//------------------------------// // iii. // Story: Stars Are Forever // by The Autumn Princess //------------------------------// * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * “How has it been twenty years?” Twilight sighed, as she smiled sweetly and laid her head on her wife’s shoulder. They were intertwined on the bed, with the starlight shining down on them and the moon was their spotlight. The night couldn’t have been more beautiful. Luna smiled, and nudged her wife. “It seems like just yesterday, you were too scared to walk down the aisle,” she said softly, with a small smirk. Twilight laughed and gave a bashful, embarrassed grin. “I seriously contemplated flying out the window and ditching you at the altar,” she confessed. “Oh, and let us not forget about three years later, you fainted at the sight of me going into labor with our daughter,” Luna teased. “I was scared to be a mom!” Twilight admitted, with another chuckle. “And I didn’t know what to do!” “Still sticking with that excuse?” Luna mused Twilight rolled her eyes. “Well, did you forget about how you dropped my engagement ring and it fell down through the gating of the balcony, all the way to the ground?” she playfully shot back. “Then you forgot the entire speech you had planned? I was laughing too hard to say yes.” Luna slightly blushed. “Definitely not one of my finest moments,” she muttered through a soft laugh. “I have to admit, though, proposing to me in Maris, Prance on top of the Eifilly Tower was quite the romantic gesture,” Twilight assured. “I try,” Luna said. She wrapped a foreleg around her wife and placed a soft kiss on Twilight’s lips. Even throughout all of these years, it never changed -- they always had the same awkward movements and cautious spirit, yet sweet, heartfelt emotion and fiery passion. The flame of love dared to flicker out from time to time, but everytime when it almost faded out, it always came back and was ignited brighter than ever. “I love you,” Twilight whispered. Luna smiled. “And I love you more,” she murmured, as she began peppering kisses along her wife’s neck. She released a sigh against Twilight’s fur, and smiled sweetly. “You’re so beautiful, you know that?” She didn’t even bother to look up. “You’re blushing, aren’t you?” “Yes,” Twilight admitted, with a stifled laugh. “How is it possible?” Luna questioned, placing one last kiss on the crook of Twilight’s neck before she hovered back up to meet her wife’s gaze. “All these years, and you still get flustered from time to time.” “I guess I never got used to it,” Twilight said. “Sometimes, you think of new things, and even if not, it makes me feel embarrassed that I could never give a compliment that triumphed yours. After all, it’s coming from you, for pony’s sake.” Luna traced the contour of Twilight’s face with a hoof. “You don’t need to outdo me,” she assured. Twilight nodded slightly. “I know,” she replied. “But I want to. And I try, it’s just--” “--you fail miserably everytime,” Luna chuckled. “Our fifth anniversary, when you tried to draw a portrait of me in the stars. I will never let you live that one down.” “For the last time, I didn’t mean to make you look like a minotaur!” Twilight groaned in between a laugh. “Art certainly isn’t your forte.” “I know, I know, and remember Hearth’s Warming a few years ago?” Luna smirked. “You did look quite adorable tangled up in all of that red lingerie,” she crooned. Twilight cleared her throat, and stammered at the memory. “That corset was really hard to tie all on my own,” she quipped. “And the socks were impossible.” Luna shrugged. “I certainly didn’t mind it,” she mused. “Still,” Twilight said, with a smile, as she playfully poked her wife’s chest. “I want to repay every favor you ever did for me. I just don’t know how.” “Don’t ever feel obligated,” Luna assured. “I only shower you with affection because you deserve it.” “Well, so do you.” “Perhaps, but you should at least let me have my fun--” She kissed Twilight sweetly and sincerely. “--and besides, you are definitely worth spoiling.” She straddled her wife and intertwined their hooves, interlocking them into a passionate embrace. Twilight stared deep into those never-ending ever-lasting blue eyes she had loved for so many years… ...and a certain question sprung to mind. “How do you remember it all?” “I beg your pardon?” “Everything, it’s like… I just don’t understand it,” Twilight thought out loud. “I remember a few things, here and there, but you--” She sighed and shrugged. “I just don’t know.” Luna hesitated, and her smile twitched. “Astra had to get her