//------------------------------// // 14: A Day to Ourselves // Story: Static World // by Kendandra //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle was screaming. The young Unicorn was tossing and turning in her sleep. She must have been having a terrible nightmare. From the other side of the bed, Princess Luna stared at her fillyfriend in horror. What was she supposed to do? She had never been good at comforting other ponies. Nightmare Moon was hissing in her mind, commanding that she do something to calm their love down, but Luna simply stared at Twilight as she moaned in her sleep. Feeling a bit awkward, Luna sat up on her haunches and picked Twilight up off the bed with her magic. She pulled the terrified Unicorn into her embrace, wrapping her front hooves around the pony and encasing her in her wings. Twilight seemed to wake slightly and her ramblings seemed to start to form words. “It’s not true! You’re lying!” Luna hugged her little Unicorn tighter, perhaps subconsciously trying to squeeze the fright out of her. “She would never do this! There’s so much fire….” Luna let her flowing mane fall down and envelop Twilight in its cool mist. After a moment, Twilight stopped squirming. She let out an occasional sob as she quivered in the princess’s embrace. “Luna?” “I’m here, Twilight.” She must have done well. Twilight was much calmer now. This comfort thing was not so hard. “Luna…” the Unicorn whispered, “It was so horrible.” “It was just a dream. Everything is better now.” “There was fire everywhere….” “Don’t worry, the library is fine. All your friends are safe, I’m safe, and Shining Armor is safe. Even your books are safe.” “It wasn’t the library…. It was all of Equestira. It was on fire.” Twilight sobbed. “Well that’s just silly, Twilight. The library is part of Equestira and as you can see, it’s safe and sound.” Luna loosened her grip slightly, to allow the Unicorn some room to breathe. “No…. It was long ago… There was fire…. Celestia had killed.... something…. She killed…. Something holy… something sacred… a great spirit….” Luna’s eyes widened, “How...?” Luna gulped, “How do you… know that? “The dream…. And you were there… you…. I can’t remember…. But it was terrifying.” Twilight nuzzled her snout in to Luna’s arms. “Twilight, perhaps it’s time I tell you about Nightmare Moon.” Luna knew saying the words would cause Nightmare Moon to throw a tantrum in her thoughts, and the darker side of her did not disappoint her in this regard. “Twilight, you see… It was a very dark time in our history, and Celestia… and, well… myself too I guess… had made some mistakes…. But! But she found a way to fix them… for a cost…. You see, Nightmare Moon is actually….” “Oh! My! Bucking! Horseapples! The mystery mare was Princess Luna?!” Luna and Twilight scrambled out of their embrace and quickly tried to act casual which in situations like this, always makes the action seem at least three and seven twenty-seconds times worse. “Rarity!” Twilight tried her hardest to remove any hint of embarrassment from her voice, considering that she had called out her friend’s name at in a pitch three times higher than Sweetie Belle’s singing voice, she was probably not doing a good job. “You’re up early?” “Who let you in?” Luna said with a hint of annoyance. “The door was unlocked; rather the lock was broken! Oh, please Princess, forgive my earlier language. I’m just so awestruck that Twilight could land such a catch as you. Oh, and you’re already sharing the bed! How romantic!” “Rarity!” Twilight repeated, although in a tone of annoyance rather than surprise. “Oh this is just THE! MOST! WONDERFUL! THING! To ever happen to our little group of gals! I’ll get to be part of two royal weddings in my life time! It will be fantastic! You absolutely have to make me the best mare!” “Rarity, calm down! We just became a couple last night. It’s ages before we even need to think about stuff like that.” Luna smiled slyly. “I don’t know, Twilight. She would make a great best mare. And you saw the dress she made for Cadence. I could probably wear something in that style. All those sparkling gems would complement my mane.” Rarity’s eyes lit up like the night sky. “Luna! Don’t encourage her!” Twilight threw her hooves down on the bed and stared angrily at her fillyfriend. Luna leaned over and kissed Twilight on the cheek, “Oh, calm down Twilight.” “Oh. Great… you two slept in the same bed,” Shining Armor said as he rounded the staircase. “I was already having nightmares about the thought of that happening… And here it actually happened…” “Armor!” To be honest, Twilight had forgotten he had spent the night on her reading couch. “Why is everypony in my bedroom?!” Luna put on a fake pout, “Well… if it upsets you… I guess I can leave…” “No, you stay. Armor get out of here! Rarity, if you get out of here and promise not to tell anypony what’s going on here, I promise you can do the dresses for my wedding, to whoever it is.” “But I can’t leave now! Darling, you don’t know the first thing about romance! Have you gone on a date yet? How