The sun over Ponyville was about to be set and the streets of the little town were almost empty. Everything was illuminated by a faintly orange light as the sun neared the horizon. Only a few residents here and there were still going about their business, which in most cases was just to get home for the evening. It was quiet throughout the town.
One of the few figures still outside heading for their homes was a little purple and green dragon, carrying a rather large blue diamond in his hands and a content smile on his face.
Spike was just returning from Rarity's shop where he had loaded off the gems the two of them had gathered during the day. Rarity had given the blue diamond to Spike as a thank-you gift for his hard work. She always gave him one of her newly acquired gems and normally Spike would just go ahead and eat it as soon as he got his hands on it. After all, a whole day of digging made one pretty hungry. The particular specimen resting on his hand at the moment though was probably the most stunning gemstone he had ever received from the dressmaker, so he decided to keep it as a special reminder of his fondness of her.
Lost in his thoughts and the sight of the diamond in front of him, Spike arrived at the library very soon. Upon entering the building he felt his good mood evaporate like it never existed in the first place. The contrast to the quiet and serene summer evening outside was extraordinary. Books were scattered all about the place, the room was a mess. In the middle of it all stood the cause of the whole disaster.
“Twilight! What is all this? Why can't you just relax and enjoy a beautiful evening like everypony else does for once?” Spike asked, already groaning inside considering how much work it would be to put all those books back where they belonged.
“Oh, it's you Spike. How was your day with Rarity? Did you have any success finding the gems she needed? I hope you didn't run into any Diamond Dogs again,” was the answer, although Twilight didn't even look up from the book that was levitating in front of her. “Maybe there's something in here...” she continued while staring intently at it.
Spike sighed. She probably didn't even listen to his question. “Look, I know your studies are important and all, but you really need to take some downtime. It's only in your best interest!” he said. “And in mine,” he continued under his breath.
Twilight looked up from the book she was reading and blinked. She said, “I know, I know! But this is too important to put off. I just found a clue in this book that said that I was doing the teleportation spell wrong all the time! There is a way that costs much less energy. It's pretty complicated and the book doesn't give any more information about how to do it, so I've been searching for some instructions that are more precise.”
Spike looked at the unicorn in front of him incredulously. “That's it? That's why you're messing up the whole library? A better teleportation spell? Couldn't that just wait until tomorrow?”
“It's an important matter, Spike! I could save a lot of energy! I have to find out as soon as possible.” She continued to search the various books of the library for any information they could hold about the new spell. After a while, during which Spike just stood at the side dumbfounded, she groaned with despair. “It's of no use! We have no books on the matter!” she said.
Spike, snapping out of his state, quickly said, “It's probably better anyway if you just call it a day, Twilight. Maybe you can check out the Canterlot library tomorrow. They got a lot of books about magic and stuff.”
Twilight eyes lit up. “The Canterlot archives! I bet I will find what I need there!”
“Exactly,” Spike answered, glad this particular episode of Twilight's antics wouldn't continue until tomorrow. His thoughts already returned to his plans with the gem in his hands. A lot of polishing was due.
“I have to go there right away!” Twilight concluded.
“What?” Spike said, snapping out of his thoughts. “No! That's not what I meant at all! Twilight, just wait until tomorrow, okay? Isn't the library there closed after sundown anyway?”
She shook her head. “No, Spike. Don't you see this is important to me? I need to go right now! Also, the guards know me. Don't you remember the time we went there searching for that time spell? They will let me in. Now where are my saddlebags?”
“But Twilight...” Spike said while the former levitated some books into her bags and got ready to leave through the front door. “No buts, Spike,” she interrupted him and made her way to the door. “Don't forget to feed Peewee and I believe Owlowiscious has made some dinner for you. It's in the kitchen.”
Before Spike could say another word she was already outside the building.
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Stepping into the dark night, Twilight once again realized how silent and serene the nights in Equestria were. She couldn't see or hear a single soul outside, it was very peaceful. If she didn't imagine things, the stars were even more vibrant than normally tonight. Looking up, she admired their beauty and the intricate designs of the formations.
Making her way into the middle of the square in front of Ponyville library, Twilight got ready to perform her old teleportation spell. She could have teleportated right out of the library into Canterlot castle, but she preferred entering and leaving buildings through their doors. It just was the polite thing to do. Also, she wanted to take in the beautiful night a little bit longer before arriving at the castle.
Operating by her beliefs, Twilight teleported in front of the castle gates instead of right at her destination. Frowning, she noticed the lightning and the noise her spell had created where she had materialized. She was hoping that would be different on the way back home.
