//------------------------------// // Bonus: Epilogue // Story: Operation TwiLuna // by twilight the scribe //------------------------------// Luna and Twilight rested, perfectly relaxed, on a cloud high up in the sky. Twilight lay contentedly on the feather-soft cloud, watching her marefriend carefully light the night sky with her beautiful stars. Against the dark canvas of the sky, constellations appeared, dancing. Orion, Sirius, Scorpia, the Ursa… All familiar names from her studies. There were even new stars, new constellations Luna had created on her return. One constellation depicted six mares freeing Luna from the Nightmare, with a cluster of white stars and red stars to look like a rainbow. The most recent one, however was a simple cluster depicting a six-pointed star, with five smaller stars orbiting it, right next to the moon. Luna hadn’t placed that one yet. They always saved that for last. Luna smiled as she placed yet another star in the sky. Today, and the two days before today, had been simply marvelous. What a change from their usual dates, stolen in the hours of the night. She giggled softly as she remembered Discord’s scheme. ‘Operation TwiLuna’, he’d called it. Twilight lifted her head questioningly. “What’s so funny?” Luna grinned, stroking her back gently. “Did we really hide it that well?” Understanding, Twilight started chuckling too. “Apparently. The last few days were hilarious.” She hummed a few bars of her song ‘Love is in Bloom’. The song that had made Luna realize just how much she loved Twilight. She giggled. “Moonbutt has to kiss Twi.” she quoted from Discord’s serenade earlier that morning, causing Twilight to splutter, then burst into laughs herself. “So much, sexual tension” She returned, giggling. Luna snickered, hugging her closer. "Seriously? I don't really think that was a problem then." “Why didn’t you tell Celestia, anyway?” Twilight inquired curiously. I thought she would have known. I mean, Celestia knows everything!” Luna gulped down her laughter. “She never asked.” Both of them started laughing uncontrollably again. Luna recovered, gasping for breath. “What about you, Twilight? Why didn’t you tell your sister-in-law?” Twilight shrugged. “Oh, I was going to tell them.” A smirk crossed her muzzle. “Before the wedding.” She giggled. Luna raised an eyebrow, chuckling. “Why then?” “Payback.” Twilight smirked. “He didn’t tell me he was dating Cadence till before the wedding either.” “What?!” “Shh!!!” “Shut up! Don’t blow our cover!” The two alicorns jumped at the whispers coming from a cloud not too far from them. Twilight figured it out first and rolled her eyes, while Luna put a hoof to her mouth, her shoulders shaking. “They never give up, do they?” She whispered. Twilight shook her head. “I don’t think so” she snickered. Luna glanced over to the cloud and cast a spell to enhance their hearing. Why not turn the tables… “Why have they gone quiet? I can’t hear anything!”Discord groaned. “Discord, I don’t think this was such a good idea after all,” muttered Celestia. “Shh!!! I want to hear more of this!” Cadence hissed at them. “Before the wedding? She was only going to tell me before the wedding?” Shining asked. Luna and Twilight carefully slipped away from their cloud. Silent as night, Luna floated over to the cloud where the whispers were coming from and took a deep breath, winking at Twilight. From her vantage point a few meters higher, Twilight prepared the recording spell and waved. “PRAY TELL, WHY ARE YOU EAVESDROPPING ON US?”  Luna thundered in the Royal Canterlot Voice, startling a draconequus into literally jumping two feet out of his skin, and two alicorns to snap to attention and shriek in shock. Shining gave a loud yell and immediately a protective pink bubble encircled their little cloud. When they had sufficiently recovered from the shock, they found Twilight and Luna rolling on the clouds, crying tears of laughter. Twilight waved the recording in the air, taunting them with it. “Oh yes, very funny” Discord grumbled as he summoned a brush to dust himself off. Celestia chuckled nervously as she got to her feet. “Well, Luna...You couldn’t blame us for being curious, right?” Cadence flew up right into Twilight’s face. “TWILY! HOW COULD YOU! How could you keep this a secret from me?” Twilight blushed. “Well… Like Luna said, you never really asked…And you don’t have a phoenix or dragon, so I couldn’t exactly write to tell you. Can you...forgive me?” She offered weakly. Cadence huffed. “I’ll forgive you if you tell me everything, and I do mean everything. How you got together, and when you started dating and everything.” Celestia floated up beside her niece, facing her sister. “I would like to hear the story too, and how you managed to hide it so well from me!” Discord pulled out a comfortable looking couch and perched on it, his ever-present bucket of popcorn floating beside him. “Go on!” He smiled, surreptitiously hiding a recording camera under his popcorn bucket. Luna smiled shyly, her cheeks tinged red. “Alright. I guess it isn’t really a secret anymore, is it?” Twilight shrugged. “No, it isn’t. Spike doesn’t know, though. And all my friends at Ponyville.” Celestia raised an eyebrow. “And how did you manage not to raise their suspicions?” Twilight grinned. “We only went out at nights, princess. My friends just assumed I had done some real late night studying.” Celestia sighed exasperatedly. “Of course.” “Egghead” Discord chanted in a singsong voice. Cadence hit him over the head with her hoof. “Go on! I want to hear all about it!” Luna cleared her throat. “It all began when I first returned as Nightmare Moon,” she started, at the same time destroying Discord’s camera with a flash of her horn. “When the Elements freed me, I never forgot the unicorn who had led them, the one who had stood up to me, fearless, and brought the elements back again. I learned her name from my sister, and I knew I would never forget it.” Twilight brushed Luna’s back with her wings, and continued. “As for me, I had always been fascinated with the night sky, long before I had met Luna. I would scour the sky every night with my telescope, making notes and charts.” Celestia smiled fondly. “I remember that. I found you curled up asleep in front of the telescope hundreds of times while you were studying under me as a filly.” Twilight blushed faintly, and continued. “When Luna returned and was freed, though, I became fascinated with the alicorn that painted the night sky. Ever since she returned, the nights have become more beautiful than ever. No offense, Celestia.” Celestia chuckled. “None taken. My talent does not lie with the night, like my sister.” Discord grinned. “Hey, I remember the time when the moon didn’t rise for a whole week, because the great princess Celestia was in a bar dead drunk on Apple Family cider. The birds told me about that one.” Celestia tried to hit him with her hoof, but he managed to duck just in time. Celestia blushed. “I was still trying to get over...you know...Luna’s...departure.” Discord shrugged. “I wish I could have seen it. Must have been a sight! You were probably collapsed on the floor, your plot - “His mouth was suddenly zipped shut by Celestia. Cadence groaned. “Can we get on with the story!?” Luna and Twilight shared a look. “Ookay…” Luna said cautiously, still trying to get the implied image out of her head. “Then Nightmare Night came. I went to Ponyville, then, to try and find the mares who had changed my life. Unfortunately my presence there was...not very well received.” “COME, Let us have...FUN!” Discord mimicked Luna’s royal voice. Cadence used her magic to form a glowing pink pillow and stuffed it into Discord’s mouth. “Thank you, Cadence” Luna smiled, and continued. “That night, Twilight went out of her way to help me adjust to modern times, and tried to help me to fit in. I admired her intelligence and her determination, and her sheer perseverance. That night was one of the best nights of my life, and I felt I owed it to her.” “After that incident, we became friends, and soon pen pals, exchanging letters back and forth” explained Twilight. “I think it was then when we became a lot closer, learning more about each other.” Celestia held up a hoof and looked quizzically at Luna. “Did you use fire mail? How did you get Philomena to help you?” Luna chuckled. “Philly’s a sweet bird. I let her out for a fly every night when you’re asleep, and she’s always willing to send a letter for me.” Celestia nodded in understanding. “Please, continue.” “Well, my feelings grew, but it wasn’t until months later, at the wedding of Shining Armor and Cadence that I realized my true feelings.” Luna blushed. Cadence squealed. “My wedding? But when?” Luna and Twilight shared a loving smile. “When she sung.” Luna said simply. Twilight nodded. “Love is in bloom, a shining star, a gorgeous moon ” She sang quietly. “Awwww” Cadence gushed. “How cute!” Shining laughed. “Yes, she does have a beautiful voice.” He smiled fondly at his sister, who smiled back. Discord smirked and conjured up a magic screen, showing the dancing trees and everything from that afternoon. “Love is in bloom! The two of you should get a room” Celestia vanished it with her horn, glaring slightly at him. Discord pouted and folded his arms. “Anyway, seeing her standing there, singing so beautifully, looking so beautiful...I realized that...I loved her.” Luna hugged Twilight tighter. Celestia laughed. “So when did you both start dating? You said today was your anniversary, so you started...a year ago?” She asked. Twilight shrugged. “Eleven months ago, actually. You were a month early with the anniversary celebrations. After I got these” she waved her wings, “I stayed at the castle for a few weeks, remember? I slept over in Luna’s room once, and that was when we both found out about each other’s feelings. Best night ever.” She smiled, her eyes shining. Discord waggled his eyebrows. “Oooh…”, only to have five projectiles, ranging from a book and a piece of moonrock to a pillow, a golden horseshoe and a helmet launched at him, each from a different source. He managed to duck from the moonrock and helmet, but got hit by everything else. “Seriously, though,” Shining started hesitantly. “Did you two…?” “NO!” Both mares exclaimed simultaneously, blushing a furious red. “That’s a relief.” He sighed. Celestia chuckled softly. “When was this, though? I would have heard if Twilight didn’t sleep in her room for a night.” Luna shrugged. “You were staying at Saddle Arabia for a couple of days with their ruler, remember?” “Ah, yes. I remember.” She nodded. “So you’ve been dating ever since?” Cadence inquired. Luna shrugged. “Once a week, from 8 to whatever time we finish. We usually come back before dawn, though.” Twilight nodded. “It’s tiring, but worth every moment. Those last days were special because we could actually be together in the daytime. Thank you, by the way.” Celestia and Cadence rolled their eyes. “Think nothing of it.” They both replied. “And Discord? Thank you too.” Luna added. Discord froze mid-chew, his cheeks bulging with popcorn. He gulped down everything in his mouth and stared at them. “Thank moi?” he asked, pointing to himself with his eagle talon. Twilight giggled at his reaction. “Yes, thank you, Discord. You can be really amusing when you’re not trying to make life miserable with your chaos.” Celestia rolled her eyes. “He’s plenty aggravating even if he doesn’t do that” She muttered under her breath. Discord simply looked stunned, then he pulled a lock of Celestia’s mane to rub across his eyes. “Uh…” He curled around Celestia, whispering into her ear. “What do I say, What do I say?!” Celestia sighed in exasperation. “It is customary to say ‘You’re welcome’, Discord” She whispered back. “Ah. YOUR WELCOME, then!” He grinned, setting off a couple of confetti fireworks. “You know, it’s actually kind of nice, hearing that.” He mused. Then a perfectly evil glint came into his eyes, and he pulled Celestia, Cadence and Shining into a tight group huddle. “Now, what do you say we have Operation TwiLuna phase two:The Bedroom, eh?” “NO!!” Celestia and Cadence didn’t often use the Royal Canterlot Voice often, but that didn’t mean they didn’t know how to use it. Discord rubbed his smarting ears. “Fine.” He grumbled, pouting like a little foal. Cadence smiled fondly at Twilight. “We’ll leave you two alone for some privacy now, okay?” Celestia also made to leave, but then paused and half-turned back. “Luna. Does she make you happy?” There was no hesitation for Luna. “More than anything.” She replied simply. “Ooh, gag!” the draconequus rolled his eyes.thwack! A well aimed white hoof hit him in the side. “OW!” He complained. “Then I’m happy for you too, Luna.” Celestia touched horns with her sister, then turned to Twilight, touching horns with her too. “I’m really happy for you too, Twilight. And I’ll be waiting for the day when I can join both of you together in marriage.” She raised her wings and flew off. Cadence sat transfixed for a moment, then took off after Celestia. “Hey, no way! I’ve been waiting for this for years! I’ll be the one that gets to marry Twily and Aunt Luna!” “I’m her sister!” Celestia shot back. “I’m Twily’s sister too!” Their voices grew fainter as they flew down towards Canterlot castle. “Oh look, I’m stranded on a cloud!” Shining deadpanned/yelled at the two alicorns spiralling away. Discord grabbed him. “I’ll take you! Relax! Don’t worry, this will not be scary -” He proclaimed. Shining sighed, resigned and relaxed in Discord’s grasp. “-for me” Discord finished, just before he dove off the cloud headfirst, cackling. Shining’s yell echoed echoed across the sky. Twilight and Luna watched them go, chuckling quietly among themselves. “So...how exactly are you going to tell your friends?” Luna asked. “Do you think they’ll take it well?” Twilight shrugged. “It’s too early to think about that now, but I don’t see anything to worry about, as long as you’re by my side then.” Luna nuzzled her. “I will be. Come on, why don’t you help me with that last constellation?” “You know you don’t have to ask, Luna.” Both alicorns settled down again on the cloud, utterly content in each other’s embrace. In the night sky, the six pointed star glowed bright next to the moon. END