Sunset and Twilight were well awake now. That was unfortunate, because they were both bored out of their skulls. They sat slumped against each other on a bench overlooking an empty stretch of street.
"Hey Sunset?"
"Yes, Twilight?"
"Theory."
"Hit me."
"The nobles of Canterlot like things ordered, structured, well-organized and efficient most of the time."
"One of the things you said you liked about this city."
"Yes. But. Like. Sometimes?"
"It gets boring."
"Yes."
They shared another silence. Whether it was one long, continuous silence or if the first extended into a second, neither cared enough to deduce.
Twilight glanced upward at the sky, as if hoping something to do would fall from it. "Moondancer didn't really glomp us that often."
Sunset only shrugged.
Another pause. Wind blew. Clouds drifted.
"Wanna talk about my BBBF-"
"No."
Birds chirped. Leaves rustled. The three-day period without Moondancer was truly proving to be the time of their lives.
"Well," Sunset thought aloud, "I'll be seeing you." She didn't move.
Neither did Twilight. "Yep. Seeing."
Both remained on the bench in silence for another minute before sluggishly getting up and dragging themselves in opposite directions.
---
Irony was a concept that occasionally weighed heavily on Princess Luna's thoughts. They day she found herself standing in the dressing room of the building housing a Broadhay performance in which she would be an active member was one such time. Not for the fact that she, a considerable fan of the art herself, was now cast in it, for the telling of her own tale; The Tragedy of Nightmare Moon, but for her specific role in the specific production. Somehow, she had just assumed she would be cast as Nightmare Moon, as would only be cosmically fitting.
This was not so.
"So," asked a pinkish earth pony with a curly, dark-purple mane, "how're ya feeling about the costume, 'Princess Celestia'?"
She was cast as her sister. Her coat was sprayed with a temporary, easily-washed dye to look white, she was fitted with stage wings that, while not truly functional, would move and flap like the genuine article when it was called for, her mane and tail were coated with long, beautiful synthetic materials to resemble Celestia's ethereal mane, and she found herself wearing a near-perfect replica of her sister's golden regalia. "It, fits well, I believe."
The costume pony smiled. "Super, you just let 'em know that old Suri did a great job on the outfits, heh-heh, okay?" Suri noticed her assistant standing just behind 'Celestia,' pouting and looking at the floor. She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Coco, you did okay too."
Some ponies might have considered carrying out more than 75% of the labor to be more than 'okay,' but hearing even that much startled Coco Pommel into a wide, grateful smile. "Th-thank you, Miss Polomare!"
Suri rolled her eyes, still grinning. "Yea, I'm a peach. C'mon, let's see that backstage wine I've been hearing about, okay?"
The two left, Luna as Moon Sky as Princess Celestia vaguely certain she heard an inquiry about the assistant being old enough to drink, but she disregarded it, instead eyeing her synthetic wings. Further irony: I shouldn't even need the invisible wires they'll have me lifted with. At least her disguise would make her less self-conscious before an audience, more-so if she thought of herself as Celestia and not herself. She would take her mental crutches where she could get them.
Perhaps another tid-bit? Her co-star, the one who would actually be playing the part of herself as well as Nightmare Moon, was none other than Moondancer's cousin Fan Dance, the actual Broadhay star. Who would now be acting out Luna herself. On stage. In a real, booked-out-theater show.
Heart was bouncing off the walls, twisting itself into knots, weeping tears of joy, screaming at the sky, curling up into a ball to rock back and forth, and having a snow-cone all at once. The combined effort, strangely, left Luna's mind very calm and controllable, so she was likely still in shock.
Soon it would be time, and Luna as Moon Sky as Celestia already knew all her lines...
Not because she had actually lived through the events this show intended to depict, but because she had seen the show a good few times before. To assume she knew what to say just because that was what was actually said a thousand years ago, as if she could even remember everything, would have clashed with the script and left the other actors confused. This went double for the instances in which the show and the reality differed entirely, for there was no pie fight between servants that Luna could recall.
Anyway, she was not about to see a perfectly good production ruined by such presumption, so she would say the lines properly! Soon it would be time.
