surprised, Luna was speaking like a street rapper. "Who are you and what have you done with Luna?!" Fury asked. "Ya foolio, I am the one and only Lu-" "I was being rhetorical! What has happened to you?!" Then Fury had an epiphany. "Wait a second… Uh sweetie, I'm gonna go do something. See you in a bit?" "Go hit up whatever ya need to, hotshot. Imma be chillin like a villain until you get back." Luna replied, leaning against the wall and sipping on a soda. "Yeah ha ha ha…" Night Fury said walking away. "That was the creepiest thing I have ever heard." Night Fury said. "Oh Twilight, tell me you know what to do." - He soon reached the Golden Oak Library and knocked on Twilight's door. Twilight when she greeted him seemed to be in a great deal of distress. "Whoa. You okay, Twilight?" "No, I messed up my friends' cutie marks and- ah!" she dodged a lightning strike from Rarity's cloud. "And now I have to help all my friends get back to normal." Night Fury sighed. Could this day get any weirder? "Well, you're not the only one having a problem. That potion that Luna took, it's causing her to talk like a street punk!" Twilight normally would have thought Fury was joking around. But considering all the weird happenings going on, it would be more illogical to not believe him. So she moved on to find a solution. "I see. Not the most surprising thing today for me. But can I ask for the scroll? Maybe we can find something out." Twilight requested. "No problem, I brought it with me!" Fury said as he gave the scroll to the purple unicorn. "Okay, let's get inside and see what this has to do with Luna's condition." The two friends entered the library and set the scroll down, opening it to see what could be happening. "Okay, what could be causing Luna's speech to change?" Twilight inquired. "I think I have a theory. Look, the symbol of the Speed Shifter yelling. Maybe this is one of the side effects of the potion, a change in personality and speech." Fury explained as he noted the symbols on the parchment. Then it clicked with Fury. "Let me guess… This yelling symbol means she likes to blurt out loudly and obnoxiously? And even try keywords to try to imitate one of those Ponyville rappers me, Spike and Dash like to see sometimes?" Fury asked. "I guess that would be true." Twilight gulped. "But luckily the good news is I found a way for her to stop talking like this today!" She said, showing another potion. "I've been working on this as a backup." "Okay, so you have the antidote, great!" He said, taking the bottle. "I'll get this to Luna and get her back to normal." Night Fury went outside to see Luna try to impress everypony with her new slam poetry sessions. She was wearing a regal dress while wearing a baseball cap and a cape. "I am the Princess of buisness yo! And I go and I do this for those who witness me!" She attempted to rap. How in the name of Poseidon's Trident did she get here so fast?! By the gods, she's almost as chaotic as Discord at this point! Fury thought. He whistled to Luna and held up the potion. "Yo Luna, check this out!" He called. "Be gone, ya interloper! I'm in the middle of enlightenin' these peasants in my song, dawg!" Luna said. "But I have something you'll like! It's a… cool new soda, dawg. You gotta try it!" Fury mimicked. "Wicked, let me take a swig!" The lunar princess remarked as she flew to him quickly, the confused audience forgotten and sipped on the bottle. In a few seconds, she scrunched up her muzzle and started coughing. The tangy taste was rather potent. "Ugh, by the heavens, what was I doing?" She said, now speaking normally. "Well, you were acting like a street punk and started speaking casually like me. Nope, scratch that, more than I did when I was a teen." Fury explained. "Oh heavens! No one saw me, right?!" Luna said, terrified and embarrassed. "Unfortunately yes, sweetheart." Fury pointed behind her to the crowd of ponies gathered around them. Needless to say, Luna's face was shining a bright red at that revelation. "By the gods! At least it's over now." Luna said embarrassed. "I hope the other two potions will prove more effective." Luna said "True, but maybe I should give them a test run before you try it." Fury suggested. "Are you sure about that?" "You've already been a crazy rapper. I think it's my turn if something weird happens." Fury pointed out. "Well alright. I hope it will be for the best." Luna said nervously. He took one of the other potions he had kept in a saddle bag and ingested it. It tasted horrible. He could not understand how Luna handled but he did so. "Yuck, it tastes like swamp sludge!" He complained as he heard his stomach start to churn and swirl. "How do you handle this stuff?!" Eventually the taste went away, leaving him wondering about the results. "Woah… that's new." He said. "Hmm, I seem to feel normal. Nothing is different. Hmmm. Everything seems