will you know what to talk about! You can’t screw this up for me! I want to plan that wedding!” Shining Armor stamped his hoof, “There’s not going to be a wedding! Because the princess is going to start acting like royalty and get her hooves off my sister!” Twilight scrabbled to the top of Luna’s head and covered the princess’s ears with her hooves, “Stop talking! Just all of you, stop talking right now!” “No, now is the perfect time to talk. Look, Twily, you’ve had your fun. But it’s time to get practical.” Shining Armor moved to the bed, but was blocked by Rarity. Rarity pushed the stallion, “What is it in your family that makes you ponies so possessive of your siblings? You can’t stand in the way of my wed…. I mean true love, of course!” “True love? They’ve been together for only a day!” “Shouldn’t you, of all the possible ponies in Equestria, understand love when you see it?” Luna attempted to pry Twilight’s hooves off her ears, “Twilight, sweetie. I can still hear them.” “Cadence and I dated for seven years before we tied the knot! We knew what we were getting into! Twily is too young! And don’t even get me started on how old the princess is!” Twilight threw herself down on Luna’s lap, “Kill me now… Please tell me you have a spell that can just put me out my misery.” Luna glanced down at her Unicorn, “I could put you to sleep. But judging by how the past two nights have been… I don’t want you have any more nightmares like those.” Rarity kicked Shining Armor, “Love is ageless you uncouth simpleton!” “You sure this is any less horrific?” Deep within a bush, Storm Dancer yawned as he fumbled with a spyglass. He could not for the life of him figure out non-Unicorn ponies were supposed to hold the darned contraption. After a bit of finagling, he managed to balance the ends of the spyglass on his hoof and nose. He carefully aimed the contraption at the window of the Ponyville Library. He fumbled with the focus and when he could not get that to cooperate, he squinted his eye to try and make sense of the image. What he saw horrified him. The library must have been converted into a rebellion command center. Right before his eyes, ponies of the rebellion were gathering to overthrow his great Celestia. He could only imagine the evil plots that were being plotted inside the rebel command. “The princess and two element bearers, and the Captain of the Royal Guard! Nightmare Moon’s corruption goes deeper than I thought. Now if only I could… Gah!” “Hey-yah, old feathers!” The voice of a young filly startled the Pegasus. Storm Dancer’s hoof flipped the spyglass up into the air. He made a grab at the device with his teeth, but he dropped it. He tried to pop it back into the air, but his aim was off and he only clipped the side of the spyglass. “What’s with the fancy getup? You from the palace?” Storm Dancer turned to the small orange Pegasus, “Go away, little filly. I’m very busy.” “Are you spying? Are you on a top secret mission for the princess?” The filly donned a huge smile. “If I was a spy, do you think I would tell you?” Storm Dancer picked the spyglass back up with his hooves and peered back inside the library. He yawned very loudly. Truth be told, he had not slept in three days. “Wow! The life of a spy must be great! Camping out and protecting the masses! I wonder what a spy Cutie Mark looks like. Oh, man! I bet it’s so awesome! Whatcha looking at?” The filly grabbed the spyglass and glanced through it. “Oh wow, is that Princess Luna in there? Whatcha spying on her for?” “Uh… Celestia sent me on a special mission to watch over the princess. You know, so if she gets into trouble, Celestia will know about it.” “Wow. Being a spy must be awesome! I bet the Cutie Mark for it is this cool spyglass, that’s what you use, right?” Then Storm Dancer had an idea. He had a terrible, awful, and splendid idea. With Nightmare Moon ready to pounce at anytime, and frankly he was running on fumes from days of preparing, he needed at least a couple hours of sleep. “Hey, kid. What’s your name?” “Scootaloo,” the filly answered. “How would you like to be an honorary spy for a few hours?” “You’re kidding! REALLY?” “Shh…! First rule of spying is to be quiet. Here’s the deal. I’ve been up all night for the past two days. You know, protecting the kingdom. I’m just going to go take a nap at the Stables. You keep an eye on Princess Luna and make sure there’s nothing odd. If you see something odd….” “That’s when I swoop in and save the day?” Scootaloo pantomimed a few kicks in the air. “No. You come and wake me up so I can call in backup. You got that? No heroics. Spies are ponies of mystery and secrecy. We don’t get the face-time glory. But Celestia gives us plenty of medals to make up for it.” “Awesome! You can count on me! SCOOTALOO SUPER SPY!” “Shhh!” “Howdy there, Spike. Is Twilight in?” Applejack tipped her hat to the young dragon. It was a tad early in the morning. Well, not for her, but for Twilight Sparkle it certainly was early in the morning. Not that the lavender Unicorn was a late raiser, but Applejack was up