---
Running, but getting cut off nearly everywhere they went by another little band of bounty hunters, Trixie and Moondancer could only keep running.
"Got... an... idea," panted Moondancer, "next alley, we'll..." She shared the plan as quietly as possible, Trixie nodding sharply seconds before the two ducked out of sight.
The hunters kept hunting, but to no avail. Trixie and Moondancer could hear them shouting to continue the search, but for now, they were sitting in a little gap between buildings, safe behind a combination of Trixie's cloak made to look like a brick wall and Moondancer's Cloaking Sphere. They couldn't very well stay here forever, but they could certainly rest for a while.
"So," Trixie whispered with an eager grin when she'd caught her breath, "Trixie believes we were discussing Her Beloved?"
Moondancer smiled too.
---
Sunset was stretched out on a couch, lying on her back with her forelegs folded over her chest. She stared straight up at the ceiling as she spoke.
"It's not that I miss her, or, anypony, really. I've been away from home for years now, and I've never even felt like entertaining the idea of going back to visit. I don't miss my mother, or my father, or my old classmates, or the local guards, or the random townsponies, or the crazy alligator lady. That's strange, isn't it? That I don't miss anypony at all? I know the score, how you're supposed to say you do miss those you may have gotten to know in youth, how it's only natural to grow attached to familiar faces, but I don't feel it. 'Evil,' right?"
She nickered. "Not that I care what anypony thinks about that anymore. I won't adhere to arbitrary standards just because it's expected, just because it unsettles ponies if you think or do otherwise. That alone is one reason I don't miss anypony back home, you know? I never pretended, never acted like somepony else wanted me to for no better reason than because that was just what was anticipated. Some ponies didn't like that. You're supposed to lie, supposed to pretend you care about the the thoughts and feelings of each and every soul you meet, or whatever the social convention is in that region. That's why I never bothered to make an effort at fitting in, it's all so fake and shallow that it barely makes sense to try."
Closing her eyes for a moment, Sunset sighed. "That's not what I'm here to talk about, per se. I don't miss anypony back home, not because I'm an unfeeling sociopath, but because there just wasn't much to miss. I snuck out of the castle sometimes, got a good look at those who led more modest lives. Did I mention being rich back home? I was. I don't miss it. What was the point, really? I don't think I ever saw anypony in Southern Equestria that was considerably more prone to smiling for reasons directly relating to their share of wealth. Ponies who counted bits for a living generally looked about as happy as those that shoveled snow out of walkways every day, the richest jerk was no happier than the poorest jerk. That's why I don't go around posing and flipping my mane like a lot of mares you see around Canterlot, I know that my standing doesn't make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things. When I pose and flip my mane, it's because I want to."
"You were expecting me to talk about Moondancer, right? Well, I kind of am, because I don't miss her either. If I don't miss my own family, why would I miss the pony that periodically puts me in weird, embarrassing, frustrating situations? The one that apparently makes a game of it, I mean. Come to think of it, I guess Celestia kind of counts too, but don't ask me if I'd miss her at all. I don't miss Moondancer. She's crazy, and annoying, and without her around, things are nice and quiet. It'd be stupid to miss someone like that, more-so when you don't miss those that are supposed to be closer to you than anyone; your family. I don't exactly make a point of writing to them every week, you know. Because I don't miss them. I don't miss Moondancer either, because by the end of today or tomorrow morning, she'll be back in all her noisy, irritating glory. And then I'll continue to not miss her."
Her listener, sitting nearby, finally spoke up. "Yes, that's very fascinating, but I have one question," Spike's eye twitched, "why are you telling ME this?"
"You're a kindred spirit in facing the dreaded Moon-glomps. And besides, shut up. That you're able to sit here in the library, out in the open and unprotected, means you don't miss her either."
Spike scratched his scaly little head. "I... guess...?"
Sunset was still staring at the ceiling. "Good. Now you talk for a while."
"Wha-huh?!"
Sunset's eyes narrowed, though the effect was more surreal than threatening when she was still in the exact same pose as when she'd started that monologue. "Words, dragon, or did you want me to say 'speak'?"
Spike scowled. "I'm not a pet!!"
"Good," retorted Sunset, "then I don't need to go get you a biscuit. Now come on, out with it. Anything."
Fumbling for topics, Spike gulped. I can't believe I'm thinking this, but for the love of Celestia; Moondancer, please get home soon!
---
Once they'd caught their breath, Trixie and Moondancer attempted to make their way back to the hotel room without being spotted. No such luck.
"Don't let them get away!"
The two ran, Ponies With Hats in hot pursuit. As they fled toward a crowded sidewalk, Trixie's horn lit up under her hat. "Quick," she loud-whispered to Moondancer, "follow my lead!" Ducking low, she slid under the legs of the crowd, the top of her hat tickling more than a few bellies. She cast her spell, and suddenly, several ponies were wearing illusory replicas of Trixie's hat.
The actual hat-bearers spread out while trying to apprehend every pointy hat they saw.
"That's her over there!"
"No, that one!"
"That's a stallion!"
"Yes, Easy Answer, thank you for pointing that out."
Moondancer was no master of illusion, but she knew there weren't enough fake hats to fool the hunters long enough for the real one to slip away. Her horn lit up. A second later, many more hats magically seemed to appear on confused heads.
Trixie, ducking next to Moondancer, raised an eyebrow. "Trixie appreciates the effort, but she doesn't think sombreros, top hats, pith helmets, and Buffalo feather-headdresses are quite what we need right now."
Moondancer smiled sheepishly. "I may have missed something when integrating the Hat spell with the Scattershot spell, and I wasn't sure exactly how to form your star patt-."
"Sweet Celestia," cried a Hat-Hunter, which may have been their actual group name, "is that a Buffalo headdress?!"
"Ooh, let me touch it!"
"We very much like these hats."
"That much was obvious, Re-Cap, thank you."
Despite the increasing confusion and discomfort of those randomly granted headwear, Trixie smiled. "Trixie rescinds her earlier comment, now let's go while they're distracted!"
Moondancer smiled too, and not just because she had a... good view of many healthy ponies here. "Right behind you." Everypony but Trixie. Darn that cape...
---
All alone, Twilight Sparkle wandered into Donut Joe's, taking a seat at the counter. "The usual, please."
"Joe nodded, bringing her her order a minute later. He gave her a little smile. "So, where's your coltfriend?"
Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor were not a couple, they were brother and sister. However, there were ponies that knew this, and those that did not. Donut Joe was strictly in the latter category.
Twilight turned red and scowled. "He, is, NOT my coltfriend!! Our relationship is completely normal, I might say I love him a lot, because I do, and there's nothing wrong with loving your siblings!" She blinked. "Platonically, loving them platonically! Which I do, but that doesn't make him my coltfriend and I've never even thought about it! Not once, not now, not ever!"
As that technically wasn't 100.00% true, Twilight automatically corrected herself. "Well, I mean, unless it turned out that we weren't actually related, which we are, but I mean, if I weren't his sister, which I am, it would be perfectly understandable if I wanted to- which I don't, but any mare would be lucky to have him, so it would completely reasonable to think about it under those circumstances. Which I have not, because we are brother and sister, which means he is not my coltfriend!!
She didn't need to turn around to know everypony in the shop was looking at her now. A heavy silence weighing down on her, Twilight silently wondered what her brother would say when faced with this kind of awkward moment before teleporting away.
Donut Joe blinked, looking down at the counter. "...She forgot her donuts again."
---
The band of ponies in purple and grey armor quickly marched after Trixie as she turned a corner, leapt over a stack of boxes, and dove into an open sewer. Crushing the boxes underhoof, they followed without hesitation, all of them jumping down the hole as well.
A manhole cover enveloped in a pinkish glow slowly came to rest over the opening, Trixie and Moondancer stepping out from behind a dumpster a second later. Their trick successful, they high-hoofed.
"Suckers!"
The pair giggled like fillies before fleeing the area.