alright!" Luna sighed in relief. "Hey as a reward for all your hard work, maybe I'll give flowers to my lovely lady," He said, winking at Luna. Luna blushed at this and agreed wholeheartedly. They both walked to one of Ponyville's favorite flower sellers, Roseluck. It was a nice afternoon. Perfect for a romantic stroll across town. "So, how are you feeling?" Luna asked "I feel normal, nothing too much." Fury replied before hearing bubbling noises from his tummy. "Now that's a strange new noise. Are you sure you're okay? Maybe that potion is messing with your tummy." Luna added. "Eh it's probably just some weird fish I ate. I got some from the Everfree Forest. And besides, what should I be afraid of? You think that bubbling could be a monster inside of me?" Fury joked. "Ewww, that's gross!" Luna laughed. "Hey look, it's Roseluck. Time to give you some nice flowers!" Night Fury ran over to greet her. He asked for some purple and yellow flowers for Luna. "Here you go, some of my best lavender and sunflowers." Roseluck said. Fury was about to say thank you when the bubbling started again. "Oof, you okay? Your stomach sounds like a bubbling cauldron full of sludge." Roseluck said, concerned about the feline's health. "I'm fine, Rose. It's probably nothing." He defended, but he was soon proven wrong when the bubbling became as loud as ever. His cheeks puffed up like balloons and he began to sweat. Luna and Roseluck both thought he was about to toss his lunch, but were greeted with something else. Hiccup! They saw a bubble coming out of him. "That was unusual." Luna said. "Yeah but at least it's over- *hic*, oh no." Night Fury felt another one. BLEGHHH! Night Fury belched out a slew of bubbles. "No! My flowers!" Roseluck as she saw her flowers being caught in the bubbles and floating. "THE HORROR! You get out of here until you fix your burping issue!" she yelled out. "I'll, *hic* try! C'mon Luna, let's go!" Night Fury ran off to Twilight's house. I guess this is what the scroll meant by that blue circle… But his thoughts were interrupted by more hiccups. "This *hic* freaking *hic* sucks!" Everypony was confused seeing him burp bubbles but chalked it as just as Speed Shifters being Speed Shifters. But for Night Fury, he felt relieved that he was almost at Twilight's house when suddenly… HICCUP! Night Fury hiccuped a bubble so big that it scooped him up and started to float away with him. "Uh, Luna, I would appreciate it if you used those beautiful wings of yours and got me down!" He called out to his new regal fillyfriend. Luna then noticed to her horror how high up he was. She wasted no time in flying up at the speed of an eagle. She quickly burst the bubble. All the while using levitating magic to lift her lover. "Thank *hic* you *hic* Luna!" Then Fury was about to get another bubble when Luna popped that one. "Come Fury, Twilight will help us!" Luna and Fury quickly went into Twilight's house. The two soon reached the tree and knocked frantically. "Woah woah, what's going on now, you two!?" Twilight said as she and Spike appeared at the door. "We were just at a flower stand buying flowers when Fury's stomach started bubbling and then…" URP! Fury burped loudly, letting out a smaller bubble blast that blew Spike backwards. "Waaahh!" He screamed as he flew back and into a bookshelf, causing books to fall on him in a pile. "What the heck is that?!" "Something that needs to be *hic* dealt with. Twilight?" "Here, drink this." She presented a blue circle shaped bottle to the hiccuping feline. He drank it and waited a few seconds. "Huh, tastes like blueberry pie." He said. "Well, I'm glad that's over. It's a good thing that you gave it a test run first before Luna did." Spike chimed. "I wouldn't want to know what an alicorn burping bubbles would be like." "Yeah, that's something that I would mind seeing actually." Fury replied. "Although I have to admit, that was pretty funny." "Yeah Pinkie would be jealous. Now me and Twilight are really busy! Have fun you two and please try to keep out of trouble!" Spike said stressed and nervous. "No promises, little dude!" He said but Spike had already quickly shut the door. For Fury he was just glad it was over. "Well this day has been something else, that's for sure." Fury said, a little exhausted. "You're not wrong, that was somewhat amusing. Now, we're down to one more potion. I think I'll take this one. You've been through much already." Luna said, teleporting it into her magical grasp. "You sure? This one could be even weirder than ever. The last symbol on the scroll was a cheese wheel, who knows what that could mean?!" Twilight warned. "Tis better than burping bubbles and uttering street slang, so I'll take my chances." Luna unscrewed the cork and chugged the bottle halfway. She licked her lips and waited patiently for any signs of trouble, but nothing came. "Hm, this potion seems to be alright." She said before her stomach gave a growl. "Although, I do now feel a little peckish." "Okay, there's a ton of restaurants that we can try. Or is there something in particular you want, I can pick it out for you. Just name it." "Hmmm, let me think." She looked at a map of venues of Ponyville for its food items. Cakes? Too sweet. Daffodil sandwiches? Too plain. But then she saw true beauty. A whole block of cheese. She said nothing for a minute. "Um Luna, are you going to make a decision now?" "Cheese!" "Cheese?" Fury asked. "Yes I would like some cheese, right now! The delicious dairy products I must ingest!" "Um alright. But where do we get some?" Fury asked himself. He then snapped his claws as he came to an answer. "I've got it! We can go to Cattle Driver's dairy farm! She can make the best milk, cheeses and anything that involves dairy. She's a cheese gold mine! I heard that her aged Gouda is in season." He said as he gave Luna a newspaper that showed Cattle Driver's dairy farm. She zipped through the pages as she was excited to get her hooves on some cheese. A little too excited. "Wow, you read that two page article pretty quickly. I guess you really want it." "NOT QUICKLY ENOUGH! COME MY LOVE, WE MUST PARTAKE IN THIS SACRED MISSION!" Luna said, running while pulling Night Fury away. "Ahhhhh!!!!" Night Fury cried while being dragged. Oh great, is she having another side effect?! Is this what that yellow circle symbol meant? That she would get a massive cheese craving? Night Fury knew things were going to be troublesome. He would need another potion from Twilight immediately. "Look, I see the Ponyville's 60 year old cheese block!" Fury said. "Where?!" Luna turned and let go of Fury in her excitement. Fury went as quickly as possible and knocked on the door. Spike answered again. "Dang it, Fury, can't you wait a little longer? Twilight is sulking now!" Spike said. "Spike, Luna has a cheese-" Then Fury felt magic pull him away. "I JUST REMEMBERED IN THAT ARTICLE THERE IS NO SUCH THING! LIAR! YOU MUST COME AND REDEEM YOURSELF WITH REAL CHEESE!" Spike then facepalmed knowing already what Luna now has. "You know what to do Spike! Get Twilight!" Fury yelled while being dragged away. Fury was now long gone. "Oh great, she has a cheese addiction. If I were to guess she's probably going to Cattle Driver who makes the best yogurt and in this case cheese in Ponyville. I hope Luna will try to moderate herself a bit." She did not. - "What are you waiting for, knave, I demand that wheel of cheese!" She said pointing to a large wheel of cheese the size of her body. "Your Highness, please that's for some important clients of mine, Filthy Rich!" "And are you implying that this pony with a filthy name is more important than the Princess of the Night?!" "N-no." "Just let her have it, Cattle Driver, she's under the influence of a potion. It will at least give time to figure out a way to stop her. I promise we'll make it up to those two." Fury whispered. Cattle Driver reluctantly agreed and let the cheese hungry princess roll the giant wheel away for her enjoyment. Fury caught up to his fillyfriend and saw that she was already eating the giant wheel. "Mmmm! This is an amazing wheel of swiss! Whoever made this must be rewarded one day. Hey Fury, watch this." She said as she used her magic to throw the giant wheel in the air, melt it down to a gooey paste, and let it fall into her mouth. Her stomach distended slightly from the giant load of swiss, almost making her look as chubby as he was. By the gods, I have to admit, that was impressive. I don't know whether to be attracted to this or scared. He thought to himself. Luna seemed satisfied. Night Fury was relieved, maybe she would finally be satisfied. But Luna's tummy made an objection. "I still want more. I need more! I demand more!" Luna cried out. Oh boy, here we go. "Wait, that gives me an idea! I don't have to get cheese, I'm an alicorn. I can make it appear at my command! Why didn't I think of that sooner!" Luna said as she ignited her horn. A bright flash blinded Fury before she saw that he was surrounded with Gouda, swiss, provolone, brie, mozzarella and everything in-between. "Now this is more like it. Cannonball!" Luna proceeded to dive into the cheese and start swimming in it with relative ease. "Yes! Yes! I am one with the cheese!" Luna cried out while munching away at her spoils. "I don't know if this is supposed to be delicious or gross." Night Fury said to Cattle Driver. "Probably both." Driver admitted. "Hey you!" said a pink filly with a tiara. "That wheel was gonna be for my family and you practically annihilated it! I demand justice. My mom will make you pay!" She said not realizing who she was talking to. "Uh, who's that?" Fury asked. "Oh no, that's Diamond Tiara! Filthy and Spoiled Rich's daughter. She may be small, but she's got one heck of an influence." Driver said, practically shivering at the sight of her presence. "You dare address me that way, child?!" Luna boomed as she faced the young filly. Diamond was a little scared but stood her ground. "Y-yeah you! You are stealing from the Rich family!" Cattle Driver whispered. "Diamond Tiara, please leave. You don't know who you're talking to." "I know who I am talking to! I'm talking to a big fat pony who thinks she is worthy of all that cheesy goodness!" "NO! IT IS I WHO SHALL PUNISH YOU CHILD! YOU WILL NOT STOP ME FROM QUEST IN CHEESE MONGERING!" She yelled while levitating the filly who now realized she made a grave mistake. "Oh Twilight, where are you?" "Right here!" A voice said. Fury turned to see Twilight and Spike and the rest of the Mane Six with what looked like the reversal potion. "Sorry Princess, you ain't yourself!" Applejack said, assuming a ready stance. "Yeah that's right, we're back in the game!" Rainbow Dash said. "Oh thank goodness, you made it. We have to get Luna to drink this or else Equestria is probably going to fall into a cheesepocalypse!" Fury exclaimed. "And how are we gonna do that? I doubt this thing tastes like cheese, so she won't drink it!" Spike objected. Fury took a moment to think before getting an idea. "But maybe we can make it taste like cheese! Here, give me that!" He said as he took the bottle from the small dragon. He raced over to the pile of cheese, grabbed some cheddar, mixed it with the potion and approached Luna. "Hey Luna~ Look what I've got." He called. Luna snapped her attention to him to see a yellow potion that looked like cheese. She instantly started to drool and sped over to him. "Oooh, is that a cheese-flavored soda?! Gimme gimme gimme!" She snatched the bottle out of his grasp and chugged the whole thing. Everyone around waited with baited breath as she sat there. "Huh, that had a weird taste. It wasn't even that good. Whoever came up with this should be puni-" She stopped. Her eyes began to glow as her horn whirred to life. As quick as it had appeared, the pile of cheese slowly started to get sucked back into her horn, causing a great wind to power through the farm. "Woah, everypony hang onto something!" Fury called. Everyone around the princess grabbed onto something sturdy, whether that be a fence post, barn door,or even a rock poking out of the ground. The white light became brighter, more cheese being sucked into the vortex. Everyone closed their eyes and braces for what was about to happen next until… it all stopped. "Did it work?" Spike asked. "Uuuugh…" a pained moan came from the center of the field. Fury walked towards the sound to see Luna with a hoof on her stuffed belly, trying to rub the pain away. "Luna, um, are you okay? Do you have any urges?" "Urges? The only urge I have right now is laying down on this ground." Luna said painfully. "What happened?" "Let's just say, you got a little obsessed with cheese." "Well at least it was a little." Luna said. "Actually it was quite a lot! You were so big, Luna! Ow!" Spike said before being wacked by Twilight. "Well, at least it's over. Oooh!" Luna groaned as her stomach did much the same. "Aww, you want me to rub your belly to help?" Fury offered. Luna slowly nodded and let her feline companion go to work on her pain. "But this has got me thinking. None of those potions did what we wanted them to, what gives?" "Maybe we missed something. Here's the scroll." Twilight handed the scroll to Night Fury to read. He took a look over the ancient scroll and wore a confused look as he went over it. That is until he looked at the back. Fury dropped to the ground and laughed like he had never before, causing everyone to look at him. "Fury, this isn't funny!" Luna protested. "Oh yes it is! All of this random rigamarole has been happening because of this." He said as he showed the back of the parchment to her. "You see how there's a Speed Shifter with the symbols surrounding him while the others are laughing?" "Yeah…" "And all of the potions, they had every effect described on it except the advanced vision. Right?" "Uh huh…" "Well that's the thing, we haven't been doing anything wrong! This scroll isn't for a vision altering elixir, this is a scroll filled with prank potions! We've been pranking ourselves this whole time!" Fury laughed. "A prank spell?" Luna said, stunned. "This whole time we were using a prank spell?!" She yelled. "Yeah I might have picked out the wrong one…" Night Fury sheepishly said. Spike and all the Mane Six except Fluttershy facepalmed. While Fluttershy was disappointed, she didn't think it was right to just flat out give him the cold shoulder. Luna stared into Fury's eyes with rage burning within her own. Night Fury was worried for his own health for a moment. "I went through all of this because you picked out the WRONG SCROLL?!?!" She yelled, producing a shock wave. "But look on the bright side, sweetie! It was quite an adventure you gotta admit." Fury said. Luna shot a look at him like he had tentacles popping out of his head, but he spoke before she could. "Before you get mad, yes I am aware today was quite crazy. But I think that's not the worst. Think about it. You acted in ways you never got the opportunity to! And I mean that in a good way! I mean, when was the last time you ate a whole wheel of cheese, hmmmm?" He said with a hopeful smile, but Luna's expression didn't change. Fury sighed. "Alright, I get it, I screwed up. Maybe this vacation was a bad idea. All I wanted to do was show you that I truly do care about you and wanted to see you have fun, but I guess I flunked out. And you didn't even get to see the stars. You have every right to be upset and I won't object. I'll… I'll leave you alone if that's what you want." He said somberly as he got up and began to walk away, his head hung low in shame. Then Luna wasn't quite sure what to think. At first she didn't appreciate all the mishaps. But she realized, Night Fury truly meant well. He might have made mistakes but they were for good. And now that she thought about it she did feel some excitement. She felt the rush of fun and adrenaline. She felt she could talk freely, see her coltfriend in humorous situations and even indulge in some pleasures. It was… nice. She might even say she had some fun. It reminded her of the times when the two used to hunt for midnight snacks during Cadence's wedding. "Fury, wait…" The addressed feline stopped in his tracks. "Hmmm, I suppose I may forgive you this time, Night Fury." she said with a light smile. "You might be a bit reckless with your choices. You might be too headstrong. But honestly, I actually like that quality of yours. It makes things more… exciting." Luna said, smirking. "But, unfortunately, your recklessness has to come at a cost." Luna sat up and faced the black feline who was now fearing for his life. "A-and what's that?" "Some feathery revenge!" She said as she pinned him to the ground and tickled him with her wings. "Ahahahahaha! Stop it I'm heh heh sorry! Please don't assault me like this!" He said playfully. He squealed and squeaked like he had never before. Luna thought it was rather cute. "Oh that's not all! Now must be disciplined by me squeezing you!" She laughed as she grabbed him and squashed him against her still rather plump body. "Ha ha stop it! I've learned my lesson!" Fury squealed while laughing. "I won't mess up again! I swear on the gods!" Luna seemed to enjoy his suffering. "Hmmm, let me think about it." She said while sitting on him. "Okay, I believe you, but only on one condition…" "Okay, I'll do anything! Name it!" "Let me snuggle you." "That's a torture?" Fury asked. "You're right, perhaps I should keep squeezing you." "Snuggles now!" Fury cried out. Luna let go of him and gave him a hug. They felt warm next to each other. Even though it was nighttime, they felt as if the sun were shining on them. "This feels good." Fury said. The rest of the Mane Six had different reactions. Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rarity thought it was cute. Rainbow gagged at the sight. And Twilight and Applejack simply smiled at them. "Hooey, at least you guys are havin' fun! You remind me of my own folks when they were around." Applejack said. "I wish I had a dashing stallion that was that affectionate toward me." Rarity said crying with Spike a little jealous. Twilight then walked up to them. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to make what you wanted come true, Princess. I really messed up today." "Come on Twi, it was my fault." Fury said. "Well I don't disagree with that, you need to be more vigilant," she said bluntly. "But I could've caught you and corrected you before you made that mistake. I bear responsibility too. And because of my failure it's too late to brew up the potion to have Luna see the stars. And don't get me started on what my friends went through today because of my spell from Starswirl." She hung her in embarrassment. "C'mon Twi, you did great! Take a look at what you managed to do today. You regained your confidence in your ability to make amends in your friendships, stayed cool under pressure when things got hectic, and you didn't give up when everything seemed to be hopeless. You did what was needed in the end and that's what matters!" Fury reassured her. "You really think so?" Twilight looked up. Then Luna held the unicorn's head up to her eyes. "Night Fury is right. We all make terrible decisions we regret. But what matters is how we recover from them and fix them. My… um… handsome stuff… Night Fury knows that. So as a Princess, let me say this. You are one of the most heroic and inspirational ponies I have ever seen. Be proud of yourself, young one." Luna smiled at her. Everyone gave Twilight a reassuring smile. Twilight felt elated. "Thanks everyone. Sometimes I think I worry too much." "Ya think?" Rainbow said. "Yeah what she said." Fury chuckled. He then looked at his girlfriend. "Oh and handsome stuff? Still can't get one to stick with?" Fury teased Luna. "Oh, I think I have one now… Lightning bug." "Lightning bug? Why that?" He did not expect a name like that. "The first part needs no explanation. For the second, it's because you can transform into a bug and bugs are adorable like you. And compared to me, you are the size of a bug. Which makes you perfect for snuggling!" Fury was not sure whether to feel insulted or charmed. Perhaps both. And anyways as long as it's his Moonpie saying then he was okay with it. "I think that's the perfect name, moonpie." He said, nuzzling his true love now both feeling satisfied. "You know Lightning Bug, me thinking of that name was worth not seeing the stars. Well for tonight at least. Next time, you should take your job more seriously or else…" She placed her feathers near Fury's neck. "Yeah I'll keep that in mind, sweetie." He responded with a drop of sweat rolling down his face. "But hang on, this has got me thinking. Now that we both have admitted our love for eachother, what are we gonna do about it going public? I mean, some ponies already know because of what happened a few days ago, but what about the greater masses that are still in the dark about it? Do you think that we should, or even could be public with our love?" Fury asked. Luna then gave an unusual smirk. And she said, "I am not ashamed to admit this. I am done cowering. I will show you as my one true love." Luna said. Night Fury was impressed by her newfound confidence and was about to kiss her when suddenly… Strong winds were brewing. Trumpets were blasting. These sounds could only mean one thing. The arrival of a princess. Everypony looked up to see Celestia from a chariot coming forth. She seemed calm however. But they wondered why she was there. Everypony except Luna and Night Fury bowed to her. But when she arrived she said nothing until she walked to her student. "Twilight Sparkle, you have done great things today. And for all these days I must congratulate you. You have grown in wisdom and have understood truly what friendship means." Celestia said. Twilight felt good but confused. Did Celestia really travel for presumably hours just to congratulate her. "You're wondering why I'm telling you this, hmmm?" Celestia predicted. "Well Twilight, my student, or I should say former student, it is now time for you to climb the next step of your journey." Celestia's horn glowed. Everypony was confused. Next step. "You have earned this right. Come forth, Princess Twilight Sparkle!" She said, her eyes glowing and a beam shooting into Twilight. "TWILIGHT!" Spike cried out. All they could see was the young purple mare in a vortex of bright light. It was brighter than anything they had seen. "FACE YOUR NEW DESTINY!" Celestia cried out. The vortex extinguished. Twilight was lying on the ground. "Twi, you okay?!" Fury said worried. Twilight stood up. "I-I'm fine." But instead of relief she saw everyone's shock. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She raised her eyebrows. "T-twilight, you might want to take a look at your back." Spike piped up. Twilight looked at her back and her eyes went wide, she had been given wings. She was now an alicorn. "No way!" Fury said. "Twilight, you're an alicorn!" "Wowee! Talk about an upgrade!" Pinkie added. "Oh by Celestia, darling, you look fantastic!" Rarity said in awe. Twilight was too shocked to say anything. "What's going on? How did this happen?!" Twilight cried out in surprise. "You see my student, I always saw in you great potential. Great potential to lead. To unite those who quarrel. And to protect. But only in these past few months have you proven truly worthy of becoming… princess." Celestia said. "For awhile I was looking for a new princess. Someone younger and more with the times than me who is getting old. And that is you." "But… I don't know anything about being a princess! How could I be placed in such a position of power?!" Twilight asked frantically. "Because I see that you are a powerful leader and a great role model for all of pony kind. You are an inspiration to us all, Twilight Sparkle. Even me." Twilight was stunned and even saw the other Mane Six bowing to her. "I-I don't know what to say." Twilight said. "Don't be worried," Night Fury said. "I don't know a lot about pony politics but I know one thing these months as ambassador has taught me. You are ready to be a leader. And luckily for you, you have your friends and family by your side." Fury said with a hint of sadness. "You'll be great with this, I promise." Tears started pouring out of Twilight. "Thanks everyone. I'll try my best." "I must concur, but that isn't the only piece of news I