usually a whole two hours before any of her friends even stirred in bed. Whilst they slumbered, Applejack had already made her morning rounds to check on the orchard and cleaned the cider press. Today was Saturday, however, and she was done with her job for the rest of the time the sun was in the air. She always looked forward to Saturday, and while she always enjoyed working on the farm, she welcomed the break to spend time with friends. She usually spent Saturday with Rainbow Dash, playing a lazy game of horseshoes or with Twilight, playing a game of chess or laughing at Twilight try to explain what she learned about farming from a book. With things being uncomfortable with Rainbow Dash right now, Applejack was all set to spend the day with Twilight. Spike gestured to the staircase, “She’s up there, in her bedroom. Careful though. It’s a circus up there right now.” Applejack nodded and began to trot up the stairs. Spike called back, “Wait! Applejack, do you know about Twi and…? Oh, well, you’ll figure it out.” As Applejack approached the bedroom door, she could understand what Spike meant. There were all kinds of shouting coming from the other side of the door. Applejack cautiously turned the handle. “She’s too young! Absolutely too young! And frankly, the princess is not what anypony could call datable material.” Shining Armor stomped his hoof an additional time for good measure. Twilight was practically growling, “I can date whoever I want! I’m a full grown mare!” Luna stretched her haunches and then settled back down on top of the bed, “Well, he has a point. I’m not exactly the best mare to bring home to a mother.” Twilight turned her glare to Luna, “You’re making this worse!” Luna sighed, “Let your brother say his peace. It’s not like he could stop us from dating. That’s up to us to decide. Just be happy you have a sibling who cares for you.” The Alicorn flattened her head down against the bedspread and curled her hooves in front of her mouth. She looked decidedly bored. Rarity, “She has a point, you can’t get in the way of love, Shining Armor! You can’t just demand that…. Oh, hi Applejack.” “Spike wasn’t fibbin’. ‘S more crowded up here than a basket-full o’ red crisps.” “Applejack! Did you hear? Oh, of course you didn’t, my poor uninformed stetson wearing dear. Twilight and Princess Luna are a couple! And they’re getting married!” “Say what now?” Twilight tossed a book at Rarity’s head, “We are not getting married!” Luna casually rolled on her back, “I can see I’m going to have a hard time purposing to you if the time comes…” Twilight glanced back to see the princess completely disregarding any royal manners and could not help but let loose a smile. Luna was adorable when she wanted to be, and judging by the coy smile she returned, she was purposely trying to tease Twilight. Shining Armor pushed past Twilight and pressed his eyes to Rarity’s, “All I’m trying to say is that, they’re moving too fast! Sharing the same bed, they haven’t even had a proper date yet!” Rarity pushed back, “Well, of course they should go on a date! Finally we agree on something!” “That’s not what I….” “We should go on a date, Twilight! That sounds like fun. You know just the two of us.” Luna nudged Twilight’s shoulder. Twilight levitated several books from the downstairs bookcases up to her room. The tomes circled around her and she paged through several at once. She shook her head at each book before dismissing it. “Ah! It says here we could take a picnic. That sounds like fun, let’s do that.” Rarity’s eyes ignited with more stars than Luna’s mane, “A romantic picnic! That sounds perfect!” The Unicorn almost fainted, “I’ll have to come along, of course, to make sure it’s just perfect.” Shining Armor shook his head, “Oh no! You’re not going anywhere without me! If you insist on this ridiculous relationship, I’m at least going to chaperone.” “If Rarity is going, I’m coming too!” Spike poked his head up from the stairs. Twilight’s eyes went teary, “Applejack,” she pleaded, “help me!” “Why sure, sugarcube, I’d be happy to get you some of my famous apple-pie for your date! Heck, ya’ got so many ponies going along, might as well join ya’ and make it a party!” The balcony door opened abruptly and a pink pony stuck her head into the room with a burst of confetti, “Did somepony say party?” Luna chuckled slightly, it was just going to be one of those days it seemed. Twilight smacked her face with her hooves, “Remember this day, Luna. This is the day my life ended.” Celestia was staring at the painting of her mother. She stared into the eyes of the teal Earth pony and cried softly. It was hard to keep focus on the painting through the watery orbs. The Alicorn tired her best to fight back the sniffling sobs her body was forcing upon her. Still, the painting had always made her feel better even in the worst of times. She had spent almost a whole two hundred and fifty years staring nonstop at the painting after the first Nightmare Night. Now the second coming of eternal night was on its way and she had no idea how to stop