Heading inside she noticed the castle was as silent and deserted as Ponyville, not counting two or three guards strolling around in the hallways. The way to the library wasn't that long, so she soon arrived there. The guard standing outside just nodded to her as she walked up to him and so she entered without explaining anything. He seemed not disturbed by her presence here at all.
Looking around shelves and rooms she had not seen in some time now, though she had once known them as good as she knew her library at Ponyville nowadays, Twilight headed to the wing where she knew she would find the books about magic in general and teleportation in particular. Also, her favorite reading spot used to be in that wing. It was a low rectangular couch in one corner of the room. It was always great to lie there and read while the late afternoon sun shone in through the windows.
Just as the rest of the castle the library was already empty. A few books were scattered about the reading pults, some still open, others closed or lying in stacks on the ground.
As she entered the intended wing she noticed that it wasn't deserted like the rest of the library she already went through. Right where her favorite reading spot used to be, on top of the exact same couch was lying Princess Luna, ethereal mane floating in a non-existant wind.
The younger of the two regal sisters looked up as she heard Twilight enter the room.
“Twilight Sparkle,” she said, “I did not expect to meet you here. What brings you to this temple of knowledge in the middle of my night?”
“Princess Luna! I didn't think I'd meet you here either! I was just on my way to find some information about a new spell I wanted to try and couldn't find anything about in my own library. But why are you here? Don't you have any duties to attend to?”
“At the moment there are no royal duties that call to my attention, so I have come here to enjoy the company of the books for a little while. I like to do so during the quiet hours of the night.”
Twilight looked over to where the princess lay. “Princess, may I join you on the couch for my studying? It would be nice to have some company.”
“Of course, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna answered. “We-, I would like to have some company as well.”
Twilight looked around the room for a few minutes and then returned to where the Princess was lying, levitating several books behind her, which she set down next to the couch after she climbed onto it and settled down.
Luna watched her from the side while she made herself comfortable. “To be honest, Twilight Sparkle, I'm more than glad to have somepony here with me. I have been in a very glum mood tonight.”
“Why is that, Princess?”
“Please, just call me Luna, Twilight Sparkle, I don't really like being called a princess all the time.”
At that, Twilight smirked. “All right,” she said. “I will if you stop calling me by my full name. It's sounds so formal and weird every time you say it.”
“Very well,” Luna answered, a slight smile on her lips.
They sat in silence for a while. After a few moments Twilight picked up the question she was asking before. “Why are you in a glum mood tonight, Luna?”
Luna sighed. “Did you notice how silent everything is, Twilight? It's like even the most wild of the animals decided to stop hunting for tonight. No hooting, no howling, even the creatures in the Everfree forest seem to be quiet today.” She hesitated. “It reminds me about the time I spent in the moon. It was quiet there, too. And lonely.”
Twilight looked at her princess silently, waiting for her to elaborate. Luna looked outside through the window into the dark night. After a while she broke her gaze and continued.
“Before my banishment there was anger and jealousy. It's what made me Nightmare Moon. It was a part of me. The elements of harmony robbed me of that,” Luna said quietly. “Do not understand me wrong, Twilight,” she added, as she saw the unicorn frown, “I was and am still very glad and thankful for what you and your friends did. But I just wish there wouldn't be so much emptiness inside of me lately. On nights like these, I feel like nothing has really changed since over a thousand years ago. The ponies still don't really appreciate my night. Most of them just stay inside once it is dark outside. The only difference is that my angry feelings are gone. I feel empty.”
Twilight took her time with answering. “I think I can understand why you feel that way, Luna. It must be hard to know that the ponies think of your night as something to signal the end of their day, to signal their time to stop doing things, doing whatever their business is during the day.” Luna looked at her intently. “But let me tell you that there are ponies that do appreciate your night. Not in the way they would appreciate the day, but in a different way. The couple, who run the local bakery in Ponyville, usually get up around 3am in the night to prepare their pastries for the day. They told me they like to sit outside on their balcony for some minutes after getting up and just enjoy the night sky together. Rarity says that she is most productive in the night where she can have her peace and quiet, although she admittedly doesn't like to stay up late usually. I, myself, have been staying up in the library in Ponyville late into the night very often, reading. I love how calm everything is, there's nothing like it.”
Luna shook her head. “I know Twilight,” she said. “Still I can't help but feel that way. There's just so much less activity during the night.”
“Well, ponies just need light to do anything outside most of the time.”