---
The debut performance of Luna as Moon Sky as Princess Celestia was going remarkably well. Playing the part of her sister had initially felt almost bewildering, but she had already learned to resist responding to her own name while undercover. The show was definitely dramatizing things a little, with several scenes and events that plain did not happen in reality. Among them was a much more sympathetic depiction of herself than was painted by the truth. They were now at the climax, and the scene Luna most dreaded.
"Darkness reigned over the land," spoke the narrator, "the moon high in the sky long after its time. The royal sisters stood alone in the throne room of their castle, years of tension that could no longer be contained bubbling under Princess Luna's skin as she, and the Nightmare within, at last spoke their mind to the object of their resentment."
Fan Dance, as Luna, had proven to be an almost worryingly convincing duplicate, her inflection alone often making the real Luna's heart ache. She, wearing a disguise not unlike the 'Celestia' costume, but with a false horn instead of false wings, stepped forward.
"You come at last, Celestia. Finally found time for for your dearest sister after all?"
Luna had occasionally wondered what exactly must have been going through Celestia's head the night she was banished, and now she was getting an idea. Despite the growing lump in her throat, 'Celestia' kept to her role. "Luna, don't do this."
Well-placed synthetic stone fragments flew from the ground where 'Luna' stomped. "Even now you would treat me as a foal?! I have received your message of condescension, Sister, what more will you do to show your contemptuous indifference for me?!"
The words hurt, not for the tone being directed at her, but for just how well they mirrored the sentiment that had come from her. Luna's eyes misted, the pain bleeding into her voice. "That is not how I feel, Luna. I love you, I've always loved you, even if I have not done all that I could to show it. I am sorry that these last few weeks have hurt you so, but-"
The other Luna all but roared, face contorting with hatred and her eyes full of rage. "LAST FEW WEEKS?! Think you that I should be pressed so easily that only recent events so distress me?! No, my grievances hold foundation in years, Celestia, not unlike your hubris!" Snorting, she shook her head with contempt. "I suppose that is to be expected, so highly do you think of yourself that you believe nopony could possibly hold your great composure, that we must all be blithering infants before your power."
Celestia was supposed to look angrier here, but Luna couldn't help enacting a slightly more tearful portrayal. "Luna, please, I know that you are upset, but you must stop this. Ponies cannot live in eternal darkness, what you are doing is madness! The two of us live to serve our subjects, not demand their approval. Their love for us should stem from what we earn of it," the words were like salt applied directly to her tongue, remembering how she reacted to a similar sentiment, "not what we can coerce. We should be appreciative of all that they offer us, even when it is not all that we may wish it to be."
'Luna' snarled. "A log in thy eye, Celestia! Small task for you to accept the given circumstance, as it is you alone who holds 'our' nation's favor!"
And then it was time for the final song of the performance. The music began quietly as the lighting changed on stage, highlighting the two alicorns as they faced each other.
[youtube=qxWT5jWcg5Q]
How dare you call me ungrateful,
for taking that which I've earned?
For all I offer 'our dear subjects,'
all the beauty that they have spurned!
I know just what I am doing now,
what I'm truly meant to be!
There's room for just one princess,
and that princess, it shall be me!
'Celestia' had composed herself as best she could for a solid delivery.
We have our parts, we wear these crowns,
We're princesses, that is right.
Our responsibilities,
mean that we two must not fight!
You and I have a purpose,
We must do all that we can.
Yours is a valued contribution,
to keeping harmony in this land.
'Luna' all but snarled.
I used to be so certain,
about this path we both take...
But now I am only certain,
that your lead is a mistake!
Please sister, listen to me,
I understand you want more...
but I know you would never hurt,
the ponies we both adore.
'Luna' stomped, sending another little spray of false granite placed in advance.
I will hear no excuses!
I'm gifted and I am strong!
I will take what's been denied to me
for so long!
With the use of her very real wings, Fan Dance lifted up into the air in fittingly dramatic fashion as red lights were focused on her.
Know that your time is ending soon!
At last the sun makes way for the moon!
Soon all our subjects are destined to see,
there is one princess; it shall be me!
"The corruption of Princess Luna's heart complete, her body was taken over entirely as it shifted to become the monster; Nightmare Moon!"
'Celestia,' her eyes brimming with tears, took a step forward as six little circles of light were shone around her hooves.
Eternal night, I can't allow,
please don't make me do this now...
It isn't too late to talk things out!
The vision of Nightmare Moon paid no attention.
My reign of dark is coming soon!
As the sun dies, praise only the moon!
At last my slaves are destined to see,
there is one princess; it shall be me!
In a blinding flash, a stage version of the Elements of Harmony were used against Nightmare Moon, casting the spell to seal her in the moon in bright, spectacular, and, for Luna, agonizing fashion. The stage was quiet until the narrator spoke.
"Alone, Princess Celestia gazed up at the new face of the moon; now her responsibility as well. She stared at what would be a reminder of this night for the next thousand years."
Finally understanding exactly what her sister must have felt so long ago, tears streamed down Luna’s face as she delivered the final line of the song in a weak, mournful echo.
"There is one princess... it shall... be... me..."
Luna couldn't contain herself any longer, falling to the floor and weeping into her forehooves as the curtains closed. I'm sorry, sister, for everything I put you through.
The curtain wasn't that thick, in truth, but she barely even heard the thunderous applause from the other side.
---
"Quick," called Trixie, "across the gap!"
The two leapt from one rooftop to the next. The alley between the buildings wasn't that wide, but they hoped it would be wide enough that the inquisitors couldn't jump it too in those baggy robes. They turned to find out, but strangely, saw no sign of the trio that had chased them up here.
"Huh," pondered Moondancer aloud, "think we lost 'em?"
"Trixie is not certain, there weren't exactly a lot of branching paths up that fire escape. We should keep moving." She turned around and immediately bumped into the lead inquisitor, flanked by his two followers. "How did-?!"
"NOPONY EXPECTS THE-"
"Yea, yea, alright," muttered Trixie, "heard it all before."
"I haven't," said Moondancer, an eyebrow raised, "what are you guys really doing here? I've been thinking about what you guys said earlier, but what does bringing her back to her parents have to do with the, eh, 'cardinal sin' you mentioned?"
Wide-Brim chuckled fiendishly. "It was but a clever ruse to sway the others to our side, we never had any intention of returning her to her home!"
Aviator Cap nodded. "Just gonna burn her, we are."
"Yep," complied the third inquisitor, "burn her."
Trixie glanced at Moondancer, then put on a scandalized face. "You, lied to those ponies?!"
"That is correct," confirmed Wide-Brim, "and now, we-"
"Well," Trixie said while haughtily raising her snout and pacing away, "Trixie shall not stand to be in the company of such charlatans a moment longer. Come along, Fair Moondancer, let us leave these dishonest sorts post-haste."
Moondancer, playing right along as they walked toward the roof, made the same motions and spoke with a long-practiced, seldom-employed posh tone of voice. "Quite, quite." As they pretended to ignore the inquisitors going on about how lies were one more weapon in their ever-expanding list, she whispered to Trixie. “Plan?”
“Yes. Trixie will hop on your back, wh-”
“I like this plan!”
“Not like that! When I do it, cast a feather-weight spell and jump off the roof.”
“I like this plan slightly less.”
“We’re only ten stories up, just trust Trixie!”
“Aaaand, that,” spat the lead inquisitor, “is our full, terrifying arsenal of weapons! And with those weapons, we shall take the two steps of seizing you, tying you to a large stick, and setting you alight with holy fire, which is three things, the three steps shall be seizing, tying, and setting alight with holy fire!”
Aviator Hat had a question. “Wouldn’t we ‘ave to cover her in pitch first or something?”
“Hm, so we would. The four steps shall be seizing, ty-”
“Oh, they’ve buggered straight off the roof now!”
For a few terrifying seconds, Moondancer fell like a rock with Trixie on her back. Then, with a spell Trixie used pretty much any time she jumped off of high places, the corners of her cape splayed out flat in the air, extending like wings as the two started to glide to freedom!
She craned her neck to look at the stage magician clinging to her barrel. “Are you like a superhero in your down time?”
“Trixie is like a superhero all the time!”
Catching sight of something floating behind them, Moondancer’s eyes widened. “I guess that makes those guys the supervillains?”