it. The Dome of Vision had predicted the return of eternal night, that part was a fact. Celestia was well aware of the rules of the time stream. The past could never be changed, but visions from future still allowed some leeway. If she could act fast enough she could prevent the tragedy. The easiest way would be to preemptively banish Luna. But she would prefer not to have to destroy her relationship with her sister anymore than she already had. She wished she could ask her mother for advice. She always knew just what to say. Celestia stood up and tentatively caressed the canvas of the painting. She had never touched the painting before, not in all the thousands of years she had owned it. She had always believed touching it would wear the paining down and then she would have nothing left of it. Today, however, she just needed to be closer to it, closer to her. She placed her cheek on the picture and sighed. “You’re not coming back. No matter how much I wish. No matter how much I want to speak with you.” She kissed the painting and turned to the door to her room. She glanced briefly at the vanity on the north side of the room. With a small flexing of magic she levitated a series of towels and brushes around her head that fixed her mane and wiped the tears from her eyes. She closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. A false smile adorned her lips as she opened the door and prepared to set about her royal duties. She walked down the halls of the castle. Her poise was regal. Not a single one of her subjects would have known how upset she was inside. Luna might have noticed. Her mother would have certainly. But her guards? Her attendants? The entire rest of Equestira? No. They would never see how much was weighing on her heart. That was her job, to never let them see weakness. Ponies bowed and greeted her as she passed them. The gilded halls of Canterlot Castle had never felt so alone. Even after she had banished Luna to the moon, she still had hope that she would one day return and they could go back to being the best of friends. Now, she knew Luna was going to betray her again. This time, there was no room for leniency. “Fool me once….” She muttered under her breath as she entered the throne room. The guards by the doors closed the grand entrance and took their places alongside the lower sections of the throne’s pedestal. She sat as still as a statue and listened to the water fountain trickle softly. From the windows outside, the glimmer of her barrier spell shimmered. Rising Star, one of her most trusted attendants approached the throne. “Your highness, the citizens are requesting an explanation for the lockdown of the city.” “Tell them it is a precaution against stray Dragons that were separated from the migration. It shall not last long.” Rising Star had never seen the princess so causally deny the truth from her subjects, “Is it a precaution against Dragons?” “No. But that is what you will tell them. Now, go, give them their answer.” The truth was, if Nightmare Moon was indeed the threat, there was little the shield would do to protect Canterlot. In fact it would most likely inhibit proper aid to the city. However, Celestia still did not know the circumstances that would bring about Nightmare Moon’s return. Hopefully, it was an outside source. There were several species in the Known World capable of mind manipulation. If Luna’s emotional state was fragile enough even she, as an Alicorn, could become susceptible to influence. Of course there was always the grim explanation that she had simply never recovered from her resentment. Considering Lulu’s rampart misbehavior since her return, it was more than likely. It was times like these that all precautions needed to be taken and she needed to count her assets. Canterlot was steeled for siege; the princess herself was back to the peak of her magical power after her embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Changeling Queen. What now mattered most was that she needed her trump card to be ready to fight. Nightmare Moon could well match her, but Nightmare Moon was still susceptible to the artifacts of the ancient ones. The Elements of Harmony could nullify the power of an Alicorn like Nightmare Moon for nearly a year, more than plenty enough time for Celestia to figure out how to handle her sister. “Graycoat, fetch me a quill and paper.” An Earth pony stallion guard bowed, “As you wish, my princess.” She watched as the stallion raced off. She focused her gaze forward at the door, lowering her head slightly. The pose was for nothing more than to look picturesque. She found that over the years it made her look commanding and regal, yet approachable and compassionate, which was the exact image she wished to convey. Soon the stallion returned in haste. She levitated the parchment from his mouth and began writing with her quill: My Dear Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle, It has been a few days from your last report. I have yet to hear any progress on your discoveries on friendship as well as the status