Twilight leaned over the highest battlement as the sun rose from the distant horizon. The crystal-coated stone was a perfect colour match for her body’s coat. The magenta shield sang to her horn, but even for those denied such a sense, its glow would be a beacon for all to see, and if they drew nearer, the new flags that fluttered in the breeze would proclaim to them who claimed dominion.
I now own a piece of a foreign nation. It was a thought she never believed she would have, let alone have while she looked out over said new domain. “What will the historians think about all this in a thousand years?” The open sky offered no answer, nor did the ashen planes below.
She could go through the whole chain of events that led to it, each logical decision she made, but it still felt just a little unbelievable to the once librarian. It did not matter that she had no right to the land. Red Wing’s challenge legitimised everything. By griffon law, all she could see from the tallest tower of the Twilight Citidal was now hers, claimed by blood and honour.
Night’s presence settled in beside her own. “One would think that would depend on what the victors write,” Night said before stretching out their shared body. “My easel, if you would?”
It took her barely half a thought, and Night’s painting supplies popped into exitance from their extra-dimensional storage. Her mind considered all the history books she had ever devoured, all those millions of words that insisted Nightmare Moon and Luna were nothing but fiction.
“Thank you.”
“What will you paint this time?”
“Perhaps the folly of Red Wing?”
That dance had been intoxicating in its own way, the movement, the beat and the heights they had pushed him to. Her tongue found only the blunt teeth of a herbivore as she remembered the taste of the lesser of her prizes. It did not even take a thought to find the greater prize far deeper inside, cradled by her soul, it nestled and slowly grew.
Red Wing had been a fool, yes, but taking what was left of his honour felt petty. “I would prefer if you did not.”
“The celebration then?”
Twilight thought for a moment and then nodded. “That’s acceptable. How did your visit with Cadance go?”
“She’s got quite the right hook.”
“Do I want to know how you have that interesting datum?”
“A needed lesson required me to do something that provoked her.”
“... and she is alright?”
“She is.”
“You know, a year ago, the mere idea that I would trust your word more than I do Celestia'a would have been inconceivable.”
“Even we can be surprised.” Night finished setting up her canvas and started to consider her paints. “Good and bad both. You will learn to treasure these moments.”
“One thing I won’t treasure is having to clean paint out of my feathers….”
Night paused and then, as if to make a point, carefully collected paint onto one of their primaries. “You are aware we can simply regrow new ones, each as fresh as virgin snow?”
Twilight blinked. “I am aware…” It was such a simple solution. She knew all the facts that made it possible. She had even removed multiple copies of all her origins, bones and flesh for research. “Why didn’t I think of that?” Twilight thought out loud.
“That is simplicity itself, my host, you pride yourself on your intellect. You revel in your mental prowess. Severing bits to avoid the necessity of cleansing yourself is a solution that is so far below the levels you normally work on as to be invisible."
“Self-mutilation is not….”
“We understand, and we can take care of the cleansing, worry not.”
Twilight knew it was immature, but she snorted anyway.
“So refined.”
“Bite me.”
“You have others to do that for you.”
Something about her shadow changed. Without any visual alterations, somehow, it seemed darker.
“Hello, Luna,” Night said a heartbeat before Twilight recognised the magic herself.
Luna swam out of the darkness with an elegant flick of her wings. Here, the few smears of paint drew the mare in like a moth to a flame. “Tis not what we expected to find thee doing.”
Night shrugged her paint-free wing. “We remember who we were meant to be.” The tone was light, and if it was not for their current coexistence, Twilight would not have detected the surge of bitter resentment.
Holding her feather close to the canvas, Luna studied the incomplete artwork. “Perchance, is there an additional easel?”
A pair of empty crates were then summoned from Twilight's extra-dimensional storage, only to be sacrificed to the fires of transmutation. In less than half a second from their re-emergence into this physical world, they were fused, reshaped and stood ready in their new combined form.
Twilight smirked and swept her wing in invitation towards the new easel as her magic set a canvas upon it.
With a soft smile, Luna nodded and approached her canvas. “This has been a most interesting trip.”
“It has certainly been eventful.”
The pair of them lapsed into a comfortable silence. The only sounds were the wind and the swish of feathers shaping paint that even attempted to hide their breaths and heartbeats.
We must make a quite the sight, a pair of Alicorns painting on the battlements of a new fortress.
Night was in control, but that did nothing to reduce the satisfaction that stirred in Twilight's heart. The slow transmutation from streaks of colour to defined form allowed a savouring of the experience different than the pulse of positive reinforcement having the same end result with a mere wave of her horn would have granted.
This is why we paint. Night's mental tone hummed with satisfaction and carried the image of a little blue Alicorn with her tongue stuck out in concentration.
She was adorable, wasn't she? Night flicked their eyes to Luna and trailed the gaze along her body on its way to Luna’s painting.
A little warmth stirred in Twilight's chest as Nova’s attention was drawn to Luna’s toned form. Twilight's face twitched into a smile as the hunger for Luna changed to a craving for a daisy and zap apple salad. Thank you, my Dream. The amusement faded to a forlorn note. You were happy then? Twilight asked.
Night kept painting, her emotions a quite shifting mass, in turmoil but mastered. May we have a new canvas?
We have six more left. Twilight said as she granted the request.
Night lifted the first canvas from the easel and considered it for a moment. Though the first painting was unfinished, the crude forms and shapes still invoked emotions. The joy of being alive, of your heart pounding in your chest as you drank, danced and dared to do more. There was not a single bit of magic in it, no enchantment or compulsion, and yet, it still acted as if it did.
The canvas was held to the side as if offered to an unseen assistant, and Twilight took the hint. With a small pop and a twist of reality, it was gone.
“Luna, do you recall our mother?” Night asked, her tone unreadable.
The Princess of the Night paused, mid-feather-stroke.
“I shall take your silence as your answer.” Night said and began to paint, first the greys and blacks as they formed the background. This time, magic flowed into the paint. Loss, anger, rage, and despair were pushed aside and buried deep as Night pushed love, care and other softer emotions into the pigment.
Before, Night had been a master of her craft, a painter without peer. Now Twilight was legitimately speechless. The same ferocity that had driven Night in battle was now focused into something enchanting.
Night ended her assault upon the canvas, and with a ritualised flick of a wing, presented her offering.
From the mare that looked out from the canvas, it was plain to see where Luna had gotten her colouration. The pegasus was a breathtaking example of exotic beauty. Her lithe, supple form and powerful wings put to shame even Rainbow's despite Luna’s mother only being an artist.
Luna stared at the painting, frozen, not even breathing and then slowly, ever so slowly, reached a hoof towards the mare trapped in the canvas. The mare turned to meet Luna's gaze and smiled proudly.
“That's the smile she gave us when we returned to her, when we let her know we had performed well enough that she was allowed to have another foal,” Night said.
“Why do thou show us this?” Luna whispered.
“Sentimentality.” Without saying anything else, Night carefully lifted the enchanted painting from the easel and presented it to Luna.
“We thank thee,” Luna said, her eyes shimmering with moisture.
“Tis nothing.” Night said with a throw-away motion that did nothing to stop the warmth that blazed in their cheeks. “We merely wish to get in practice. After all, whom else shall paint thine wings for our wedding?”
Night froze, and Twilight’s lips tingled as soft warmth pressed against them. The world had vanished, and the only things that existed were shadows, Luna’s ethereal mane and the ever-deepening kiss. Kisses can last a long time when the participants have no requirement to breathe. A small distant part of Twilight noted as Nova’s passion surged forward.
A bust of gold and solar magic shattered the moment. Both Alicorns recoiled, exploding into motion. Night acted, and by reflex, Twilight fell back from the flash and reached for her magic.
In less than a blink, both were a dozen lengths apart, their horns blazing as they rallied various protections and assessed their surroundings. Twilight’s mind raced through spell after spell. Hundreds of runes danced on her horn.
Night slowly relaxed their battle stance. It took Twilight a moment longer to puzzle it out, to actually see what Night had their eyes looking at. With all their senses honed and magic posied to lash out and destroy any interlopers, the only thing out of place was a single scroll falling to the ground.
The scroll landed and rolled along the stone of the battlement. The red ribbon and golden seal left no doubt about who it was from. There was a long pause as each of them restrained, cancelled or otherwise made safe the city-ending tools of destruction that a moment ago were on a hair trigger.
Luna glared at the sun and shook her hoof. “Not Funny, Tia!”
Night dragged a wing over Luna, suppressing Twilight's shudder as paint smeared all over the pair of them. “We doubt she did that deliberately….”
Luna sighed, and in a single breath, recollected herself. Her aura claimed the scroll and broke the seal. Her eyes rapidly moved over the text before she reversed it and presented it to Twilight.
“This is a problem?” Luna asked, her aura highlighting one section.
All prisoners and those accused of actions that disrupt the current disaster relief efforts shall be transported to Cantalot for processing.
Night suppressed the shudder that threatened to go down their spine.
“Unfortunately for her, I have already done something with them.”
“You have?” Luna leaned conspiratorily close. “Do tell.”
“The Tree of foodlicious… Wow, that definitely needs a better name,”
“A most fitting fate.”
“I agree, but Im not sure I have the moral high ground to denounce what Celestia is doing.”
“And what, pray-tell, do you believe she is doing?”
“It is obvious given there was no request for evidence or reports… It's clear she is going to be wielding her mind magic with her normal… restraint. This is going to end up in a changeling hunt at best.”
Luna nodded. “She is reforging ponies and turning them into mindlessly loyal guards.”
Twilight glanced at her healthy well-toned leg, so unlike Grey’s stolen limb her true self had. “... Like she did to me?” The growl to her own voice once would have surprised her, but with Nova, she was getting used to it.
“Worse, in your case Sister was at least trying to restore what she believed to be lost. With this, she is just burning their minds to blank slates and stuffing their minds with copies of skills from whoever she desires.”
A chill rose in Twilight's core at the same time as Nova’s flame raged against it. For a moment, all that existed was six little stuffed toys floating in the air as Sweet Dreams told the tale, and the six little stuffed toys were rent asunder as the plushy Celestia had her way with them.
Twilight closed her eyes and focused. One by one, she sorted, categorised and formed a list of where all the internal influences came from. Nova’s burning rage was purely mindless with her need to burn and pound. Sweet Dream’s more cunning and venomous contempt felt corrosive as it squirmed and sought a way to act. Grey’s was a frozen bitterness that formed a solid foundation for it all.
What do I feel? It should have been a simple question, but it was not. Each and every thought, every emotion linked back to one of her guests.
As she brought her hoof to her chest, she breathed in, and as she pushed it away, she breathed out. Unlike normal, she poured herself into that breath. A black mist flowed from her flesh puppet as she shrugged it off like a discarded dress.
Like last time, the world flowed, shifted and stopped making sense. Then everything became clear, her mind calm. The soft breeze massaged Twilight as it flowed through her naked soul. “That is better,” Twilight sighed, or more accurately, used her pegasus magic to vibrate the air to simulate the same effect.
Luna looked between the flesh Twilight had just vacated and Twilight's current non-corporal form. “The fun has been doubled?”
The chuckle that burst from Night was so unlike her normal evil cackle. It was boisterous, energetic and good-natured, and seemed to take the former Nightmare by complete surprise.
Twilight formed a smirk on her muzzle and let her senses unfold. Without the barrier of flesh in the way, every sense she still had was crystal clear and razor sharp. What's this? Twilight looked straight at the scrying sensor. Pride in her daughter took away almost all of the sting. “Very good, Little Star. I almost did not notice this time.”
Both Luna and Night followed her gaze. A moment later, in a flash of magenta, Little Star and her crusaders appeared already dressed and fully geared up for battle.
“That is exactly the right response to an unexpected surge of magic, my Daughter.” Night said as she enfolded the little unicorn in an embrace with both wings. “I am so proud of you.”
“So, what happened?” Scootaloo asked.
“Sister teleported a scroll to us… given the range and the power involved….”
Twilight nodded. “We both flinched and reached for our magic.”
“Err, Princess, who are you?” Applebloom asked, staring straight at Twilight.
“It seems there is some explanation to be done.” Night cut in before Twilight could say a word. “Who wants Ice Cream?” In whisper-speak, she added. “You two talk. I’ll look after these cohorts.”
As if it were a magic word, the incantation of the most sacred of deserts, ice cream acted like a siren's call, and most of the herd of ponies trailed after Night as if ducklings after their mother.
“Yeah, ah never seen an Alicorn like that,” Applebloom said.
Sweetie Belle's eyes were fixed on the shifting arcane symbols in Twilight's form, even as she trotted after her friends. “I think she's pretty, and she's a little like the tantabus from Luna’s dreams.”
It only took a simple bit of vector analysis to work out which spells held Sweetie Belle's attention. Twilight shifted. Can’t have you learning that one.
Night offered them a warm, motherly smile. “Sometimes a princess needs to be in more than one place at once, and there is magic for that.”
Meteor Crash lagged behind the group and caught Luna’s eyes. With a simple nod, she dismissed him to follow the fillies.
With liquid smooth strides, Twilight closed in on Luna, so close their coats would have touched if Twilight had a coat at that moment. “Night is playing foal sitter to give us time together?”
“Yes.” Luna nodded and licked her lips. “That would seem to be correct.”
Twilight glanced back over her withers to the downstairs. “She truly loves foals, doesn't she.”
“Foals have not learned what is impossible yet, so they have the most wondrous dreams.” Luna's voice resonated with a wight of countless memories and endless longing.
Luna gazed out to the horizon, her wings half open. Twilight let her eyes linger and assessed each muscle one by one. Again, without Nova, there was no hunger, no burning passion feeding her desire. That being said, Luna was a beautiful mare. Just like this, free from her internal family’s influence, Twilight could choose.
Twilight stretched her own wing out and enfolded Luna with it. “If they keep the company of our daughter, I don't think that is a lesson they will ever learn.”
Luna leaned into the embrace. “True.”
“Luna?”
“Yes?”
“Do you ever regret your ascension?”
The silence stretched for a good eleven point two seconds before Luna answered. “Before we learned of our daughter, and our soon-to-be bonding, at times, yes.” She retrieved and re-rolled Celestia’s scroll. “Do you?”
“No.”
“No?”
“I don't regret becoming an Alicorn, but there was a lot around it that was not exactly… ideal,” Twilight said as she looked towards the distant Canterlot.
Her talent offered its aid. The city was completely out of sight, but with the right space warping, it was still well in range of a host of offensive spells. Twilight played with a few options and calculated yield, blast radius and minimum safe distance. It was quite an interesting puzzle, enough power to breach Canterlot’s protections but not enough to damage Ponyville. The added complications of leaving Dounut Joe's, the books shops and her parent's homes intact were as vexing as it was intriguing. If I angle the blast right… Images and force vector calculations flashed through her mind. With just the right explosions, she could simply launch the parts of the city off the mountain. Once their flight brought them to a minimum safe distance, the options for their elimination expanded.
Luna’s nuzzle was an abrupt interruption to the string of calculations. The following kiss left Twilight's pages of mental notes scattered all over her mental space. Even without Nova’s passion, it was an experience. Without any flesh in the way, even Luna’s slightest touch was electric, but even though, that one question nagged at her mind. Where is she going to get ice cream?