//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 // Story: Getting Even // by Mint //------------------------------// No sooner had Lucerna sat down at his desk and began signing orders then Mitera came charging into his tent. “What in the hell did you do!?” She shouted. Lucerna gave her a stiff glare before glancing back at his papers. “This really isn’t the time.” He snapped back. “I’ve never seen a fit like that in my life! If she were a little more powerful she would have destroyed the entire camp!” “She’s a child and I treated her like a child.” Mitera marched forward and stomped her hoof hard on the table, stopping him from working. “She is not a child. She may be a child by our standards, but she has been through enough trouble to fill many lifetimes.” “We’ve all gone through tough times Mitera, you included.” “Yes, but I was much older and much more mature. That wasn’t a toddler’s tantrum because they didn’t get what they wanted. That was a full mental breakdown. She snapped.” “What would you have me do?” Lucerna asked, sounding as if he were on trial. “Perhaps not have one of her only family members in the entire world tell her that she’s worthless to him.” Lucerna flinched. “When I was queen, I allocated some of the money for healthcare to found an institution on mental health. After many years, they began publishing books on the subject. I’m not an expert, but Luna, and to a lesser extent her sister, have a serious stress and anger management problem.” Lucerna cocked his eyebrow. “In simpler terms?” He asked. “Both of them have been through possibly some of the worst things in the world. Through it all, there has been nopony to help them. They have unresolved anger, depression, trauma and they do not have the emotional skills to deal with it.” “But Celestia...” “Hides behind stallions and one night stands. She’s found an escape, although whether we can call it healthy or not I do not know. I don’t know about you, but she sleeps with more stallions in a week then I have my entire life.” Lucerna seemed incredibly uncomfortable with Mitera discussing such things. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, holding his head. “What am I supposed to do?” Lucerna asked. “I have a war to manage, soldiers to train, operations to plan. Those girls are the closest in relation to me in my entire family now, but I can’t just take off from the war to deal with it.” “Luna and Celestia need to get away from this place.” Mitera said, finally lifting her hoof off the desk. “Any more stress and Luna may snap again, and Celestia might start breaking down as well. They need a calm and quiet place to learn how to manage their stress and anger.” Lucerna mulled over this for a moment. “If we send them both then we’ll be in the same problem with supplies.” Mitera sighed irritably. She didn’t like this idea of choosing between them. “Then I suppose Luna, she seems the most unstable.” Lucerna then gave Mitera a curious glance. “You do realize that there is only one pony who knows about these things, right?” “Huh? Oh...me?” Mitera suddenly appeared unsteady. “No...no...I...I just read some books. I’m not an expert, I told you...” “The experts you speak of are dead Mitera.” Lucerna said bluntly. “You are their best hope.” “I...uh...but the war...” “You will be recalled when a major operation starts. For now, we have a strategist who can properly manage our army.” “I do not trust them.” Mitera said firmly. “Nor do I. I will surround myself with allies, I will not be strong-armed. Trust me. Besides, a break will be good for you.” “It would be good for you too.” Lucerna chuckled, abruptly feeling very old. “If only it were so.” “I need to be at the meeting.” “Of all the alicorns, of course.” Lucerna sat back up in his chair. “After the meeting, take Luna away from this place. There is this village outside of Numbria, next to the Golden Plain. I spent my childhood on that plain. It was quite peaceful.” “Lucerna, I tremble to think how long ago your childhood was.” “As do I.” After Luna finished fixing all of her damage, she wordlessly marched to her tent. She closed the tent flap and collapsed on her bed. It was there she lay for the rest of day. She didn’t come out, not for food, drink or anything. Luna alternated between crying, sleeping and just zoning out by staring at the wall of the tent. Lucerna’s words were ringing in her ears. For the first time in her life, Luna felt defeated. Nopony cared about her, and she didn’t care about anypony else. Normally she would be bounding around, looking for something to do or somepony to help. Now all she wanted to do was lie in her bed and do nothing. She spent the next morning still in bed. She barely even moved. She never thought in her wildest imagination...that she would miss those miserable days in the desert. Now she didn’t even have company in her misery. She thought that maybe if she could stay there forever, everypony would just leave her alone. She knew that wasn’t possible anymore. Somepony, sometime would find her or come looking. She was too visible now; too many ponies had seen her. As noon began to run on she began to have dark thoughts. Maybe she could tie her wings down and jump off a cliff, or tie a rope around her neck or walk into the ocean...the ocean that once housed her parent’s beloved home. Luna buried her face into her pillow and began to cry again. Maybe if she did those things she could see her mother, her father, her auntie, all the people of her village...and Skye again. Abruptly the flap of her tent opened. A member of the supply team walked in, carrying a tray of food. “L-Lady Luna?” He asked apprehensively. “You...haven’t eaten in a day and half. Lord Lucerna said to bring you some food...” “Get out.” Luna’s voice was almost lethal. Her horn briefly let up and the worker was shoved out of the room, so roughly that their hooves left marks in the dirt. The pony squealed as they were shoved well out of the tent and across the path, still managing not to spill any of the food. Clear on the other side they collided with another pony. “Watch it!” They cried. The worker looked up and instantly felt forlorn. “Oh! Forgive me Lord Gramen! I did not mean to strike you! Please do not report me! I don’t need another charge of insubordination on my recor...!!!” “Da, da, da!” Gramen said, waving his hoof in front of the worker’s face indicating for him to stop. “I don’t care. Just watch where you’re going.” Gramen’s usual placid look was on his face. He had shown up for the meeting of the alicorns, which was about to start at any moment. He gazed down at the tray of food. “What are you doing?” The worker then appeared grave. “I was trying to bring food to Lady Luna, she refused it however. Lord Lucerna ordered me to bring her food, but she rejected it. I’m afraid of what he’ll do if...” “She’s not eating?” He asked. “Why not?” “Oh...well...a lot of things have happened.” “Such as?” The worker relayed everything that had happened since Gramen had last been present. The alicorn’s expression didn’t change through everything, betraying no emotion. The worker finished, appearing quite forlorn by the end. “Sounds like a real bummer.” Gramen replied flatly. “Uh...yes...a bummer.” The worker hadn’t heard it summed up so simply and without emotion before. Gramen grumbled a bit. “A whole day and half huh?” He asked. “Yes sir.” Gramen was silent for several moments. His ears were twitching. “Dammit, I can’t hear anything.” He said. The worker stared around, hearing all kinds of things. “Sir?” He asked confused. “Nothing.” Gramen said. He picked the tray up with magic and turned to Luna’s tent. “Go tell Lucerna I’m giving it a shot. If I can’t do it, we should just give up.” “Yes sir.” The worker said, gratefully trotting away. Gramen grumbled the whole way, as he marched into the tent. “I said to go away.” Luna said in her lethal tone. Gramen could feel her magic press on him. He used his own to deflect it however. “I think you’ll find I’m much harder to get rid of.” He said. Luna’s head snapped around. The stallion could see that her eyes were bright red from crying, she had bags under them and her hair was a complete disaster. Gramen flinched, but otherwise didn’t show any emotion. “You! What are you doing here?” She asked. “Alicorn meeting.” Gramen said flatly. “Got to show up whether I like it or not.” Luna narrowed her eyes. “I see.” She quickly fell back onto her pillow and turned away from him. “Wouldn’t want to keep you from your duty.” “Oh please do.” Gramen said. He floated the food tray over and put it on the table beside Luna’s bed. “Anyway, you have to eat whether you like it or not, kind of goes with that whole annoying “life” thing.” “I don’t care.” Luna said curtly. “I know the feeling, but the whole food thing is kind of important.” “Leave. Me. Alone.” Luna said emphatically. Gramen then sighed and grumbled. “Might I make a suggestion?” He asked. She didn’t respond, so he continued. “You do realize that just laying in here wasting away will in no way get you any sort of revenge.” “What revenge?” Luna asked. “They’ll just stop me if I try and I’m much less useful than they are.” “What about the rest of the world? Are you simply going to abandon it?” “Everyone I’ve ever cared about has either betrayed me or dead. What do I care?” Gramen made an unpleasant face. This was not his thing. “Just...what if...oh whatever. Do what you want.” Gramen whirled around and marched out of the tent. The second he was outside he instantly stopped. His seemed to be pondering something. He lifted his ear to the air, as if trying to listen to something. “Dammit! I can’t hear anything! Why do I have to give a damn!?” He sighed in frustration. Just then, the worker from before returned. He seemed eager as he walked up to the alicorn. “Lord Gramen, did you have any success?” He asked. “Yes, I got myself all worked up and annoyed.” He replied. “Look, tell Lucerna I’m not going to make it. I got something to do.” “Sir, all alicorn lords are required to attend. What am I supposed to tell Lord Lucerna?” “I would suggest telling him in my usual sarcastic tone that “did you really think I was going to show up?” Good luck.” Gramen spread his wings and like a rocket he shot into the air, leaving a cloud of dust behind him. The worker grumbled a bit, but turned and began his return to his lord. Near the end of the day somepony entered Luna’s tent again. Gramen had returned. His hair was disheveled and his expression was even more disgruntled than before. He saw that Luna had not moved. He did feel a little better, seeing that some of the food had bite marks on it. He marched over to her bed. “Hey.” He said. “What do you want now?” Luna complained. “Come to give me a pep talk?” “No, I came to give you a very hard-fought gift.” Luna turned over, a shocked expression on her face. “What?” Almost instantly, something was hovered in front of her face. Stunned, she reached up and grabbed it with her hooves. It was a simple pot with a flower in it. The flower however was quite unique. It was completely white and was shaped like a bell with stamens hanging out of the bottom. The petals also sparkled in any kind of light. Luna couldn’t help but stare at it. “It’s...it’s beautiful. What is it?” “It doesn’t have a name.” Lucerna stated. “It only exists in one place.” “It...it does?” Luna asked, starting to sound impressed. “Yeah, on day I was...avoiding work...and I wandered to the White Mountains.” “The White Mountains?” Luna asked in disbelief. “Aren’t those the mountains about three thousand miles to the north?” “That what magic and wings are for.” Gramen replied. “While I was flying over the mountains I heard something very unique. I flew down to one of the summits. In the crater at the top of the mountain I found a hot spring under a rocky outcrop. Sitting in that single warm place are a group of these flowers. It is the only place where these grow. There are maybe twenty in existence at a time.” Luna continued to stare at the flower. It certainly was beautiful. The bell-shaped top certainly sparkled like snow. “Why did you bring me this?” Luna asked. “Eventually this flower will disappear.” Gramen explained. “The hot spring at the top is heated by magma that seeps from the top of the mountain. A single spewing of lava and it’s all gone. If that doesn’t get it, ponies will eventually find them and whether intentionally or otherwise they will wipe them out. It is a weak little species that will soon be forgotten, with perhaps only two ponies ever knowing they exist. Their song however, is so unique.” “It is?” “It’s like a series of delicate bells, all chiming to one another. These flowers don’t just sing to me, they sing to each other. This one however is different.” “Different? Different how?” “It’s no longer singing. These flowers only ever sing to each other, they won’t to any other plant. Soon it will wither and die.” Luna glanced up at Gramen, appearing almost completely befuddled. “Then why are you...?” “If you’re going to wither and die away from the rest of the world, then you might as well have company.” Luna gave Gramen a very curt stare. “And you’re doing this why?” Gramen sighed and briefly appeared to contemplate the answer, as if he was reluctant to actually say it. “Just like the flower, I think you have a very unique and very beautiful song. Just because right now nopony is singing with you doesn’t mean it’ll stay that way forever. One day you will find a pony, or maybe a lot of ponies, who will sing just like you, but if you give up now you will find none of them.” Luna stared at Gramen. Both of their expressions were blank. His by default, hers because she wasn’t quite sure what to make of what he was saying. “But right now...” Luna began to say. “It won’t stay this way. Eventually things will change. You can’t have your revenge now, but eventually you will. You just have to be patient...and not give up. Whether it’s in a thousand years or ten thousand, you can still give them what they deserve.” Luna continued to stare at Gramen. His expression was as unreadable as ever. She finally sighed. “I understand Gramen.” She said. “All the same, I can’t go back out there and act like I used to.” “You don’t have to, but you don’t have to give up either.” “Yeah, you’re right.” Luna said. “This is my gift right? So I can do what I want with it?” “Of course.” She held it out to the stallion. “I want you to take it back home, so it can sing again. If it’s not too much trouble.” “It’s not. If I stay here Lucerna will make me do something.” “As opposed to flying thousands of miles in one night?” “For a flower, that’s not work.” Luna finally ate a considerable amount and got out of the bed. She didn’t exit the tent, but managed to stretch her legs and fix her hair. She had to wait the rest of the day until somepony came to her tent. The pony who arrived instantly made her nervous. Mitera was the one who walked inside. She saw that Luna was sitting on her bed and looked as if she were better than she heard. “Oh!” Mitera said as she entered. “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better.” Luna gazed away and grumbled. She didn’t feel like being nice and gentle, and Mitera was the one pony who could elicit that response. “Are you alright to travel?” “What’s my assignment?” Luna muttered. She had assumed that Lucerna was going to assign her to some backwater place to keep her away from here. “Military leave.” Luna’s head snapped back to attention. “What!? You mean a break!? The soldiers don’t get a break!” “Of course they do, not all at once, but they do. I’m on leave too, so we’re going together.” “We...we are?” Luna instantly became nervous. “We are. Now get all your stuff together. They’ll recall us when we’re needed.” Luna got what few possessions she had and met Mitera outside her tent. They both began walking out of the camp. When they rounded a turn Luna saw what she recognized as Celestia’s tent. A pony came out of it. It was stallion alicorn and he was actually difficult to look at. His mane, coat and eyes were all a glittering golden color. In the sunlight his entire body sparkled. His cutie mark was that of a bar of gold. Despite all this flashiness he had a kind gaze in his eyes. Celestia followed behind him, having that tell-tale smile on her face. As soon as were both outside the tent the golden pony turned back to her and they both nuzzled their faces against each other. “Golden Dust.” Mitera said. “He’s a count.” “Why should I care?” Luna said as they approached them, heading for the exit. “She’s your sister.” “And that’s the only thing binding us.” Mitera made a disappointed face that bothered Luna far more than she let on. After nuzzling for a few moments the golden stallion spread his wings and flew into the air. Celestia stared after him with a wistful look in her eyes. Just when she looked down the two other ponies walked past her. Celestia got a good look at her sister not even acknowledging her existence. The white pony instantly appeared hurt as Luna trotted on. Mitera continued to give Luna a glare. Finally, Luna stopped. She grumbled a little before turning and running back. Celestia had been gazing at the ground and didn’t see her approach. Luna quickly wrapped her sister in a hug. For a few moments, Celestia was stunned. After a few moments she lifted her own hooves. They were both silent as they shared a tender moment. Then Luna broke the hug and quickly ran back to Mitera. Celestia had a small smile now. They continued on, all of them in a considerably better mood. “There, was that so hard?” Mitera asked. “Hard enough.” Luna said. Although she felt better, she didn’t show it. “Come on, is there really anything that can make you stop loving your sister?” Luna thought for a moment. Love was a pretty weighted word and it meant different things for both Luna and Celestia. Luna did love Celestia as a sister, but if there was one thing Luna understood it was this: there were unforgivable sins. If Celestia ever committed one of those... “Yes.” Luna said gravely. “There are.” This earned her a worried gaze from Mitera. After a few days of flying they arrived at Numbria. It was the second time Luna saw the city, and this time it was from the air. Most of it wasn’t exceptional, but at the center of the place was a grand palace. Luna had a desire to see it, but that wasn’t where Mitera led her. Instead they went past the city and over a few lush set of fields. At the edge of these fields was a tiny set of log houses. It was here that Mitera set down. “Ah, what a quaint place!” Mitera exclaimed. She marched over to one of the cabins and walked inside. It was simple, with a bed, table and fireplace. It had a rustic charm to it that Mitera had not experienced since her youth before she was whisked away to palaces. “It’s lovely.” “If that’s what you want to call it.” Luna muttered. In reality, it was more than what she was used to. The places she had lived in up until that point in her life went like this: cave, homeless, shared small house, homeless, cave, homeless and tent. Mitera quickly dropped her things and began stretching after her long journey. “What is this place?” “It’s a quiet retreat for city foals during the summer.” Mitera explained. “Because of the war however many of them are actually working now, pretty sad.” The older mare clapped her hooves together. “Okay, let’s get to work.” “Work? I thought we were on leave.” “We are, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a good time.” “A good time?” Luna cocked her head. She didn’t understand. “You are going to spend this time learning about you.” “About me? What?” Luna was even more confused now. “Let me ask you, do you have any hobbies?” Mitera asked. “Uh...well...not that I can think of...” Luna admitted. “Is there anything you’d like to try?” Luna thought for a moment. She thought about that flower Gramen had showed her. The story he had told her about its family touched her. On top of that, seeing Mitera talk about her own garden made her want to try it out. “Gardening.” Luna stated. Mitera seemed surprised and at the same time smiled delightfully. “Excellent!” Mitera exclaimed. “Let’s go out and get some seeds and mulch! It’ll be great!” Luna blushed and looked away. It was the first time the young alicorn mare had seen Mitera excited. It made her face light up with a beautiful glow. The fluttering in Luna’s stomach was beginning to return. A few hours later both of them were out in an unkempt garden on the grounds. Both of them were using their hooves to dig rows in the ground. They weren’t using magic however. Luna was actually unaccustomed to working with her hooves. She had always used magic. Occasionally her hooves would occasionally hit a rock and it would hurt quite a bit. After about the third time Luna growled and leaned up from her work. “Why don’t we just use magic?” Luna complained. Mitera gazed up from her own work, she appeared quite pleased however. “Doing work with your own hooves is more gratifying.” Mitera stated. “I planted and maintained my entire garden without magic.” Luna grumbled, but figured that if Mitera could do it she could do it. Luna went back to digging. After a few moments however she hit another rock. Again, shooting pain went up her legs. “Dammit!” Luna shouted, slinging her hooves around. “This rotten...!” Her horn lit up and she was about to dig the rock out of the ground and throw it. She interrupted however. “Stop!!!” Mitera commanded. Luna instantly did so, surprised by her tone. “Getting mad at the dirt won’t help. Take a deep breath.” “Huh!?” Luna cried. “Take a deep breath. Inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth.” “Why!?” “Just do it.” Luna growled but did as she was told. “Again.” Luna repeated. “And again.” She obeyed. “Now inhale but hold it.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “And exhale.” Luna did so. “Feel better?” “Uh...yeah.” Luna admitted. “Good, remember that whenever you get mad. Now dig into the dirt more gently. Take your time.” “Alright.” Luna said. She appeared slightly confused for a moment. How did Mitera do that? After a day of tilling the soil and planting seeds Luna fell asleep that night rather easily. Staying asleep was different matter. Her brain was still wracked with images of burning bodies. All she could see were the supply ponies and her village, burning and dying. After the third bad dream Luna sat up in her bed. She could feel her old anger beginning to boil. It was smoldering in her guts. Dark thoughts began festering in her head. She wasn’t in camp anymore. There were no guards. She wouldn’t have to involve anypony now. She could slip away in the night and find that pony. Luna rolled out of bed as quietly as she could. Mitera was in a bed next to hers. Without a single sound Luna crept to the door. “Where are you going?” Luna almost jumped out of her skin. She whirled around to see that Mitera was now sitting up. She looked as if she were wide awake. “Wha...but...you were...” “You walk loudly, compared to an assassin.” Mitera leapt out of bed and bounded over to Luna, who was too stunned to move. She stopped with her face inches from Luna’s. This instantly made the younger mare uncomfortable. Mitera didn’t look at all amused. “Any particular reason you were sneaking off?” “Uh...I...uh...” Luna stammered. “You think you can just waltz off and do what you want?” Mitera asked. “There are rules that decent ponies follow Luna. You have to obey them.” Luna narrowed her eyes. Her old anger was beginning to return. “They are not decent ponies.” She said. “That means that you can stoop to their level?” Mitera asked. Luna flinched. “If you do this you will be viewed as dangerous as they are. You will be as good as Nox’s children, ruled by their emotions and without rhyme or reason.” Luna gazed at the ground. Mitera’s words actually made sense, although she didn’t want to admit it. “What am I supposed to do?” Luna asked. “Let my anger eat me up?” “No. Think about your home.” “I do! All the time!” “Not what happened to it, the way it was. Think about your parents in the cave. Think about the best times you had with Skye. Think about the happy times, not the bad.” “For what?” “Because if you focus on the bad all the time you will only destroy yourself. We fight this war so that we can have happy days like those again. I have hope that it will all end someday. Unless you can focus on the happiness in your life, when this war is over you won’t be able to find a place in the world.” Luna’s mind drifted to Gramen’s words. The miserable times would end eventually. Could what Mitera was saying actually come true? “So I just...” “Think about the positive, dream of days just like those, take deep breaths, long walks and tend your garden. Work through your problems. Let’s work through all these troubles together, okay?” Luna reluctantly nodded. Day after day Luna and Mitera worked. As the days turned to weeks Luna finally began to feel her anger subside. She let the words of ponies like Gramen and Mitera flow through her head. All the while they planted and tilled little gardens. The more time they spent alone, the more the old feelings Luna had for Mitera began to creep up. Before, they had been buried under layers of hate and anger, but those were fading. One day it began to rain. They were both working in their now extensive garden. Luna was pleased with the progress as beautiful flowers and bushes appeared. When it began to rain however she quickly trotted under the porches of one of the cabins, hiding from the rain. When she turned to look at Mitera she saw that the older alicorn hadn’t moved. Instead, she was standing in the rain, her eyes closed and her head towards the sky. Luna gawked as the stunningly beautiful pony, her hair wet, smiled at the heavens. There was something so beautiful about her in that moment, as her features were only accentuated by the water. For those few moments she was reveling in nature’s blessing, happy that it would nourish the ground. Luna wished she could stare at it forever, but the pony finally lowered her head and trotted over to where Luna was. The younger alicorn gulped, suddenly very nervous. That apprehension was amplified several times over when Mitera, finally under the porch, reached back and ripped off her wet dress. It was the first time she had ever been without it, in all the time they spent together. Even though most of the ponies Luna knew didn’t wear clothes, there was something shocking about seeing Mitera suddenly naked, with or without her leg. She trotted beside Luna and stood with her, watching the rain. “We’re both girls, right?” Mitera said smiling. “It’s not like you haven’t seen my leg before anyway.” “R-R-R-Right...” Luna muttered. However she was blushing furiously and looking away, as if seeing something indecent. “There’s something so cleansing about rain.” She stated. “It brings the ground to life and washes away the imperfections. I love the rain.” Luna snuck a glance at Mitera’s face. Along with her wet mane she had a gentle smile on her face and her eyes were sparkling. Luna gulped again. She could feel a knot in her stomach and a pounding in her heart. She had this great desire to tell Mitera something, anything really, but there was such an age difference, not to mention the fact that it would be out of the blue. Luna managed to clear her throat. “Y-Y-Y-You know...” She stammered. Mitera glanced at her. “I know this mare, an alicorn.” “Okay.” Mitera stated, looking confused. “A-And she is in love with this alicorn who is much older than her.” “How much older?” Mitera asked. “A lot.” Luna reiterated. “She’s...um...not sure what to do about these feelings or even how she’s supposed to conduct herself. The older pony has no idea and the mare has no idea how to tell her.” “Well it depends on who they are.” Mitera stated. “Each pony is different; I’d have to know who they were to really give them advice. Do I know them?” “Oh, you do...” Luna said quickly turning her head away from Mitera and blushing. “I do? How well?” “Really well.” Mitera stared at Luna confused for a moment and then, all at once, her eyes widened and shock went across her face. “Oh...OH! Oh...um...well...” Mitera quickly turned away from Luna and began turning red herself. She had been caught completely off-guard by this and nervously shuffled her hooves. “That...that’s...a complicated answer.” Mitera cleared her throat and thought for a few moments. “I would say to...that mare...that considering how old alicorns that it would be wise to be patient. There is also a war going on and...should the conflict pass...certain ponies could be more concerned with their personal lives.” Both Mitera and Luna turned to each other. Mitera had that gentle smile she was very good at showing. “And that she is a very beautiful mare who has all the time in the world ahead of her. If her love is truly worth having, then it will be well worth the wait.” They stared at each other wordlessly for a few moments. “Yeah.” Luna said, gazing back out at the rain. “I guess you’re right.” They didn’t say anything more as they waited for the rain to pass. The whole time they were there, they never spoke of it again. Just as their garden was about complete a pegasus pony came darting out of the sky. They were right in the middle of planting a tree in the dead center of all the garden, a lovely willow that would be the centerpiece. The pegasus however appeared desperate and out of breath. They handed Mitera a letter and, despite being almost completely exhausted, took flight into the sky once again. The older pony opened the letter and gazed over its contents, looking increasingly distressed the more she read. “What is it?” Luna asked, now becoming equally worried. “We’ve been recalled.” Mitera stated. “A major operation has begun, or rather it has already begun.” “They said that they would tell us when they did that!” Luna complained. “It was completely secret.” Mitera said. “They went into Nox’s territory and raided his supply bases, burning them to the ground.” “Isn’t that good?” Luna asked. “All of them. It went better than expected. They’ve pushed Nox into a corner. He has to attack, whether he wants to or not. A very grave battle is approaching. All alicorns are to report for position, regardless of age or status.” Luna felt butterflies in her stomach. If a battle was coming it would be her second ever. Now it even looked as if she was going to actually have to fight this time. “Looks as if we’ll have to do this later.” Luna stated, indicating the tree. “Much later.” Mitera reiterated. She sighed and crumpled up the letter. “Let’s get cleaned up and get going.” They flew in silence. Both of them were nervous about what was going to happen. Neither of them had been on the front line and had no idea what was happening. Now they were soaring to a battlefield. Once they approached the old camp they could see that it had changed. All of the trees around it had been cut down. Outside of the camp they were making lines of trenches, wooden staves and barricades. Luna’s eyes widened as she got even closer. Behind the camp and all of the defensive lines were the most ponies Luna had ever seen in her life. There had to be tens and tens of thousands, all in neat lines. In front of the camp and all of the soldiers was Lucerna. He was apparently making a speech. Mitera and Luna flew behind all of this and into the camp. Ponies were swarming in all directions, carrying messages, supplies and weapons, apparently preparing. Mitera honestly appeared worried. “I’m going to go to the command tent.” She stated. “Go see your sister.” “Celestia?” Luna asked. “It looks as if battle is eminent. If this is true, you should at least settle everything with her...if the end is coming.” Luna gulped nervously and Mitera trotted, as quickly as she could, towards the center of the camp. The younger alicorn quickly began making her way to her sister’s tent. When Luna entered the tent she knew something was wrong. Celestia was sitting at her desk, her head on it and her hooves over her face. She was crying. “Celestia?” Luna asked, sounding worried. Celestia didn’t respond. She only continued sobbing. Luna spotted that there was a letter on her desk. With magic, she brought the letter to her and began reading. It was an obituary. It stated that Count Golden Dust had been killed during an enemy raid. The younger sister instantly felt very sorry for her sister. Here she took a chance in a relationship with an alicorn and he dies. “Oh Celestia...” Luna trotted over and wrapped her sister in a hug, putting her sobbing face on her shoulder. “I’m so sorry.” “He...he...” Celestia said, hiccupping. “He...teleported here every night. He...hic...he was so nice...so gentle...hic...he would send me...golden flowers...every morning.” Celestia began sobbing again. Luna gently began stroking her sister’s hair. “I’m sorry Celestia.” Luna said. “I know how hard this can be.” For several minutes they didn’t speak. Celestia merely held on to her younger sister and cried. After what seemed like an eternity she finally managed to catch her breath. “No more.” Celestia said. “I’m not going to do this anymore.” “What do you mean?” Luna replied, loosening their grip so they could look into each other’s eyes. “I can’t do this...again. I’m just...going back, going back to the way things were.” Luna couldn’t blame her. Luna was tired of ponies dying as well and to have somepony you love do so...it was mortifying. However, the younger alicorn was now thinking. Celestia did say that she flew from one stallion to another because it made her feel better... “Does it...really make you feel better?” Luna asked apprehensively. “What?” Celestia asked. “What...you usually do, just being casual about it, does it make you feel better?” Celestia tore her eyes away, staring at the ground now. “Yeah,” She said solemnly. “For a little while. It’s not really...a long fix but...” “But?” “There’s no pain when it’s casual.” Luna was silent as she thought about it. She wondered if that was really true... Abruptly a pony came rushing into the tent. He appeared out of breath and very rattled. Celestia quickly wiped her tears away as the pony desperately caught his breath. “Lady Celestia and Lady Luna.” He stated. “Uh...present?” Luna said, confused. “Lady Celestia is to report to right ridge magical artillery. Lady Luna is to report to the left ridge magical artillery.” “Okay.” Luna stated. “Thank you.” The messenger nodded and quickly turned to dash away. Luna gave her sister another hug. “Let’s meet up after the battle okay?” “You promise?” Celestia asked, sounding worried. “I promise.” “I’ll hold you to it. If you don’t...I’ll never forgive you.” Luna assumed her position with other unicorns. She was at the back of the line, obviously so she would remain safe. Celestia was in a similar position on the other side. From what she could gather from the mutters of all soldiers they were about to face Nox’s main army. The army was arranged in a semi-circle around the camp, apparently facing the direction that the enemy was coming. From what Luna could see they were in a great position. They had created several lines of trenches lined with spiked logs all up the hill leading up to the fort. These trenches were filled with the tens of thousands of soldier ponies, all with armor and myriad of weapons. Luna was situated at the crest of the hill with the rest of the magic artillery and archers. Any sane pony wouldn’t attack them here. They would sustain terrible losses. Nox however had lost his strategist and was desperate. Luna waited nervously as time seemed to drag on and on. The soldiers were even more nervous. All of a sudden however they heard chaos from the skies. Luna gazed up. The cloudy sky was lighting up, as if it had lightning. At first she confused on what it could be, but then she saw some ponies dip through the clouds, clawing and fighting. This was the beginning, the vanguard. It only made sense to send in the flyers first to assess the enemy’s strength. It would only be a matter of time now. Luna didn’t have to wait long. She heard the first beats of the drum before she saw the army. As the drumming grew louder her heart beat faster. The sound grew louder and louder with each passing moment. Luna could see the woods around the fort beginning to rustle and rumble. She could feel her heart pound in her throat as they began to emerge. There were countless of them, more than Luna could ever count. It wasn’t just Nox’s children either. They were all regular ponies, with unicorns and earth kinds mixed together without any real organization. All of them were wearing black armor with wings on the helmets and backs. They were all carrying weapons, ranging from spears to swords with some archers mixed in. All of them were silent, with blank expressions on their faces. It was almost as if they were mindless beings. Lucerna’s army was equally as silent on their approach, but they were far more nervous. Just out of range of their archers they stopped. For several moments, the army stopped. It was certainly a sight to see. A hill over a valley and the entire place filled to the prim with ponies, yet none of them spoke and none of them moved. Then, without warning, something plummeted from the sky. It landed in front of Nox’s army with a loud thud. It was one of Nox’s children, in its complete, dark glory. “Charge!” The evil pony shrieked. All at once, the entire dark army shouted and charged. Luna watched with wide eyes as what appeared to be a tidal wave of black washed towards the hill. Arrows launched from behind Luna and came sailing down at the approaching army. Almost an entire line of the army fell, screaming and bleeding. It didn’t slow them a bit. The next line of them charged right over the downed ponies. At the first trench the ponies prepared for the invasion. They raised shields and readied their spears. The savage ponies ran right into the line, some of them skewering themselves on the wooden spikes in front of them. It was a flood, trying to wash over a dam. The dark army was losing soldiers fast, but seemed to have a never-ending supply of replacements bleeding out of the forest. Luna was mesmerized by the scene, but was soon snapped out of it when she heard an explosion. Luna jerked her head towards it to see that the magical ponies had begun firing. It was like a never-ending death machine. Those who jumped into the trenches ran into a defensive line and completely halted, if not got them killed. Those running towards the trenches were pelted with blasts of magic and arrows. They were getting slaughtered, but they never stopped running. Luna was still too stunned to do anything. The enemy however began firing their own bolts of magic at them. A single blast grazed right by where Luna was standing. She panicked and shot her own blast back. Luna watched as they blast shot right at a soldier. It struck him, detonated and blasted him into several pieces. The young alicorn was completely stunned. That was...the first time she had ever killed anypony. It was just some nameless pony in a faceless army...but they were dead. Luna gulped, abruptly feeling kind of queasy. Just then however there were panicked shouts from the front line. They had finally been overrun. The remaining ponies ran to the next one, the dark army right behind them. Luna steeled her will and began firing more. She tried not to think of them as ponies, only as nameless enemies. It went on for hours and hours. The day darkened as Luna continued firing. The archers had long run out of arrows and most of the unicorns had run out of magic. Still the dark army continued charging up the hill. There were so many dead that there were mounds of them strewn all over the place. At places, the dark army was helping those in front of them by pushing them over the mountains of bodies. It was a massive, bloody mess. Still they never stopped and they never seemed to run out of soldiers. Three trench lines before the top of the hill Luna realized that their position could not be kept. They to be killing by the rate of seven to one, but there were still endless reinforcements pouring out of the forest. They weren’t going to lose by strategy, simply by numbers. As the third line from the top fell Luna became nervous. Her magic blasts that originally poured out incredibly rapidly were now just random spurts, and they often did no damage. Even Luna’s neck was becoming sore from the slight backlashes from launching her spells. As the second from the top fell and the last line was making its stand there came loud shouts from all around. The sky abruptly made a very unpleasant sound. Luna gazed up to see that the clouds suddenly became pitch-black, shielding all light. Even the darkest night wouldn’t be this black. Luna could barely see her hoof in front of her face. Lightning was dancing all around the black clouds. The dark army erupted into riotous cheers that almost deafened Luna. Soldiers abruptly began lighting torches, but in the chaos Luna couldn’t really see what was happening. Abruptly, something landed beside Luna. She jumped several feet in the air, terrified that something was attacking her. “Run!” Mitera shouted. “The battle’s over, retreat!” “Okay!” Luna needed no more coaxing. She turned and ran like a mad pony. She wasn’t even sure where she was going. After running for quite a distance Luna saw a collection of torches not too far away. In the flickering light she saw Lucerna, surrounded by several other ponies. As Luna came running over the other ponies in group turned towards her, their weapons at the ready. The alicorn came grinding to a halt, with the blades of the weapons inches from her. “It’s me! It’s me!!!” She shouted. “Luna?” Lucerna said, sounding relieved. “What is it!? What’s going on!?” Luna shouted, panicked. “It’s Nox.” Said someone trotting into the light. It was Pit, with his grinning nephew right behind him. “He’s here?” Luna was too exhausted to be angry right now. “Here? Right here?” Luna asked, now sounding more panicked. “That’s what the darkness is.” Pit said, sounding as if it were obvious. “Scared little Luna?” Aecor said, flashing a smug smile. Luna completely ignored him, unwilling to deal with him at the moment. She instead turned toward Lucerna. “What do we do?” She asked. “Since you’re back,” He said, addressing Pit. “I assume you were successful?” “In a way.” He said. “We can discuss it later. For now, we much abandon this position.” “Uh-oh.” Aecor stated. He pointed back towards the battlefield. Everypony turned their heads. What Luna saw was making her heart stop. She could see by far-off torch lights that the dark army had circled something. It was Mitera, dangling apparently by her neck above all of them. “No!!!!” Luna screamed, she turned and tried to dash back towards the location, but somepony tackled her. She jerked her head around and, much to her surprise, it was Aecor. Her old anger abruptly came boiling back up. “What are you doing!?” Aecor turned back to his uncle. Luna couldn’t see his expression, or what was going on between them, but Pit appeared surprised for a moment. Luna however began kicking and trying to get free. “Let me go! Let me go!” “Don’t be a fool.” Pit said. “You’ll die.” “We have to rescue Mitera from Nox’s army!” “That isn’t Nox’s army.” Luna turned towards him, appearing confused. “That is Nox.” Luna jerked her head around. It was only thanks to some random lightning flashes that she could make out what Mitera was dangling from. Once she could see it however she felt her knees grow weak and the color drain from her face. She couldn’t see what Mitera was hanging from because it was pitch black, the blackest black Luna had ever seen in her life. It was a pony...in the loosest sense of the term. It was giant, perhaps twelve feet tall. If it had a cutie mark, it didn’t show. His mane, coat and tail were completely black. Its eyes were completely red. There was no white, no pupil, no iris, just blood red. Its face was contorted into a horrible smile. In the flickering lightning Luna saw what she couldn’t believe. Every single one of its teeth was razor-sharp, like that of a predator. “Is that a pony or a dragon?” Luna asked weakly. Even above all the noise, the lightning, cheering soldiers and stampeding hooves, Luna could hear it. The most evil, cold cackle she had ever heard. It sent chills down her spine and made her feel queasy just listening to it. The massive pony stared down at Mitera, who was dangling from his hoof as he choked her. He shook her around effortlessly. Mitera twitched to life. She opened one of her eyes. She could see Nox’s rows of razor-sharp teeth and his blood-red eyes. He was laughing at her helplessness. In one final act of defiance, Mitera spat in his face. Nox snarled and his horn lit up. Then, in a moment that was forever seared into Luna’s memory, Mitera’s neck was cut clear in half. Her head went flying and Nox slammed her body onto the ground. The army around him cheered. “NOOOOO!!!!!!!!” Luna shrieked in both anger and horror. She tore away from Aecor and began charging towards the enemy army. “Uncle!” Aecor shouted. Luna could feel something grab her. She felt herself abruptly looking at the sky. This had happened once before. “No! Don’t...!!” She didn’t get to finish. She felt her neck slam into something hard. Stars exploded in her head as her body went stiff. She whined as her body refused to obey her. “We need to run from here...now!” Pit shouted. Luna could feel her body being lifted and carried away. There was nothing she could do to fight it. “Retreat! Retreat!!!” Lucerna shouted. Luna could hear countless beating of hooves as the army fled. Luna was unsure at what point she passed out. Pit had done whatever that was twice. The second one was much harder. Luna had tried to stay awake and tried to fight being carried away, but her head spun, her vision narrowed and her body simply would not obey. In the end she descended into blackness. When she did open her eyes again she could see there was light in the sky. Luna blinked a few times before regaining her senses. She glanced around. She was actually lying on the ground, but on some bedding and under some covers. She was also in a sea of other ponies, all lying on the ground. They were all injured, with some of them moaning and groaning in pain. They were lying out in the courtyard of some castle with nurses and doctors running around helping people. For a few moments, the alicorn was disoriented and confused. Then she remembered all that happened. Luna growled and grabbed her head, curling up in to a ball. She felt so exhausted and so defeated. She couldn’t get ahead and she couldn’t get a break. Every time she got a happy moment it was ripped away from her. Every good thing that had ever happened to her had been stained by death and destruction. Now even those few short weeks she spent tilling a garden with Mitera couldn’t be happy because of the horrible image now burned into her head. Luna was too tired to throw a fit, too tired to charge out for revenge and too tired to get up. She just wanted to lay down and cry. A few tears began streaming out of her eyes as she started convulsing. “Ouch! Leave it alone! I’m fine!” Luna jerked her head up. She knew that voice. Gramen was lying in the courtyard as well, some distance away. His stomach was wrapped in bandages. There was a nurse apparently trying to check what was under the bandage. “You’re the fourth pony to come and check on it! It’s fine!” “But my lord, we must make sure you are healthy!” The nurse shouted. “Do I sound like I’m dying!?” He bellowed back. “Leave me alone!” The nurse reluctantly bowed and trotted away. Abruptly happy to see a familiar face, Luna jumped out of her covers and ran through the beds towards him. “Gramen!” Luna shouted as she approached him. He turned his head and spotted her. “Hey.” He said flatly. Luna, much more excited to see him, trotted right to his bed. She quickly grabbed his hoof and held it. Gramen gave her a quizzical glance, but didn’t tear his hoof away. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” She asked. “It’s not that bad.” He stated. “It was just a stray shot. I’ll be fine.” “Thank goodness.” Luna said, sounding relieved. Again Gramen appeared kind of confused. He never would have guessed that she would be so happy to see him. Luna was silent for a few moments, not entirely sure how she was going to say this. “Mitera is...she’s...” Luna tried to say, her throat catching. “I know.” Gramen said, staring at the sky. “They think that maybe eighty to ninety percent of the army at the main camp was destroyed.” Luna jerked her head up, realizing something. “My sister?” Luna asked. “I haven’t seen her, sorry.” Luna now had something to bring her down. In all that chaos her sister might not have even survived. If Celestia was gone...Luna shuddered. There was no way she could ever keep going. Celestia was the only pony who really knew Luna. Gramen and Lucerna were though, but they had only known Luna since she got to their camp. Celestia had known Luna all her life. “We’ve won.” Luna jerked her head up. “What!?” She shouted. “How do you figure that?” “Look over there.” Gramen instructed, pointing with his other hoof. Luna lifted her gaze and saw that there was another courtyard connected to the one she was in. In that one were bodies, all wrapped in bags. There had to be hundreds of them. “Who are they?” Luna asked. “Nox’s children.” Gramen stated. “One-hundred and twenty five of them.” “How many does he have?” Luna asked, shocked. “Not sure, but Pit said we killed anywhere between a third to a half of them. The only thing keeping Nox’s army together is his children, and we just killed a ton of them.” “That wasn’t at the main camp was it?” “No, it was at my operation.” Luna turned to him. “What happened? No pony really told me.” Gramen sighed. It was rare for him to talk so much, but Luna could tell that he wanted to. “The main camp attack was a diversion of sorts.” “Of sorts?” Luna couldn’t believe that the massive battle that she saw was merely a distraction. “After we destroyed Nox’s supplies he was desperate. We took all the supplies we had captured to this castle, one that we made sure Nox knew about. He sent his main army at our main camp with he sent most of his children to this castle. We were ready for them. They threw themselves at the walls again and again and we blasted them back over and over. They dropped like flies but they kept charging like wild beasts. A shot from one of them hit my side, burned my entire stomach.” “How did you get away?” Luna asked. “Pit and Aecor.” Luna’s expression became dark, but she also appeared shock. “They saved you?” “They saved everypony. They managed to swarm into the castle and looked like we were going to get slaughtered. Both of them jumped in and starting fighting. They were brutal and incredible. They couldn’t be hit and they ripped ponies to pieces. I’ve never seen ponies fight that way before. They held off the entire army while we evacuated the castle. Nox’s children took the supplies and left, leaving the bodies behind. Pit also estimates that Nox lost as many as 90,000 soldiers at the battle at the main camp. It was a disastrous day for Nox.” “So...we won the day?” Luna said, bringing it back to his original statement. “We may have won the war. Nox can’t readily replace all of the things he lost and we can. He’s finally reached the heartland of Numbria...but he’s lost too much in getting there. He’s not going to retreat so he’s going to try to take us out as quickly as possible.” “And that’s good?” “It’ll end this war a lot sooner, but there will be a lot more battles from here on out.” * Abruptly, Twilight was aware of her body again. However it was numb and wouldn’t obey here. She could feel severe disorientation and couldn’t even open her eyes. She could, however, hear. “Is everything ready?” It was Luna’s voice. “It is all prepared, ve vait for your orders.” “Good, let’s begin marching.” “Vat about her? She does not look vell.” “She’ll be fine, I can make her walk.” Twilight could feel Luna approach and almost instantly, she melted back into her vision. * Luna fought, ran and delivered supplies for months. She had gotten word that Celestia was alright, but was stationed elsewhere. She flew from castle to castle, battlefield to battlefield, town to town. Twilight saw various visions pass by her quickly, so it would not horrify her. She saw mountains of bodies, horribly mutilated after battles. She saw cities being burned to the ground from the air, as Luna watched helplessly as she was under attacked. Afterwards, they found a mountain of skulls of foals that had been placed to intimidate them. It didn’t work. Twilight could see another image that was burned into Luna’s mind. It was Aecor. He was standing before a begging solider of Nox’s army. The young stallion was hungry, tired and clearly didn’t want to die. He was on his knees, begging Aecor not to kill him. With a delightful laugh, Aecor slashed his neck open. As the blood splashed all over him he cackled happily. He was cruel monster, no matter how much he fought for them. Now, ages later, Luna was standing outside of the commander’s tent at their new main camp just outside of the city of Numbria. She wasn’t allowed in, mostly because of all the confrontations she had over the past months with Aecor. He had done many more unspeakable things that Luna wouldn’t tell to anypony, even as a horror story. She was actually behind the entrance, with her ear against the canvas, listening. All the other alicorns were discussing the state of affairs. Nox’s army was exhausted, hungry and whipped, but they were still numerous. Lucerna’s army had managed to give them the run-around all this time, chipping away at them, but Nox had lost patience. He was now marching straight for Numbria, looking for the final battle. “We can avoid him no longer.” Said Pit’s voice. “We have to undo him. If he seizes the central part of the country he’ll have access to all the major highways. We can’t let him seize that or he might recover.” “We cannot allow him to lay siege to Numbria.” Lucerna said. “The walls were built over a thousand years ago. They are crumbling and not built for this kind of warfare.” “The area between Numbria and Nox’s army is not the best of terrain.” Pit elaborated. “There are intermittent forests, rocky cliffs and generally uneven land. Nox will accompany his army, meaning the sky, if cloudy, will be pitch-black. They are used to fighting in darkness, we are not.” “The clouds will begin clearing by the day after tomorrow...” Lucerna began. “Do you honestly think Nox will wait that long? We need a flat plain, an open sky and, preferably, a steep incline towards us to wear them down during their mad charge.” There was silence among the alicorns as they all thought. Luna however felt a bell ringing in her head. She knew of just the place. She dived towards the bottom of the tent and squirmed her way in. “I got it! I got the place!!” Luna shouted, crawling her way into the tent. “Luna!” Lucerna shouted, as if reprimanding her. Luna ignored him. She ran over to where the maps were, pushing some of the other alicorns out of the way. She grabbed a different map and quickly spread it over the table. It was a depiction of the country from the other side of the capital city. “Here!” Luna cried, pointing with her hoof. Despite that she wasn’t supposed to be there, everypony leaned in, including Pit and Aecor. “The Golden Plains?” Pit asked. Lucerna went rigid and his eyes widened. He looked as if somepony had just said something shocking to him. Pit picked up the map with magic and looked it over. “An open plain that with a gradual incline...why was I not shown this?” “Because, it’s on the other side of Numbria, one not facing Nox’s army.” Lucerna stated. “I used to play there as a child...” Everypony glanced at Lucerna, wondering why he looked so rattled. “It would be perfect.” Luna stated, remembering it from her time of leave. “It’s on the wrong side of Numbria.” Lucerna reiterated. “Then how about we move Numbria?” Pit stated. Now everypony looked at him. “We evacuated the city, let Nox have it...empty. We take everything he could possibly want and use with us and burn the rest.” “Would that be for the best?” Lucerna asked. “It would save the common ponies, who you’ve been trying to protect this whole time, and heavily demoralize Nox’s army. He would also see that just taking the capital does not mean he wins. We will fight him to the last.” Lucerna sighed, grabbing his head and shaking it around. “That figures.” He stated. “What?” Pit asked. “Nothing. Let’s get to it. Evacuate all the people, take all the supplies and valuables and whatever we can’t carry we burn.” Luna was lying on her bed in her tent a few days later. She couldn’t stop her head from spinning. The past few days had been a whirlwind. She was part of the regiment that evacuated the city. She watched as endless crying and weeping ponies carried everything they could on their backs. Pegasi lifted out royal valuables, such as gold, monuments and treasures. Luna marveled as the massive city emptied in a matter of a few days. Then, once everypony had left, they set the fires. With nopony to fight them the fires flourished. They picked the castle clean, melted all the weapons they couldn’t carry and destroyed huge sections of the protective wall. They made the city useless. Then, as if they were the raiding army, they simply left the smoldering city, no completely quiet. All this made Luna exhausted and she wanted to rest, but couldn’t. Nox’s army was spotted moving towards Numbria. It was only a matter of time before they realized what Lucerna’s army had done and came charging into the Golden Plains. They would find that there were a network of battlements, forts, trenches and pitfalls waiting for them. If they charged blindly they would get slaughtered, and that would probably be what they did. Nox’s army, despite being tired and half-starved, was still massive and most of them still believed that he was a god. It wouldn’t be easy. Now, all Luna could do was worry and fret. This was it, the final battle. Lucerna wasn’t going to retreat from this one. All the bodies, the heartache and the terror was about to come to a head...and Luna couldn’t sleep. She reached up with her hooves and gripped her head. She needed to sleep and she needed to rest yet she couldn’t get rid of her stress. That was when she heard the entrance to her tent opening. She pivoted her head to see who it was. “Gramen?” She asked, sitting up. He flinched for a moment. “Sorry, did I wake you up?” He asked. “No. Sleep is for quitters.” Gramen actually chuckled at that. “What is it?” “Well, there’s a big battle coming.” There was a pause after he said that. “Uh...yeah?” Luna asked. “Hm? Oh yeah, sorry just listening.” “Listening to what?” Gramen used his magic and brought something up to her face. Luna gazed at what it was for a moment, before smiling. It was a flower in a pot and it was familiar. It was shaped and sparkled like the mountain flower, but had a slightly different color. Through the middle of each petal was a streak of purple. It gave a unique yet beautiful look. “Is this...the mountain flower?” Luna asked, grinning. “In a way.” Gramen replied. “I found a flower that it would mix with. These flowers can sing along with the ones in the mountain and they sound the same. More importantly, these flowers can sing with other plants.” “It can?” Luna sounded excited. “So it can grow anywhere?” “Indeed.” “That’s great!” Luna said, gazing around it. “What are you going to call it?” Gramen was silent for a few moments, as if he were reluctant to answer. “Well, considering that I bred it with a purple flower...and it made it stronger...I was thinking that...well...” “Well what?” “I was...going to call them...Moon Lillies.” “Moon?” Luna asked, sounding confused. Then it clicked. Her mane and coat were purple and her name meant “moon.” Luna then smiled slightly. “Oh...I see.” She said. “I think you should have this one.” Gramen said, handing it to her. “There are others growing in the mountains right now. I’ll spread them around once they grow.” “That’s...wonderful Gramen.” Luna didn’t quite know what to say. He had bred a beautiful flower and named it after her...that...was really sweet... Celestia’s voice abruptly rang in Luna’s head. “There’s no pain when it’s casual.” Luna was silent for a few moments, thinking. She then put the potted plant off to the side. She gave Gramen a hard stare, making him uncomfortable. “What? What is it?” He asked. Luna made a motion for him to come closer. Cautiously, he marched forward. Quite a abruptly, Luna lunged forward, seized him around the neck and roughly pressed her lips against his. Gramen instantly froze, his eyes as wide as they had ever been. For a few moments, Luna kissed him roughly before backing away. “What...?” Gramen tried to say. “You’re very sweet.” Luna said, flashing him a seductive smile. “Even if you act like you don’t care, I know you do. If we’re going to die soon, why not have one last bit of fun?” “Huh?” Gramen was too stunned to comprehend what was happening. Luna then grabbed him and pulled him onto the bed. She rolled on top of him and sat on his body. “I’m going to have sex with you, is that problem?” Luna stated, trying the more blunt approach. “Uh...um...no...I guess not.” Gramen said, still sounding stunned. “Good.” Luna said. She leaned back onto his body and pressed their lips together again. For a few moments, Gramen was still stunned. Then, all of a sudden, he closed his eyes, started to return her kiss and wrapped his hooves around her body. Luna opened her eyes, finally feeling rested. For a few moments, she was confused as to why she felt something wrapped around her stomach. She then remembered what happened last night. She sighed and laid her head back onto her pillow. She had insulted Celestia her entire life for it, but it actually worked. After they had finished Luna had fallen right to sleep. Gramen had slept beside her, his arms wrapped around her from behind. Luna however could hear him sniffing her hair. “Are you enjoying that?” Luna asked. “Your hair.” Gramen remarked. “It smells like lilacs.” “And yours smells like grass, what’s your point?” “I like it.” Luna sighed gently. “Thanks.” “What did this come from? Why so suddenly?” Luna sighed yet again. “Celestia does it all the time.” Luna explained. “She says it makes her feel better.” “Oh? Did it help?” Luna smiled. “Yeah...for a little while.” “Glad I could help, call me anytime.” Now Luna giggled. Gramen abruptly released Luna and propped himself up. Luna rolled over so she could see what he was doing. They were now looking at each other dead in the face. “Luna, there’s something I want to know.” Gramen began. Luna could see that he was being completely serious. “Was I just lucky?” “What do you mean?” “What if some other stallion had walked into your tent, would the outcome have been the same?” Luna looked slightly offended. “What? No.” “Really?” Gramen smirked, as if satisfied. “The idea didn’t even pop into my head until you gave me the flower. It was really sweet and I was moved.” “Oh...well I try.” “Even though you act like you don’t care, you really are a nice pony.” Gramen then sneered. “Not always.” Luna leaned up and briefly kissed him on the lips, surprising him. “Thanks.” “For what?” “For being you.”