have. Night Fury, I have also come to address a great change in your life as well." Celestia looked at Fury and then at Luna. "And for you too, my sister." "Tomorrow, we shall announce the official romance between Princess Luna and Ambassador Night Fury! And we shall announce Twilight's new role as Princess of Friendship!" Celestia declared loudly using the Royal Canterlot Voice. Luna, Twilight and Fury were all equally shocked at first. But then soon after they felt confident in this new chapter of life. "We'll be ready, Princess." Twilight smiled confidently. "I concur." Luna said., "Alright, now my life is getting somewhere!" Fury added. He then looked to the stars above him. "Mom, Dad, I wish you could see where I am now. I'll find you soon enough, I swear. Just give me some time, I'll make you proud. Wherever you are." He looked confidently at everypony. "I gotta get some shuteye. See you guys tomorrow. Especially you Luna." He said looking softly into her eyes. "Likewise, my love." Luna replied. And so everypony anticipating big things, all went to sleep. – Da da da da! As the horns were blowing, flowers were falling, everyone was cheering. It was a day of positive change. There in the palace, Twilight Sparkle took her place on the new throne seat. She called everyone to silence. "Thank you everypony. I might be the princess of friendship but that is only because of you all. How you all, every single one of you," She said looking at Night Fury, "have inspired me through your example to seek out friendship. And I promise to the best of my ability to repay your kindness by creating a new era of friendship! Thank you so much everypony! And may we all be blessed by a new era of friendship!" Twilight cried out. Everypony cheered insanely. They cheered Twilight, Twilight, Twilight. It made her blush at this sudden attention. "But I cannot take all the credit on this day, for another has something to share with you all." She said, stepping aside to let Night Fury take center stage. "Ladies and Gentlecolts behold our Ambassador of the Speed Shifters, Night Fury!" Everypony applauded once more "Thank you Princess. I hope you guys are doing alright today. Because it's about to get even better." Everypony waited with anticipation. "I have a new a fillyfriend. And she is very beautiful! Mysterious but kind once you get to know her." Everypony applauded but were anxious to find out who this lucky lady was. "Ladies and gentlecolts here is my new fillyfriend." Princess Luna then flew out of the curtain and stood my Night Fury. Everypony's jaws dropped. It was unusual to see Princess Luna in public. Much less seeing her so happy. And even more so for her to be romantically engaged. "Now I understand that this may look impossible and you may be wondering if you're dreaming. But let me tell you, it's no dream. This is real, Princess Luna is my filly friend." Everypony wondered if this was a prank. Was this Luna some sort of imposter? "Nice try pal! But we know Princess Luna. And she would never-" "FOOL! Are you questioning my love for Night Fury?!" everypony heard thunder striking. "I, The Princess of the Night have taken this gentlecreature as my one true love!" Her voice then calmed down slightly. "Woah, easy sweetheart! No need to get riled up." Fury calmingly said. Luna took a breath and spoke in a more controlled way. "He has given me companionship and I shall forever appreciate the love he has for me. I am truly thankful to have him come into my life. This is not in jest. For I have never been more serious than in my entire life. Do you now doubt my lover's testimony, citizens?" Luna asked the crowd. All the crowd remained silent. Then they heard applause. First from the former skeptic. Everypony applauded and cheered for the new couple. "Congratulations you two!" came one pony. "You two will make a cute couple!" Said another. "I take back what I said Fury! You're the stallion- uh cat!" Everypony in the crowd was happy. So Night Fury decided he would give her a big kiss in front of the crowd. He would if Luna did not have that idea first. They locked lips and when they pulled apart, they felt joy like never before. They knew this was the beginning of a new era. "And now to finish this off!" Twilight said. "Hit it Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie Pie then lit a fuse. "Here comes your favorite, you lovebirds!" Pinkie cried out. Out came a gatling gun that shot out pieces of cake at Princess Luna and Night Fury. "Ah just like old times, huh?" Fury said. Luna nodded. "Let's not keep them waiting!" She said as she stopped a piece of chocolate cake and flung it back at Pinkie Pie. Everyone had fun on that day. Night Fury was surprised Twilight of all ponies would do something so silly. But he figured he must have rubbed off on her. And so everyone had fun on that day. And became a bit fuller as well.