“I'm not stupid, Twilight Sparkle. I wouldn't expect the ponies to plow on the fields or something similar during the night. But you know well that there are other things ponies could very easily do while it be dark outside. Ironically, the only time they actually do go out in the night is on Nightmare Night, to celebrate how scary I am.” A small amount of bitterness crept into Luna's voice at the end of her sentence.
Twilight didn't say anthing, because she didn't dare to object again. Besides, Luna was kind of right, even though Twilight was pretty sure the princess actually enjoyed Nightmare Night.
Luna continued: “I thank you for your kind words, Twilight. I know that you mean what you say.” She stood up and went towards the balcony that was at the other end of the room. Then she turned around and said, “I still feel lonely, though.”
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Stepping out onto the balcony, Luna looked out over Equestria. There were still hardly any sounds to be heard throughout the landscape. Before, in a desperate attempt to liven things up a bit, she had even made the stars shine a bit brighter than they normally would. It was childish and wasn't gonna help in any way, but she just wanted to do something, anything.
Looking over her shoulder Luna noticed that Twilight decided to stay inside, letting her be. She thought about what the unicorn had told her. What had struck her most was what Twilight had said was her favorite thing about the night. Its calmness. I don't want it to be calm, she thought.
It reminded her of something Celestia said to her in a similar moment, shortly after her return from the moon. Day and night, sun and moon. These are opposites. The day is full of activity and the night, well, is not. Why can't you accept what you are, Luna? The night princess snorted, just as she did when she heard those words for the first time. Easy for her to say, she thought.
Looking back over Equestria she took it in once more. The peace. And the tranquillity. Standing there she tried to imagine it bustling with activity, with ponies going about their business. She failed. Everytime she thought of how a pony would work outside or sell some of the food they harvested, she immediately associated these pictures with the light of day, the sun high up in the sky. The night wasn't like that, it was different.
Luna's gaze came to rest on the surface of a lake that wasn't very far away from Canterlot. Not a single wave disturbed the water. The stars from the night sky could be seen on the surface, the lake lying on the land like a gigantic mirror. Luna took the sight in. This was how it was supposed to be. It gave her peace, no, it made her realize the peace that was already inside of her. The night's peace, its serenity and silence, everything that made the night – that made Luna what she was. It wasn't something she should try to change. Celestia was right. She needed to accept it.
She sighed and smiled a weak smile. In the end her sister always seemed to be right. As she looked at the lake the emptiness inside her vanished, replaced by a feeling of contentment. This was how things should be and she shouldn't wish for them to be any different.
As if to confirm her feelings, the unnatural silence that had engulfed the night until then suddenly vanished and Luna could hear the regular sounds of the night coming back. Somewhere nearby an owl was hooing.
She continued to look out over the land for a while. Far above her, the light eminating from the full moon and the stars dimmed back to its normal intensity.
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Twilight raised her eyes from the book she was reading when Luna came back in through the door leading to the balcony. The princess looked at Twilight with a smile. “Thank you.”
“You have nothing to thank me for, Luna. I didn't really do anything,” Twilight said.
“Still, you see me for who I am and for that alone I wanted to thank you.”
Twilight wasn't exactly sure what Luna meant by that, but decided not to press her for answers. She was just happy that Luna seemed to have gone out of her sad mood.
As Luna made her way back over to the couch Twilight was still perched on, Twilight thought of some lighter topics to talk about. “By the way, I wanted to congratulate you on your speech. You have improved a lot since I last really saw you.”
“Thank you very much again, Twilight, I have been practising with my sister. She knows how to speak casually and still sound formal.”
Suddenly another thing came to Twilight's mind and she said, “Speaking of the last time I saw you, I never really got the chance to ask you where you were during the time of the changeling attack, you just showed up afterwards and acted like it never happened.”
Twilight wasn't too sure, because it was hard to catch, but it looked to her as if Luna was blushing. “Oh...” she said. “That's really not anything important. I was a bit... distracted.” Twilight looked at her a bit bewildered. “It's nothing, really,” Luna added then, with a tone that suggested a change of topic.
Twilight was still puzzled about it, but decided to let the matter pass. Luna was obviously a bit uncomfortable with it. They continued to talk a bit about the actual wedding and the happy couple until Twilight realized how late it already was. Sighing, she got up from her spot. “It's already past midnight and I still haven't discovered any clues about what I wanted to know. Maybe I should really postpone this to tomorrow.”
“What is it you wanted to learn, Twilight? You said it was some form of special magic. Maybe I can help you find a suitable book. It would be a lot quicker that way.”
