//------------------------------// // Five/ Healing // Story: A Moonlit Balcony // by aquilerafroot //------------------------------// Oh no, please no… The lunar princess threw herself onto the floor beside Twilight’s unmoving body, her heart hammering against her chest. Quickly she checked her friend’s vital signs. Twilight was unconscious but still breathing, and after listening for a few seconds Luna let out a sigh of relief; the unicorn still had a heartbeat. But the respite was only temporary as Twilight’s body was sprawled in a most unnatural position, and Luna choked as she saw what seemed like the whiteness of bone protruding from her friend’s thigh near the hip. Why wasn’t I faster! The alicorn raged in her mind, livid at herself. No, I can’t waste any time agonizing, I have to save her, now! She knew better than to shift or levitate Twilight in her current state – the movement might cause any broken bones to be dislocated further or even penetrate vital organs. The alicorn’s mind worked furiously, in stark contrast to her muscles, which felt as if they had seized up from the graveness of the situation, just when she most needed their full cooperation. I have to heal her immediately! And I have to keep calm! She bent her head so that her horn was lightly touching Twilight and sent a continuous flow of her magic into the unicorn, straining to maintain the massive influx of power; if there were even a slight waver, everything could go horribly wrong. The alicorn clenched her teeth as she concentrated on the healing spell – a spell that she not used in over a thousand years. The magic ran though the unicorn’s awkwardly angled hind leg and then slowly, almost surreally, Luna could see the bone sink back into Twilight’s flesh; the skin and tissue knitting back, smoothing out, and becoming whole once again. Luna permitted herself another small sigh of relief before spreading the magic to Twilight’s torso, but then winced as she felt a slight bulge in the center of the librarian’s back through the spell. She instantly regretted not running a more thorough magical scan of Twilight’s injuries before trying to heal her. She could have fractured her spine, I should have checked that first! Knowing that she had made a severe mistake in not tending to the more life-threatening injuries first, the princess started to panic. Millennia of experience, and I am still so careless! The cold certainty that, if Twilight actually died from the injuries no amount of magic could ever bring her back, dug into Luna’s heart like a steel thorn. No, I have to have hope. I can do this. Deep breaths… She sent an even stronger pulse into the swelling in Twilight’s back; in her haste, a little too much. Twilight’s vertebrae repositioned itself with the spell, but then snapped under the extra strain. The unicorn’s body jerked violently, and then fell still again. No, no! Luna tried again to calm herself down but failed spectacularly, her tangling thoughts finally jamming up completely, her knees shaking violently. What if I have severed some of her nerves! The starry twinkles in her mane dimmed as tears fell from her eyes. She shook her head and blinked the moisture away. I have to be strong now, for Twilight. Her despairing expression replaced with one of determination, she sent another stream of energy into Twilight. Hold on Twilight, please, hold on! The sparks of pure magic orbiting her horn crackled, and Luna felt the fractured bones becoming whole once again. When she was sure that they had sealed correctly she checked Twilight’s body for more major injuries, and was relieved when she found nothing serious remaining. She finally released the hold on her emotions and promptly burst into tears, most of the worry and tension she had felt washing away with them. She buried her face in her hooves and simply sat there crying; after the healing spell had been completed it usually didn't take long for the target of the spell to regain consciousness. After a few moments, Twilight slowly blinked her way into consciousness and sat up, taking stock of her surroundings. “What… just happened?” Her eyes fell on Luna, who was hunched up on the floor beside her, sobbing. “Luna? What happened? Are you, are you okay?” She put a hoof on the princess’ withers, her face falling at seeing Luna in such a state. “I should be the one asking if you are all right!” the alicorn wailed. Twilight blinked again, nonplussed. “I feel fine,” she replied. It was true that she had felt a bit sore after the spell backfired… then she remembered more. I was thrown back, and then – She winced. “Luna, really, I’m fine. I didn’t hit the wall that hard – see, I’m not even hurt!” In truth, now that the soreness was fading, she actually felt better than before, like a stretch after waking up from a nap. Luna looked up, still sobbing uncontrollably, and wrapped Twilight in a tight embrace. “I’m okay, really,” Twilight hugged Luna back, which was a bit difficult; the alicorn was squeezing her so tightly that it was hard to move. Why is she so upset? “I’m not sure what happened though, one moment I was using my magic, and the next...” “You – I thought you might die! I was so scared that you would!” Luna buried her face in Twilight’s mane, soaking it with her tears. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I should never have asked you to try that!” “What? Why? I was just going to try again – I think I’ve figured out the problem-” “No, no, please… don’t,” said Luna, holding the unicorn even tighter. “But didn’t you-” “Please.” Twilight was surprised at Luna’s pleading tone and slightly loosened their embrace so that she could look her friend in the eye. “Luna, what happened?” “You, you did hit the wall. And you were, your back, the broken bones…” The princess gasped as another bout of tears escaped her; it hurt just to remember what had happened. “I thought…” A bit perplexed, Twilight tried to reach a hoof to her back. From what little Luna had said it seemed that she had hit the wall pretty hard. If that were true, then physics would demand that the parts of her body that could not withstand the impact be fractured. So had she broken any bones? It didn’t feel like she had; none of her movements after getting back up had caused her to feel pain. She patted Luna’s shoulder, trying to soothe her. “It’s okay, nothing’s wrong, really! I feel fine.” “And your spine!” The alicorn gripped Twilight at the thought of the angle it had been in. “I had to heal you! And I even messed that up!” Twilight reared her head back in shock. Had she really been that badly hurt? With a flick of her mane, she put it to the back of her mind and concentrated on soothing her companion. “Um, well then thank you Luna. Whatever was wrong, you’ve fixed it and I feel fine now!” “I –it’s all my fault. What if you had gotten hurt so badly that I couldn’t have healed you?” “No it isn’t, you didn’t even know what would happen. And it’s my fault for ignoring your instructions in the first place. You said to feed it a steady flow, but I blasted it! That was what went wrong.” "I should have been more specific – I should have told you that it would backfire if you tried that!" Luna released Twilight and pulled herself to her hooves. "I'm sorry, I'm terrible at this friends thing... I let you get hurt." She lowered her head and trudged away from the unicorn. "It is best if you – if you don't waste any more time on me. It's safer that way." It wasn't her fault! Twilight stared numbly at the retreating form of the princess. It wasn't your fault Luna! "Luna! Wait!" She teleported in front of the alicorn, briefly stunning the princess with the flash of light accompanying her reappearance. "Where are you going?" "I am far too irresponsible," Luna muttered, trying to avoid looking at Twilight. "And not at all suitable to be a friend." She sighed, her frame sagging. "We've been friends for only two weeks and I almost got you killed already!" "Friendship isn't something you can pick up instantly Luna." said Twilight, extending a hoof to the sad alicorn. "I'm still learning myself!" She smiled at Luna when the alicorn finally looked at her. "And because we’re friends, we can still learn about it together!" The princess lifted her head slightly, her face straining to settle on an expression in response to the familiar words. That’s what she said last week as well. She hesitantly reached out her hoof. But I must learn from my mistakes, and never let this happen again, for her sake. "Come on, Luna!" Twilight said, grasping Luna's hoof and leading her back to the couch. "I really enjoy spending time with you, what happened wasn't your fault, and most importantly it’s fixed! So don't dwell on it." They sat down again, side by side, still holding hooves. “I’m going to try again,” said Twilight. Luna almost crushed Twilight in another hug. "This time, I'm helping you." She sniffed once. "And I'll make sure you won't get hit by any feedback!" she exclaimed, until a cough from the unicorn in her forelegs brought her back to the present. "Luna, too tight," Twilight wheezed. Luna let go like she'd burned herself. "Sorry Twilight, my deepest apologies." The bookworm smiled, composed herself and shut her eyes, lighting up her horn. The alicorn released her magic as well, reaching her hoof to hold Twilight's again, and together they sent their energy into the gem. This time Twilight knew what to do. Instead of trying to force her magic in, she let her energy pool in the gem, until there was enough to trickle steadily along the programmed pathways enchanted inside the facets. Her flow of magic intensified and connected within the focus as the spell was cast and she felt an energy similar to that which she had felt when Luna had raised the moon, but this time, it also felt as if she were linked with something vast beyond everything she had ever perceived. She opened her eyes. And she froze. She could see. She could see through the walls of the castle, she could see everything, past any boundary. It was day, but it was as if she had double vision, like two layers of transparent film laid on top of each other. She could distinguish both of them with perfect clarity; one with sunlight and one with every single star, as clearly as if it were nighttime. She experimented a little with her new sight, discovering with delight that she could see the dimmest of stars which were difficult to find even when using the most elaborate telescopes in the Canterlot observatory. Switching to the sunlit view out of curiosity, she grinned when she found it could extend into Canterlot: ponies on the streets as visible as if she were right there beside them. She let both of the layers snap back into her perception, marveling at the interplay she could detect between the magics of the day and the night, of Celestia and Luna. She giggled with renewed wonder as she turned her head to look at the wall facing the mountain on which Canterlot perched – and also through the mountain, the constellations that covered the sky beyond perfectly visible. She expanded her sight again, which was a disorienting sensation, but she found that she could even see to Ponyville – then she swapped to the night again, wanting to make the most of the opportunity to explore these new aspects of it at will. After a while, Twilight finally pulled herself from the mesmerizing sight and turned to Luna. The view beyond the walls behind her friend was still visible, and it struck her how natural it looked for the alicorn to be framed with starlight. Blinking, she concentrated to ‘fade’ the night sky into the background so that she could focus on Luna. They locked gazes, Twilight’s eyes glowing with both magic and happiness as she grinned smugly. “See? Told you I could do it.” They giggled, noticing at the same time that they were still holding hooves, and rather tightly at that. They let go slowly, blushing but trying to act nonchalantly, both figuring that pulling away abruptly would be too alarming to the other. “That’s wonderful!” Luna said, relieved that it had succeeded this time. “So tell me Twilight, can you see that star?” She pointed a hoof. “Um, which?” "That pink one, slightly to the right of the moon? It should be a little brighter than the rest." The bookworm narrowed her eyes and swept her Sight across the patch of sky Luna had indicated, quickly spotting a star that was easily the brightest in its cluster, a pink jewel winking merrily in the heavens. “Oh, I found it! I found it!” she squealed, pointing excitedly at her discovery. “I’ve never seen that one before!” Automatically, she started analyzing. That shade – the surface temperature should be fairly low when compared with other stars. But the luminosity would probably be, hmm, I couldn’t be sure without observing it for a longer period of time. Luna grinned sheepishly. The sparkles in her mane had regained their brilliance, and she reached her hoof for Twilight’s foreleg, hooking them together. She didn’t know what made her do it; maybe the contact assured her that she was real, the pony she had come to care for so much. The unicorn smiled warmly at Luna’s gesture and gave Luna’s foreleg a little squeeze in return. “I thought it would be a good idea to wait for you before naming this star,” said the princess. “What are you going to call it?” The alicorn blushed and smiled. “The Moon’s Friend.” Twilight blinked once and bit her lip, smiling in gratitude. “I created the seasonal cycles and variations in my stars so that ponies would be able to tell when to change the seasons, although they eventually developed more diverse ways to tell the time and count the passage of days,” explained Luna, finishing the last of the brownies that they had quickly devoured (Luna to replenish her energy after such strenuous magic, Twilight simply because she was starving). “However, explorers and sailor ponies also used them to navigate at night and guide their way if they were lost. I have learned they still do nowadays!” Twilight nodded. “I’ve wondered about that, but it makes sense. You can make new stars when you want, but you couldn’t change a star once it had been made, or else it might have caused great inconvenience for anypony relying on them.” The alicorn sighed. “I wish that were so… but truth be told, the stars were rearranged a thousand years ago, for that exact purpose.” “Do you mean…” The princess took a pillow on the couch and hugged it. “Yes, it was the Nightmare who did it.” Twilight gave Luna a sympathetic look and nuzzled the princess, trying to convey all the warmth she could in the gesture. “That time is over, Luna. The stars are back under your care – and you’ve done a wonderful job of setting them right.” “Thank you, Twilight,” murmured the princess, snuggling closer to the unicorn. “And I told you that I made stars when I was on the moon, although most of the time it was her that was in control…” she paused, taking a deep breath. “But sometimes, when she wanted absolute concentration on her plotting, she would retreat to the back of my mind. “The first time I set the stars right she was furious and scattered them again, even destroying some. I can’t remember clearly. I was so sad and afraid…” Luna buried her face into the pillow, tears dampening the soft material. Twilight tried to drape her foreleg over Luna’s withers. She couldn’t reach all the way due to their height difference but she knew that that didn’t matter; what did was that she could stay with Luna and listen, and just be there for her. The princess breathed shakily. ”I kept trying, whenever I could free myself from her influence. After a few times, she let them stay that way. ‘If ponies stop using the stars as directions then there is no point,’ she said. But then she made those stars. They were so dark, it was like they were sucking the light in, instead of glowing… “I knew that Celestia brought out the stars during that period - I could not control when they were visible to Equestria during my absence… but I could still make new ones. There are so many things I have done wrong, and I’m so glad to be back…” Twilight nuzzled Luna gently. "But that's all over now, right? You are yourself again, ponies adore your night and you have friends now!" Luna sniffed before smiling at the unicorn. "Yes, yes I do – I have a wonderful friend now!" she exclaimed as she summoned a hoofkerchief and dried her tears with it. The sun was already setting, drawing close to the horizon and ushering in twilight; the princess found that she could chuckle at the fact that it, like its namesake, offered her a measure of comfort from the painful memories. “It’s almost time for me to raise the moon, Twilight,” said the princess, her eyes slightly puffy. “Okay.” “If you don’t mind, I’d like to go to the balcony to do it, you should rest here, you just healed from some serious injuries after all – I’ll be right back,” said Luna, rising from the couch. “I feel all right, I’ll go with you.” Twilight smiled at the princess, and together they trotted to the familiar balcony. Luna lit up her horn with her dark aura and Twilight braced her hooves firmly against the floor for the impact that she knew would be coming. The wind grew in intensity as the alicorn spread her power along the vast span of the sky, rippling the manes of the two mares. Twilight was standing closer to the Princess of the Night this time, and she felt the air whoosh out of her as Luna released more energy into the world, making the unicorn’s magical sense go haywire. Her horn was tingling with the aura that emanated from the alicorn, and her eyes shone as she watched the moon rise, slowly, ever so gracefully, over the horizon. The world was enveloped in rich, dark blue – and each star shone brightly in the celestial tapestry as Luna touched it. Twilight scanned the sky, searching for the star that the alicorn had shown her. When she found it, shining brightly, it seemed even more brilliant without the magical vision which had made all the stars more visible. Now, with her naked eye, most of the other stars were dimmer in comparison. "Luna," Twilight pointed up to the star. "You've made more than one friend." She looked up at Luna with a twinkle in her eye that reminded the princess of her sister, and the princess laughed with renewed joy as Twilight gently nudged her. Twilight and Luna trotted down the grand staircase to the grand hall of the castle, where they met the Goddess of the Sun. “Good evening, you two,” said Celestia, her eyes twinkling as she strode towards them. “I was wondering if you were going to skip dinner.” “Of course not,” said Luna, looking askance at her sister. “We were just going to order from the kitchen.” The alabaster alicorn grinned. “Maybe you could go to Canterlot to eat? It would be good to take a walk around the city, especially with Twilight to guide you.” “That’s a great idea, Princess!” said Twilight, beaming. “Would you like to join us?” Luna was wary of the wide grin on her sister's face. She had better not be planning something, she thought, still remembering the ‘love potion’ threat. Even though Celestia hadn't actually gone through with it, Luna immediately became suspicious when she saw the same grin on the elder alicorn’s face. I suppose a walk around the city would be nice enough, and it's not like there's much Celly could do in public. “I’m afraid I can’t this time, Twilight, I still have some paperwork that needs to be finished,” Celestia replied, nuzzling her pupil gently. “I do hope you have a great time though!” She stepped back and waved, as if urging the two to go on. “We will, I know the perfect place to go!” said the unicorn, waving at her mentor. “See you later, Princess!” “Yes, see you later, sister,” said Luna, waving to her sister as well before trotting off with Twilight. Canterlot at night was as lively and bustling a city as it was during the day, something Luna found particularly appealing. It had the dignity of a capitol, yet it was still young; not as metropolitan and youthful as some others like Manehattan, but still it had a playful air as well as an artistic romance about it. As Twilight and Luna walked through the wide streets many ponies stopped to bow to the princess, who smiled demurely in return. Twilight eventually led the alicorn past some dazzlingly lit shops in the fashion district. She glanced at the windows, something familiar in one of the bigger shops catching her eye; the display featured what appeared to be a turquoise variant of the frilly saddle that Rarity had let her try out a week ago. She checked the sign of the store and her suspicion was confirmed. Hoity Toity’s Boutique – so that must be one of the saddles that Rarity designed! Luna stopped as well when she realized that Twilight was looking at one of the display windows, and moved closer to glance inside. She regretted it instantly, fighting back a grimace as she gazed at some of the, to her, least appealing garments she had encountered for some time. I wonder what's gotten into her, doesn't she like saddles? Noticing Luna’s abrupt change of expression, the unicorn examined her thoughts for a few seconds before having to fight the urge to slap herself. Of course! She's hungry but too polite to say anything, and I'm just standing here gawking at clothing. Her face flushed, she turned to Luna. "Sorry, enough standing around! Let's go get something to eat." Luna nodded and followed her away from the boutique. Twilight couldn't resist glancing back one more time. I really should show Luna the saddle Rarity made for me at some point. They took a left turn and trotted up to a hedge that separated the outside seating area of a restaurant from the road. A menu stand was situated near an