The three inquisitors were gliding too, their robes stretched out like Trixie’s cape as they gained speed.
Turning to look for herself, Trixie’s eyes widened. “Wait, are they even unicorns?!”
“If not, I don’t know what they are!”
“Copycats!!”
Unfortunately, shifting her weight even enough to turn her head left Trixie tilted, throwing off their aerodynamic balance and sending the two hurdling toward a second-story window. Luckily, it was open, and crashing through the costume department of the theater building broke their fall a bit. In the next instant, they found themselves rocketing through a hallway atop a treasure chest prop on wheels, both of them wearing viking helmets. Trixie’s was worn atop her magician hat. Before either could cast a spell to slow the roaring disaster atop which they both rode, they noticed the inquisitors riding a giant, plastic, flower-prop on wheels right behind them.
The group ripped through the surprisingly long, straight, and thankfully empty hallway. Moondancer pulled a pirate’s spyglass from the treasure chest. “Up ahead, I think that says ‘Stage’!”
~A few minutes before…~
Luna, still disguised as Moon Sky dressed as Celestia, had a good, long cry following her final part in the play. She was simultaneously thankful and a little embarrassed for the brief intermission that was called so she could be safely carted backstage before they wrapped up with the epilogue, but it felt like she had a little extra closure now.
She had been summoned when the director, Show Time, burst into the room with a wide, beaming smile, saying everypony, the critics especially (apparently the name ‘Harshwhinny’ carries some kind of weight in Broadhay productions, which was news to Luna), enjoyed the show so much that the standing ovation was still going and he wanted Moon Sky to join the other actors on stage.
And now she stood before a happy crowd, not sure what to feel. What did it say that the events that had caused so much pain, that had nearly destroyed her relationship with her sister entirely, that made her into a monster, got her banished for a thousand years, and had her break down like a filly before her nephew could bring such joy to so many?
’Long way to go’, he said. Does this count? Does this help to make up for attacking ponies in their nightmares, or turning them to stone?
Luna couldn’t say, but for perhaps the first time while thinking about Nightmare Moon, she felt a little better.
And then came a loud, crazy, flailing ruckus, Stage Left as Trixie, Moondancer, and three stallions in red robes came sailing onto the stage on large, mobile props. Apparently into the spirit of the building, the stallions were singing.
We'll always find you somehow!
Trixie grabbed a tether meant to control the curtains, using her momentum to swing high into the air like some kind of wizard-viking-trapeze artist.
You will burn at the stake now!
Moondancer shot to the other side of the stage on her prop, reached out, hooked both forelegs around a post just offstage, and held onto the treasure chest prop with her hind legs long enough to swing it around in the opposite direction to slam into the flower one, sending all three robe-bearers flying up into the air.
Burning the witch is our sales pitch,
so give up, you silly cow!
Circus Raider Witch Trixie swung the full arc away from them, shifting her weight to yank on the tether in mid-air while seizing two corners of a far curtain in her magic.
Mail your ashes to Canterlot-
They were swiftly wrapped up in the massive curtain, Trixie landing on one far side of the stage, Moondancer standing on the other. Both stood on their hind legs, took off their viking helmets to make a sweeping gesture with them, and bowed to the audience, eliciting cheers and hoof-stomping.
Trixie grinned. Totally what I meant to do the whole time! That’s what I’ll tell Blueblood.
---
There was a bit of a fuss raised for the spontaneous destruction of theater assets, but before Moondancer could assure Show Time that she could pay for everything, Fan Dance had stepped in to offer exactly the same thing. When they untangled the large curtains the inquisitors had been wrapped up in, the three zealots were nowhere to be found, gone without a trace. This was fine with everypony involved, Trixie nodding her head once in professional courtesy.
Fan Dance and Moondancer were a little bummed out to have missed each other’s exciting events, the play and the city-wide chase scene respectively, but just the same, they were happy to have some time together as everypony headed backstage for some of that promised wine. What followed was a scene in which a cute, blue-haired filly stumbled around drunkenly offering to make out with random ponnequins while her purple-haired employer laughed her plot off.
After an hour or so of such shenanigans, it was time for the moon-flanked trio to return home. Out at the train station, the group accounted for the last of their bags and got ready to set off, the two cousins wrapping one another in a hug.
“Hope to see you soon, Moon.”
“Catch you when I can, Fan.”
Moon Sky, who felt no compulsion to respond even to her alias this time, smiled at the loving display, Trixie just nodding approvingly.
Returning to her friends by the train door, Moondancer beamed, sing-songing in a deep voice.
"Now let's get back to Canterlooooot!"
She held the smile, but it was only greeted with confusion and one deadpan stare.
---
Show Time, sitting up in his bed with a nightcap a few hours later, realized that he’d never actually asked the name of the mare that did an incredibly believable job playing the part of Princess Celestia.
“D’oh!”
---
The next morning, Princess Celestia found herself pacing Luna’s room.
Bored. SO bored.
She checked the window. Then another window. No sign of her.
What did I do before I had Lulu to talk to?! Ugh, can’t believe I sent her away! Again!!
It was in a much less heart-wrenching fashion this time, but still.
She heard music in the sound of the doorknob turning, immediately zipping over and seizing her sister in a royal hug-tackle the second she set hoof in the room.
“Lunaaaaa,” she all but cried, "I missed you so much, little sister! I'm sorry I forced you to go away and I don't ever want to lose you agai-heh-heeeen!"
Tears welling in her eyes, Luna smiled. “I missed you too.” And then she blinked. “Oh, and, Sister?”
The hug was not loosened. “Yes, Luna?”
“How does one teleport without casting teleportation?”
“Huh?”
---
In the dorm shared by CSFGU’s top three students, Sunset and Twilight were pacing the floor, mutually shocked at what the other had shouted in their face when they awoke.
Twilight was staring at the ceiling. “I miss her.”
Sunset was trying not to. “I know.”
“YOU miss her.”
“I know.”
Twilight pouted. “I kind of want a moon-hug.”
Sunset nearly screamed. “I know. Hell, I’d be happy if she tackled us both into the ground the moment she got back! I can't believe I'm looking forward to a glomp! How is this my life?!”
Twilight managed a grin. “The important thing is that when she gets back, everything will go back to how it was.”
Shuddering, Sunset felt a weird taste in her mouth. And not because of Celestia’s cake, that had worn off yesterday afternoon. “She's like a bad drug and we're suffering from withdrawal! Isn't there a therapy session for that?”
Twilight giggled. “Yes, I'm sure they have support groups for cuddle deprivation.”
The door creaked open, both heads immediately whipping to see a tired, baggy-eyed Moondancer shuffling in and slinging her bag against a wall. The ride back to Canterlot had been very uncomfortable, and even when using Trixie as a big, soft, willing bed/pillow/warmth-sponge, she’d gotten no sleep. On top of that exhausting hunter business, she was bushed. “Hey, guys,” she muttered through a yawn, “sorry, talk later, I need to catch some Z's now.” She paced over to her bed, flopped over on it, and immediately started snoring.
Twilight and Sunset stared at her in shocked silence before the latter threw her hooves up.
“OH COME ON!! The one time I actually WANT it she... she…” Lowering her head, Sunset started tearing up.
Twilight rushed over to gently pat her back. “There, there, there's always tomorrow.”
“It's not fair!” She leaned on Twilight, openly weeping now.
Glancing at Moondancer to still find her asleep at the worst possible time, Twilight kept her voice calm and comforting. “It’s okay, Sunset, it’s okay… I’m still here for you, you know?”
Sunset sniffled, her pride and this horrific new affliction-addiction for cuddles waging a silent war in her heart. Certain the ache would stop after today, she gave in, squeezing Twilight like a big, awkward, dorky, plushie. Smiling a little, Twilight hugged back.
After about a minute of that, a disturbance was felt in the force and Moondancer woke up long enough to look at the pair and ask a question; “Still no kiss?”
Sunset and Twilight, showing no sign of their tender feelings from just seconds ago, broke apart to shout at her in unison. “GO BACK TO SLEEP!!”