“That's a great idea!” Twilight exclaimed, “Why didn't I think of this earlier?” She showed Luna the book in which she found the clue about the alternate teleportation spell. “It's supposed to be ancient, but I couldn't find it anywhere here yet. I also do not know who invented it, so I don't have any specific magicians to look for either.”
Luna read the short text about the spell in the book Twilight gave her. Then she looked up at her, a grin on her face. “Oh, I know why you couldn't find anything about this spell in any book here or in Ponyville. And you're right, it is ancient, a little over 1000 years old actually.”
Twilight looked confused. “How do you know? And why didn't the inventor write it down or anything?”
“Because it was me who invented that spell, a long time ago. I hated the old teleportation spell, so loud and obnoxious. It was also very impractical for sneaking around my sister, so I tried to figure out a different way. I never thought of writing it down to be honest.” She frowned at the book in front of her. “I'm actually surprised that there is somepony else who knows about it.”
Twilight looked at her, mouth slightly open. “You discovered it?” she said.
Luna nodded and said, “Yes, among lots of other ones. Some of them are still in use and very practical, while others are just silly. Most of them are forgotten by now.” She snickered. “Oh, there was this one my sister and I used to pull a prank on a servant in our old castle. That was fun.” She grinned, lost in old memories.
Twilight however, was very excited. “Oh, can you teach me? Please, I want to learn. I hate the teleportation spell just as much as you do.”
Luna looked at her. “Yes, I can. You have helped me a lot today, Twilight. It will be nice to be able to return that favor.”
Twilight smiled genuinely and bounced about the room. “Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! This is so great!”
“Now, now, Twilight Sparkle. This isn't going to work if you don't calm yourself a bit,” Luna reprimanded, sounding like she was used to giving lectures about magic.
On that, Twilight sobered up a little. “Yes, sorry,” she said, though she was still smiling.
Luna settled down on the couch again and collected her thoughts before beginning her lecture. “Now, when teleporting the normal way, a unicorn will just transport herself – and possibly others – to a different point of the world. The farer away this point is, the more energy it costs. Also, upon arriving at the intended destination, this spell will set free some of the unused energy that was created by the caster. It is very hard to avoid this, although possible. The spell I discovered though, uses up the same amount of energy no matter where you want to go or how far this place is away and there will be no light or noise once you arrive there.”
Luna made a small pause to think about the best way to explain the concept and then continued, “In order to cast it you will have to concentrate on the world as a whole instead of only on yourself while teleporting. Change the location of your body in the world, don't try to travel, try to arrive. It always helps when I imagine the world as a raster of sorts. While teleporting, you enter new coordinates for your body, so to speak.”
Twilight nodded and got ready to cast the spell. Her first try resulted in a small explosion accompanied by a loud bang and herself crashing into the book shelve behind her. However, after some more attempts and some further explaining from Luna, Twilight was able to cast the spell and reappeared without a sound on the other side of the room.
Luna nodded approvingly. “Very good. I am impressed, Twilight. I didn't think you would be able to do it so soon. You really are a very gifted unicorn.”
Twilight smiled, not only because she mastered the spell, but also because she had received such a compliment from the night princess herself. She said, “Without your help, I wouldn't have been able to do it. Thank you.”
“You are welcome, Twilight. If you want to, I can teach you some more of the spells I invented and we also can try to experiment on some new ones. But this will have to wait at least until tomorrow. You look very tired. It's probably better if you return home now,” Luna answered, again in that somewhat strict lecturing tone.
Twilight yawned, though she tried to avoid it. “No, let me at least try one more.”
Luna shook her head, smiling. “I admire your enthusiasm, but this will not do. You'll only hurt yourself if you're that tired.”
Twilight argued some more, but Luna wouldn't budge. So Twilight made her promise that they would meet again here at the same time tomorrow, to which Luna willingly agreed.
Upon leaving the library, Twilight turned around one more time and said, “Goodbye, Luna.”
“Goodbye, Twilight. This was a very special encounter we had today.”
As Twilight was leaving through the castle's gates and got ready to perform her newly learned spell, she said to herself, “Yes, it was.”
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The night in Ponyville was back to its normal state as Twilight silently appeared in the middle of the square in front of the library. The night animals were back out in the open and the creatures in the Everfree forest could be heard in the distance. Twilight noticed that even the stars were back to their normal state. Entering her home, she found the library half-cleaned and a sleeping Spike in the middle of a smaller book pile on the ground. With a fond smile, Twilight levitated the baby dragon carefully upwards into his bed.
As she lay on her own bed a little later she looked out of her window at the beautiful night outside. She fell asleep almost instantly.