opening in the hedge, underneath a small but ornate plaque which proclaimed that this was ‘L’Autre Sabot’. They trotted though the opening into the seating area. Garden lamps spread a warm glow over the tables as fireflies drifted lazily near the hedges. A waiter in a smart uniform saw them and hurried over. “Your Majesty! And Twilight!” he said, recognizing the unicorn that had once been a frequent patron, and bowed low. “It is an honor!” The other guests fell silent upon noticing the princess and there was followed a flurry of movement and chair scraping as everypony hurried to pay their respects. “Please, no need to get up on my account,” said Luna, waving a hoof as gracefully as she could. “Long time no see, Serving Plate!” Twilight said to the stallion. Serving Plate grinned. “Hi, Twilight! You’ve made friends with a princess?” “Yeah…” Twilight replied, grinning as well. “Hey, could we sit at that table to the side? Don’t want too much attention.” She pointed to a secluded corner at the far end of the outdoor dining section. Serving Plate nodded and led them to the circular wooden table. Twilight and Luna sat down on the cushioned seats and relaxed against the wooden backboards as the waiter placed two menus before them, then left them to decide their orders. “Twilight, what did you usually eat when you came here?” Luna asked, leafing through her menu. “Oh, I really like the zucchini and mint risotto, and the cauliflower cheese and chili one is great, too. Or maybe you’d like the others…” She flipped to the corresponding page as she spoke so the alicorn could see the pictures on the menu. They took some more time before Luna finally made up her mind. “I’ll order a mushroom and mozzarella rigatoni meal, then.” “Okay, and I’ll have the zucchini risotto one,” said Twilight, raising a hoof to catch a waitress’s attention. The mare took their order and bowed her head respectfully before trotting back to the kitchens. “Luna,” said Twilight, looking up at the starry sky. “I can still see The Moon’s Friend!” They giggled and leaned back, gazing at the sky for a while, before Twilight broke the silence again. "Uhm, Luna?" The Princess of the Night shifted her gaze from the sky filled with stars to eyes filled with emotions. "Yes, Twilight?" Twilight shifted a little in her seat. "Can I tell you something personal?" "Of course, Twilight, anything for a friend." Luna said with a demure smile, though in her head she was cheering at the thought of having somepony trust her with their personal secrets. “Well, when we were going to use the gem, and you were telling me that I was powerful, I never really liked it when ponies have told me that before. I still get a bit uncomfortable, though I learned in Ponyville that I was really worrying too much.” Luna nodded, listening attentively. “When I was studying in the School for Gifted Unicorns, I didn’t go out much; in fact, I never really went out at all until I visited Ponyville. Sometimes I was teased. I knew most of the ponies were just jealous, but then it got worse – once I lost control of a spell that we had to practice in class. My classmates were, um… transformed into stone. “They hated and feared me for it and every time I came through the door or down the corridor, they would all shy away like I was diseased or something. They made even more fun of me, calling me the princess's pet, snob... they wouldn't ever let me play with them.” At that moment Serving arrived at their table and set down their orders. “We hope you enjoy your meal Your Majesty, Twilight,” he said. Luna surveyed her dish. The mushrooms and other vegetables were arranged delicately on the pasta, and she levitated her fork to scoop a bite up. The cheese stretched and its aroma wafted out as it was pulled up by the fork. Luna grinned and glanced sideways to see that Twilight was doing the same with hers. She took a bite, the cheese melting delightfully in her mouth to complement the fresh taste of the mushrooms. “And then, what happened?” she asked softly. “I guess there were some nice ponies left that still wanted to talk to me, but I’d given up by then – I decided that studying would be a much better use of my time. Nopony seemed to like me at all, so most of the time I would just keep quiet and hope nopony would notice me; it was better than being teased. I'm so glad I was sent to Ponyville, otherwise I wouldn't have met all my friends!" She sighed and scooped up a zucchini. “It’s not that important anymore, but it really made me sad back then.” “I like you,” said Luna, patting the unicorn’s shoulder. Twilight smiled and looked at the alicorn gratefully. “I know.” Their hunger well and truly satisfied, Twilight and Luna stepped out of the restaurant. There were fewer ponies on the streets then when they had first arrived, allowing them to walk comfortably side by side though the city. The alicorn of the moon turned to her scholarly friend, her face bright with happiness. “It’s been a great evening.” Her expression then became a bit wistful. “But the time has passed so quickly…” “Yeah, it really has.” I wish we could do this more often. the unicorn thought, glancing to the side. “Twilight?” Luna asked, her eyes lighting up as she came up with an idea, almost as if in answer to Twilight’s thoughts. “If you have time in the upcoming days, could I visit you in Ponyville soon?” The librarian smiled, and then nuzzled her friend. “That would be wonderful.”