photographic memory from somewhere,” she said. Twilight raised an eyebrow. “And--?” she said. “I know there’s something more.” Luna bit her lip, falling silent for a moment. The room filled with quiet, and not the good kind, but Twilight eventually spoke up. “Well? What is it?” she asked. “Is.. is it the immortality gene?” Luna’s gaze fell, and she unraveled herself from the grip of her wife, lying down next to Twilight, and staring up at the ceiling. “You’re such a smart mare,” she muttered. “I’m surprised you didn’t pick it up yet.” She screwed her eyes shut, and rubbed her forehead for a minute. “Yes. It is. I can easily remember things from a hundred, or even a thousand, years ago, which is a blessing and a curse. You know the rest.” Twilight snuggled up against her wife. “I understand,” she murmured. The two of them laid down next to each other, side-by-side, with the passion fading away, and bittersweetness taking over. They draped their wings over one another and shared soft little kisses and nuzzles, just as the sun began to peek out over the horizon. “I have a delegate meeting in an hour,” Luna sighed. “Shame I can’t stay. At least the good thing is I can sleep through it.” “It’s fine,” Twilight said. “Tonight, we can pick up where we left off.” Luna smiled. “Don’t tease me, dear,” she murmured, nudging Twilight. “Care to take a shower with me before I leave?” Twilight returned the grin. “I’d like that,” she replied. Luna stole another sweet kiss, giving a playful wink as she rolled out of bed, and headed for the bathroom. A stupid smirk made it’s way across Twilight’s expression as she watched her wife’s hips swaying a little more than usual. She released a yawn and stretched, sitting up and shuffling across the room. She made her way over to the vanity, and winced as she noticed how frizzy her bedhair was. She rubbed her eyes and looked at herself in the mirror for a second. She was about to turn around and join Luna in the bathroom, when she noticed something she hadn’t before… ..among navy blue, bright pink and purple hairs, a single grey strand stood out. Twilight’s jaw nearly fell to the floor. She was only forty-eight. That wasn’t old, was it? “No way,” she muttered, carefully using her magic to pull out the strand. She smoothed down the part of her mane, and blinked slowly in shock as she noticed a few more grey streaks. “Twilight? Aren’t you coming?” Luna called, as she stuck her head out. “One minute,” Twilight mumbled, as she leaned closer into the mirror. Luna frowned, tilting her head to the side in confusion for a moment. Her wife was never one to fuss over her appearance -- why, if it were up to Twilight, she’d show up to a conference with a tangled mane, no crown and ruffled feathers. Then again, that wasn’t how things were done. Every now and again, Twilight’s horn would light up and she would wince slightly, levitating something in front of her. Her smile faded more and more each time she winced. “Twilight, what are you doing?” Twilight had found and pulled at least five grey hairs, and there were still several littered through her mane. She looked to Luna. The miniature galaxy was flowing, the only hint of grey being the sparkling silver of the stars that were scattered across the midnight blue. Twilight looked back at her reflection. The grey was painfully obvious against the rest of her mane. “I’m getting older,” she whispered. “Twilight,” “My mane, Luna. Look at my mane.” “It looks as beautiful as ever,” “It’s turning grey.” Twilight plucked another long strand of silver from her mane, staring at it in disgust, horrified that her body would betray her this way. She wasn’t even fifty yet. She tried to think. Did any of her friends have grey hairs yet? “Your mane is beautiful. You are beautiful. I thought you were joining me?” Luna nuzzled her wife’s cheek, but for the first time in years, Twilight pushed her away. “I’m not in the mood anymore, Luna,” Twilight sighed, looking harder into the mirror. She had small wrinkles under her eyes, barely noticeable unless somepony was looking, but to Twilight, they were drawing attention, taking up her face and drawing the eyes of anypony looking at her. She mouthed the word ‘wrinkles’, unable to say it aloud. She didn’t know how Luna was being so kind, so caring. In a few years, she would be the beautiful princess, married to an old hag. Their daughter would be the beautiful young mare with the stunning mother and the old bat that couldn’t be shaken off. They would stay young. Beautiful. She would not. * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *