//------------------------------//
// Three Princesses and a Barrier 
// Story: Do You Believe In Magic? 
// by ShotgunNeko 
//------------------------------//

Luna couldn’t believe it.  She had just finished trying all the barrier breaking spells she knew, and yet here she was, still trapped in Twilight Sparkle’s bedroom.

“How the hell did this happen?” she mused out loud.

Luna trotted over to Twilight’s desk and began to flip through her research books.  It only took a minute for her to identify the problem.  In Twilight’s haste to create the perfect barrier, Luna noticed she had written the incantation backwards in her notebook.  Twilight had accidentally conjured a reverse barrier.  This particular spell was so powerful that it could only be removed by the one who conjured it in the first place.

Crap...

Luna looked around the room again as her eyes settled on her sleeping student.  Now what was she going to do?  Celestia and Cadence were expecting her, and she could not let them find her in this compromising position.

Oh hell no.  

Those two would never let her live it down.  She could practically hear them cackling already.  Luna paced back and forth as she considered her options.   She contemplated teleporting into Twilight’s dream to wake her, but for some reason that didn’t feel right.  She wasn’t quite sure why.  She had no problem intruding on her student the day before and yet the image of her beautiful sister by Twilight’s side, burned in her head.  

Why was that bothering her?  

She closed her eyes and strengthened her resolve.  The Moon Princess knew she needed to wake up Twilight and quickly.  She leaned in over her student, and softly whispered.

“Twilight, wake up.”

Twilight stirred, and Luna thought she had achieved success, until the young mare grabbed her blanket and flipped over, turning her back to the princess.

Luna’s nostrils flared as she cleared her throat and tried again.

“Twilight Sparkle, I command of you WAKE UP!”

Twilight made an adorable moaning sound, before turning over onto her back.  Luna’s eyebrow twitched.  Apparently Twilight was a heavy sleeper.  She would have to try something else.  Luna reached out, placing both her hooves on Twilight’s shoulders and began to shake.

“WAKE UP. PLEASE WAKE UP.”

Little did the Moon Princess know that Twilight was currently in the midst of her favorite dream.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Twilight was seated on a red and white checkered blanket, across from her sat Princess Celestia.  Celestia’s mane was waving slowly in the wind, and Twilight could feel her heart skip a beat.  The Princess had asked her to accompany her on a special picnic.  The food had been exquisite, not that Twilight had cared.  She was too busy staring into the beautiful eyes of her mentor.  As Celestia talked, Twilight hung on every word, enjoying the precious one on one time.  

“Twilight?” Celestia called, motioning her student beside her.

Twilight trotted slowly to Celestia’s side and was immediately engulfed in a huge hug.  Twilight sighed happily as the princess’ warmth surged through her, invoking a huge smile.  It was all too good to be true.

As Twilight looked up expecting to see the warm, gentle eyes of Celestia, she was shocked as it was no longer Celestia she was looking up at.

“Luna...” she trailed off, stunned by her teacher’s appearance.

“Twilight Sparkle.” Luna said softly, leaning down as their muzzles touched.

Twilight couldn’t move. Her entire body was frozen as she had been taken completely taken off guard.  She could feel a blush begin to adorn her face.  She tried to look away, but the piercing dark eyes of her teacher called to her once more.  Luna’s lips were incredibly close, and Twilight could feel her gentle breath as it tickled her mane.

Luna then reached out and pushed Twilight easily onto her back, her hoof stroking the unicorn’s tummy.  Twilight’s lips tried to form words, but none came out.  Luna continued to massage up Twilight’s belly and over her chest.  She finally rested her hooves on the purple mare’s shoulders.  Twilight was afraid to look up, and yet she couldn’t look away from Luna’s entrancing eyes.

“Twilight...” Luna breathed, her lips ever so close.  

“Twilight Sparkle...”

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!!!!! WAKE UP!”

Twilight was confused as Luna’s face changed from sexy and seductive to certifiably insane.  The now irritated Moon Princess had been trying to wake Twilight for minutes and her patience was running thin.  Twilight was so startled by Luna’s presence in her dream that instead of waking up, her eyes went dim and her entire body shook with power.

“Uh oh.” Luna thought, letting go of Twilight as her student’s body rose from the bed in a cloud of magical power.

Luna tried to back up, but there was no time to do so.  Twilight’s horn glowed and she let loose an immense amount of power that headed straight for the Princess.  Luna closed her eyes and lifted her hooves to shield herself, bracing her body for the impact.  As Luna held tight to her stance, she could feel the magic hit her, as it careened into her breast plate.  The impact she had been awaiting never happened.  Luna opened her eyes just in time to see the glowing ball of energy now picking up speed and hurling right back towards Twilight.  It was then Luna remembered that during their midnight session, she had forgotten to release Twilight from her binding spell.  There was no time to act.  All she could do was watch helplessly as Twilight was hit hard by her own magic, knocking her roughly to the ground.

“TWILIGHT!” the urgency in her voice apparent, Luna galloped to her student’s side.

What had she done?  This was all her fault.

“Twilight please answer me.” She said, picking Twilight up from the floor.

As she cradled Twilight in her arms, the first thing she noticed was the charred smell of burnt flesh.  She shuddered, almost afraid to look.  Her hoof slid between Twilight’s front legs as she pried them open.  Her eyes went wide.  She knew it was bad, but this was much worse than bad.  The magic had burned right through Twilight’s coat and skin, leaving a large burn mark on her chest, right under her neck.  Before Luna had a chance to get a better look, she heard the familiar voice of her sister coming through the door.

“Twilight?  Luna?  Is anyone in here?  We were looking for you and then we heard a loud sound.  Is everything okay? Celestia’s voice rang out.

Luna continued to cradle Twilight as she called out to her sister.

“Yes sister everything is fine.  I’ll be out soon.  Just start without me.” 

Luna prayed that her sister would just go away, but she knew Celestia better than that.  Celestia had a sixth sense for when things weren’t right.  Luna waited for the tell tale sign of hoofsteps leaving the door, but was instead startled at the sound of Celestia behind her.

“What has happened?” Celestia asked cautiously, still unable to see Twilight.

“I...I screwed up.” Luna started, fighting back her emotions.  

She then turned, with Twilight in her arms, so Celestia could get her first look at the disaster.  Celestia gasped, and Luna could feel a sudden chill in the air.

“I’m so sorry.  It was an accident.” Luna began to ramble.

Although Celestia still wasn’t sure what was going on, she knew she needed to calm her sister down.

“Luna, it’s okay.  Put her down on the bed and I’ll take a look at her while you explain to me what exactly happened here.”

Luna nodded, and slowly eased Twilight down.  She could hear a faint heartbeat coming from Twilight’s chest, which was at least a good sign.  Before she had a chance to relay the night's events, Celestia began to speak.

“She is breathing, but unconscious.” Celestia noted.  “We need medicine.  Please go and fetch the royal doctor.  I will keep an eye on Twilight.”

Luna shook her head.  She had already let Twilight down, she wasn’t going anywhere.  

“I should be the one to stay here in case she awakens.  She is still, for now, my student after all.”

Celestia thought for a moment, and then nodded in agreement. 

“Okay, then I’ll go.  I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Luna was no longer paying attention to her sister as she sat down in a desk chair by Twilight’s bed.

“THWACK!”

Celestia rubbed her head with her hoof.  What was the meaning of this?  Was this magic she sensed surrounding the room?  Why had she not noticed it before?

The Princess once again summoned her magic and tried to teleport out of the room.  

“THWACK!” 

Luna sighed as her sister rubbed the newly formed goose egg on her head.  In all the commotion she had forgotten about the stupid barrier.

“It’s no use Tia.  We’re trapped.”

With that being said, Luna motioned for Celestia to join her by the bed and began to tell the tale of Twilight’s reverse barrier spell.

It looked like it was shaping up to be a very long night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cadence giggled as Celestia finished telling her about the night’s events.  Luna rolled her eyes.

“Oh come on Auntie.  It is sort of funny when you think about it.”

“My student was gravely injured.  I don’t find that funny at all.” Luna grumbled, becoming even more irritated.

Shortly after she had begun explaining to Celestia about what had happened, Cadence had made her way to the room.  Both Celestia and Luna had tried to stop her, but it had been too late.  Now the three of them were all trapped in Twilight’s barrier.