of your nightmares. I sincerely hope you did not take our last meeting to mean that I am upset with you. While it is true I saw the Celebration of Harmony going differently, you are my dearest friend and student and I only wish to make sure the world sees the best in you. I mean not to impose upon you, as I am sure you are quite busy preparing for the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration, however, I would like to hear from you more often if possible. Always remember that you are welcome to visit Canterlot Castle if you feel you cannot convey your thoughts in writing. Personal visits are also welcome at anytime. As always, the guards have been instructed to allow your entry to the castle even without appointment. I hope to hear from you soon. Your mentor and friend, High Princess Celestia of Equestria She laughed as she put her full title down on the letter, using extreme formality when corresponding with each other was their little joke. They had known each other long enough that they ought to be calling each other by some sort of pet name, but they stuck to full names and titles whenever possible. The joke started somewhere around the time Twilight’s parents had come to pick her up from her private lessons at the Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns, they had heard Twilight call her mentor Celestia sans princess, and they were horror struck at such a lack of manners in the presence of royalty. From then on, Twilight always properly addressed the princess and she returned with overly formal exchanges with her student, calling her Twilight Sparkle, Bearer of the Element of Magic, or Lady Twilight Sparkle, Valedictorian of the School of Gifted Unicorns. She chuckled to herself. Perhaps she should write a few more letters to Twilight, even if they were not intended to be sent. This activity had done wonders for her mood. Still, with a heavy sigh she focused her magic and lit the letter a blaze in a puff of yellow smoke and flame. Twilight hung her head low as they walked to Horseshoe Pond. Luna had her wing draped over the back of her fillyfriend, though it was significantly harder as she was currently posing as Nightsky, the Pegasus. Pinkie Pie was bouncing along next to them, chattering endlessly. Applejack was pulling a whole cart full of apple based food for the picnic. Rarity was lecturing Twilight about how she was not standing up straight and was giving Luna the impression that she did not care about good posture. To be fair, she did not. Shining Armor was attempting to shoot deadly beams of cupcakes at Luna with his eyes. Silently he contemplated if such a spell existed, and if he could in fact learn it. Luna herself was a tad annoyed that she was not getting Twilight all to her, but just seeing how adorable her fillyfriend was when she was overwhelmed was enough for Luna to avoid transforming into Nightmare Moon and blasting the interlopers away with dark magic. The day was exceptionally pleasant, do in no small part to the fact this was a weather compensation day. Every morning, Ponyville, being primarily an agricultural based economy, was given a light rain shower, just enough water to keep the soil fresh and the plants healthy. However every so many weeks there would be a weather compensation day: an off-day where no rain was planned to give the soil time to drain. Thus, on this pleasant morn, the usual puddles were absent and the lack of clouds allowed the sun to give Ponyville a nice warm day. As they approached the pond, they could tell it was going to be just a splendid spot for a picnic, with the morning sun glistening against the water and the soft blue tones of the sky were comforting to the eyes. It would be the absolute storybook definition of romantic. Well at least it would be if it was just the two of them. “Oh would you look at that view!” Rarity squealed with delight, “Darling, I’m telling you right now that when they write the history books about your marriage to the princess, they’ll not have words to describe how romantic your first date was.” “I’m not getting… oh never mind.” Luna pressed her side against Twilight, “You know, now that I think about it, that night at the party might have counted for our first date.” “So that’s where you were at the party!” Applejack said as she spread out the picnic blanket. “Hoo boy, Celestia was mighty tickled pink when you done an’ not shown yer self. Well, an’ then there was Fluttershy…. So maybe she didn’t even really notice you was gone.” Pinkie Pie placed a hoof on her chin, “Tickled pink? How would that work for me? Is there deeper level of pink I could turn?” “I don’t think so, sugarcube.” Twilight sat down on the blanket and Luna sat down next to her. Shining Armor took a seat in between the two ponies. Twilight gave him a scowl and after focusing her magic, she teleported to the other side of Luna. Shining Armor blew a puff of air upwards at his bangs. Rarity sat down on the other side of Twilight and attempted to fix her mane. Twilight sighed, “This day is going to be just… perfect.”