“Of course that part isn’t funny Auntie.  I just meant the fact that Twilight captured not one, not two, but three Alicorns in her barrier.  That’s quite impressive.”

Celestia smiled as well.  “Cheer up Luna. Twilight’s heart rate has gone up considerably and from what I can tell she will be fine.  She just needs some time to rest.”

Luna wanted to scream.  She just wanted everyone to be quiet.  She could take care of Twilight on her own.  Although she loved her family more than anything, they were completely on her last nerve.

Celestia and Cadence could both tell that Luna’s mood was becoming fouler by the minute, and yet there was something on both of their minds.  After much pushing and prodding between them, Cadence finally spoke.

“Um, Auntie Luna?  Did you notice anything strange on Twilight’s chest?”

Luna snorted. “Like an ugly gigantic burn mark?”

“Well yes, of course that, but I meant did you notice anything unusual about the shape?”

Luna looked at Cadence.  She had no idea what her niece was going on about.

“It sort of looks like....in the shape of.....uhm.....” 

Cadence once again trailed off.

“It seems to look a lot like the shape of a crescent moon.” Celestia finished.

“It does not!” Luna deflected.  “It’s just a huge piece of burnt flesh.  How can you even say it looks like anything?”

But as Luna took a closer look, she realized her sister and niece were right.  The mark that was carved into Twilight’s chest did resemble a crescent moon, much similar to the one adorning Luna’s flank.  Luna was dumbfounded.  

“It’s just a coincidence.” She offered meekly.  “I have no other explanation.”

Cadence poked Luna in the ribs. “Are you sure you didn’t imprint on Twilight?” 

She then laughed.

“Imprint?  What does that mean?” Luna asked.  She was clearly unaware of the vampire pony phenomenon.

“It’s a term used in a popular book series my dear sister. “ Celestia smiled.  “Cadence is just teasing you.”

Luna relaxed for a moment.  Celestia was correct. Clearly Cadence was just trying to lighten the mood.  

“Sorry for snapping.” Luna said, looking in Cadence’s direction.

“No apology needed Auntie.  I know it’s been a long night.”

As the three Alicorns continued to watch over Twilight, they were suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Cadence, are you in there?  One of the guards said Twiley was hurt.  Is she okay? I’m coming in!”

“No!  Don’t come in!” the three Alicorns chorused in unison.

“But I’m her big brother.  If there’s something wrong I need to know.” Shining yelled from behind the door. “Hmm the door seems to be stuck, I’ll teleport.”

“Shining! No please just wait a moment.” Cadence pleaded.  “There’s a reason that we don’t want you to come-“

She stopped mid-sentence as Shining Armor teleported in beside her.

“In...” she finished.

Luna groaned.  She knew things had just gone from bad to worse. 

“Shining!” Cadence reprimanded him.  “I told you not to come in.”

“I’m sorry but I had to see my sister.  Is she okay?” he asked, turning towards the bed.

As he turned, he caught sight of his banged up little sister.

“Twiley!” he squeaked, as his voice cracked.  “Who did this to you?”

Shining Armor rushed to his sister’s side.  “It’s okay Twiley.  I’m here now.  Your big brother is here.”

Luna shuddered.  If he started singing the “big brother best friend forever “song, she would absolutely lose it.  She glared at Cadence.    Cadence mouthed an apology.  The last thing they had needed was Twilight’s overprotective brother joining them.

Shining leaned his muzzle into Twilight’s.  “She’s going to be okay right?” he asked uneasily.

Celestia nodded.  “She will obviously be in pain because of her injury, but from what I can tell, there shouldn’t be any long lasting effects.”

Shining Armor let out a sigh of relief.

“Shining...” came a small soft voice.  “Is that you big brother?”

Every single pony in the room jumped up at the sound of Twilight’s voice.  They all made their way to her bed, surrounding her as she slowly opened her eyes.

“Don’t try to move too soon.” Luna cautioned.  “There was an accident.  You were hurt badly.”

Twilight could only nod in response.  Her eyes slowly scanned the room as she took note of who was there.

“I’m sorry if I worried anypony.” she murmured.

Luna put a hoof to her student’s lips.  “You have nothing to apologize for.  This is my fault and I will take full responsibility.  You need to conserve your energy.  We’re all just relieved that you are awake.”

Everypony in the group nodded.  Shining wondered what Luna meant by saying it was her fault.  When Cadence had first told him that Twilight was going to study under Luna, he wasn’t sure that was a good idea.  Now he was even more conflicted.  How could he be sure that something like this wasn’t going to happen again?

Celestia reached out and touched her hoof to Twilight’s cheek.

“I think we should give Luna and Twilight a moment to talk.  We need Twilight to release her barrier spell and I think it’s best if Luna fills her in on what has happened.”

Cadence nodded, and after a few deathly glares from his wife, Shining reluctantly agreed.

Luna silently thanked her sister as the other ponies made their way to the other side of the room.

“Twilight, I need you to do something for me if you can.” Luna said softly, reaching up instinctively to stroke the unicorn’s mane.  “I need you to undo your barrier spell.  Do you think you have enough energy to do that?”

Twilight thought for a moment. “My barrier?  But I must have done something wrong.  Everypony was in here when I woke up.”

Luna had to chuckle at Twilight’s naivety.

“Actually you succeeded in creating a pretty powerful barrier.  I’d give you an B plus for this one, maybe an A minus.  You managed to trap three powerful Alicorns.  Well done Twilight Sparkle.  Well done!”

Twilight took a minute to process what Luna was saying.  She blushed as Luna praised her.  She found herself taking great pleasure in the fact that her teacher was proud of her efforts.

“But we really need you to release the spell.  Cadence and Shining need to get back to the Crystal Empire and ...” her voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m pretty sure Tia has had to use the little ponies’ room for quite some time now.” She added with a wink.

Twilight giggled and Luna felt another wave of relief wash over her.  She watched as the young mare closed her eyes and her horn began to glow.  It only took a moment for her student to release the spell, but Luna could see the effect that even using a small amount of magic had on Twilight.

Twilight slumped back onto the bed, her eyes drooping.

“Sorry princess, I suddenly feel faint.”

Without a word Luna leaned down and let her horn rest against Twilight’s.  The unicorn gasped at the sudden sensation as she could feel the magic emenating from her teacher.  The Moon Princess did not move as she continued to radiate magic, letting it flow into Twilight.

“Just relax Twilight.  You’re weak, but I am going to lend you my own magic.  Just rest and let me do the work.”

Twilight wanted to protest but she found herself unable to do so.  The magic that was filling her body was warm and it made her sleepy once again.  Luna closed her eyes and kept her horn pressed tightly against Twilight’s.

Shining Armor looked on, wanting to say something.  Celestia shook her head in his direction.  “Twilight is strong, she will be fine.  You can visit her in the morning when she is feeling better.  Luna will take good care of her.”

Shining nodded in response.  He supposed if both his wife and Princess Celestia felt Twilight was in good hooves then she probably was.  The three of them then exited the room, leaving Luna and Twilight alone.

Twilight looked up at Luna who still had her eyes closed.  She was still unsure what had happened, but she did remember the dream she was having before everything went black.  Luna had been there with her, holding her and touching her. She could remember the warm feeling as it radiated from her hooves to her head.  She continued to look at her teacher’s face, while Luna concentrated.  Luna’s lips were so close, Twilight imagined for a split second what it might be like to reach up and brush her own lips against them.

Her hooves reached up and she brought them down on Luna’s face, startling her teacher.  Luna’s eyes popped open and she looked down, surprised by Twilight’s hooves.

“What are you-“

Before Luna could finish, Twilight leaned up and surprised them both by planting a soft, chaste kiss on the tip of Luna’s muzzle.

“Thank you for taking good care of me.” She whispered, before laying back down on her pillow and closing her eyes.

Luna could feel her face get hot.  She wasn’t sure what to think.  Her student had just kissed her.  Sure, it hadn’t been a romantic kiss, but it was a kiss just the same.  What did it mean? Or did it even mean anything?  Twilight had just been through a very traumatic experience.  She still didn’t think the unicorn had taken notice of the large burn mark on her chest.  Luna shook her head.  She would not read anything more into that kiss.  Her student was not in her right mind.  Then again, why did it suddenly feel like her heart was going to burst through her chest?

“Twilight Sparkle, I swear you will be the death of me yet.”

End Chapter 5