//------------------------------// // Six/ Snow // Story: A Moonlit Balcony // by aquilerafroot //------------------------------// Brisk winds rippled Luna’s mane as her chariot sped towards Ponyville. The sun was at its zenith, but white droplets still misted up in front of her with every breath. She had her traveling cloak on, which billowed behind her in the icy currents of wind that swept past as her Night Guard pulled in their wings to start their descent. The princess noted that the town already had its first layer of snow, lying like a white blanket over the once-familiar features of the landscape. First buildings, then individual ponies started to become discernable as her chariot gradually glided to a halt in front of the library. She gracefully stepped down from her transport, the guards saluting to her before taking off again in a flurry of displaced white fluff. The few ponies that had braved the colder weather bowed to the princess, some with adoring calls of, “Princess Luna!” Luna smiled. “Good afternoon, my dear ponies.” She waved to them, and then turned to knock on the door of the tree house. Within a few seconds it swung open, the inside of the house emanating warmth, but there was nopony behind it, only tall shelves arranged around the room and stacks of books scattered beside a writing stand. “Hello Princess! Nice to see you.” The voice made her look down – a purple dragon stood at the door, waving a claw at her. “Hello,” Luna said, cocking her head curiously at her welcomer. “Come on in!” Spike raised an eyebrow slightly, noticing Luna’s inquiring look. “Um, are you all right, Princess?” “I was just wondering how I should address you.” The dragon chuckled sheepishly. “Right, sorry! Name’s Spike, I’m Twilight’s number one assistant!” “Her scribe, you mean? What tasks do you perform as her scribe, then?” “Scribe? What’s a scribe?” “You serve Twilight and run errands for her as she sees fit, do you not?” Luna almost pursed her lips but hastily arranged them back into a smile. “Uh, yeah, like I said, I’m her number one assistant.” Spike scratched his face with a claw, his expression confused. Luna nodded, following the dragon inside, and looked around. “Twilight’s still getting ready but she’ll be down in a moment – would you like something to drink while you wait, Princess?” Spike asked as he led the alicorn to a few cushions laid out in the main room. “That would be wonderful, thank you.” Luna inclined her head and settled down on one of the cushions rather stiffly, glancing around again. “What would you like, I mean?” Spike asked uncertainly, pausing on the way to the kitchen. “Tea please, if you have it.” One corner of the princess’ mouth turned up in a patient smile. “Right.” The baby dragon shuffled his feet. “Er, what flavor?” “Any flavor will do.” Luna fluffed her feathers and tried to settle in a more comfortable position, but frowned again after the dragon had entered the kitchen – there was something strange about their exchange that she couldn’t quite put her hoof on. Spike reappeared after a few moments, a cup of steaming daffodil tea in his claws. “Here you go, Princess.” “Thank you.” The alicorn took the cup with her magic, and at that moment she heard what sounded like a pony stumbling, followed by a series of loud thuds. She looked around again, her expression hopeful. A few seconds later, Twilight hurtled down the stairs, skidding to a stop and looking at Luna in alarm. “Luna! You’re early!” Her mane was disheveled, her coat mussed and there was a damp brown splotch on her chest, the liquid dribbling down her hoof and leaving a sweet-smelling puddle on the floor. The unicorn glanced nervously at her coat and her voice became quieter. “Very early…” “I completed my duties ahead of schedule so I decided to arrive earlier, it’s much better than spending time with those stuffy officials.” Luna tilted her head, biting her lip. “I’m sorry, are you busy? I do not mind just waiting till our arranged time.” “N-no, of course not, I was just finishing up my research into chocolate.” Twilight chuckled weakly. “Chocolate? What for?” “Oh, well…” Twilight shiftily looked to the side, smiling a little too widely. “No reason!” “Could I see what progress you have made?” Luna asked the unicorn, intrigued. “No!” Twilight gasped, but quickly clapped a hoof to her mouth. “I mean, um, it’s ongoing research!” She nodded frantically. “I’ll show you once I’m happy with my results.” “I understand.” Luna tried to keep her face from falling. “Would you like to finish your research before we do anything, then?” “That can wait, there’s actually more we can do now that you’re here.” Twilight frowned briefly. “Though I might have to adjust my schedule a bit, hmm.” She trotted to her writing stand and levitated out a schedule book. “Hmm, we could do this, I think there’s even time for this… Would you like to get something to eat from Sugar Cube Corner? Pinkie Pie works there, she’s the one that’s been teaching me to bake.” Luna nodded, forcing a smile back on her face. “Anything will do.” “Hmm, maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.” Twilight looked at Luna before scratching something out in her book. “How about a walk through Whitetail Wood?” Luna kept nodding. “Anything would be fine with me, really.” “Are you sure?” Twilight bit her lower lip. “I don’t want you to feel like you need to agree with everything I suggest.” “Not at all, I am happy to do as you propose. I am not as familiar with Ponyville as you, after all.” “All right then, Spike,” she turned to the baby dragon, “Luna and I are going for a walk, can you take care of the library while I’m gone?” “You can count on me!” Spike snapped off a salute and tried to hide his relief. Twilight turned back to the alicorn. “Shall we?” She took a few steps toward the door, but upon noticing that she was leaving sticky chocolate hoofprints she grinned sheepishly. “Right, could you wait for just a moment? Oh, and I wanted to show you something first!” She teleported back up the stairs before Luna could say a word. Several faint bubbling and snapping sounds floated down the stairs, then the bedroom door slammed and down trotted Twilight, her coat and mane free of the dark sticky liquid, and a light pink saddle with fluffy white trim adorning her back. Luna gaped, feeling a little faint, the blood rising to her cheeks in a way she was sure was clearly visible even with her dark coat; she barely registered that her mouth was slightly lopsided and twitching. It isn’t like that anymore, it isn’t like that anymore… she reminded herself, squeezing out a smile from her rigid expression. “It-it’s lovely,” she managed to force out. “It’s okay, Luna…” Twilight pawed a hoof on the ground, at first confused but then understanding. “You don’t have to say you like it if you don’t.” “No!” Luna shook her head frantically. She straightened her expression with an effort. “No, Twilight, it was just, I was just a bit surprised. I like it, and it looks good on you.” The unicorn beamed, relieved. “I’m so glad you do!” “It really does look good on you – it brings out the pink in your mane,” the dark alicorn said quietly, almost demurely. “Rarity made it for me, that reminds me, we should probably be going now.” “Yes, of course.” Twilight opened the door and trotted outside. “So, where would you like to go?” Luna followed her out onto the snow covered street. “Maybe we could visit your other friends, as you suggested?” “Oh! I thought you didn’t want to?” Twilight shot a confused look at Luna, but immediately chastised herself. Why do I always say things I shouldn’t? She didn’t seem that enthusiastic before though… “No, no, I never said that,” Luna replied hastily. “Oh.” Twilight looked even more confused, but recovered quickly. “Let’s go to Sugarcube Corner then? I’m sure Pinkie would love to know you better.” “Isn’t she the -” Luna frowned, her expression darkening before she could fight it back. She hadn’t thought any more of it when Twilight had mentioned Pinkie Pie in Canterlot but being in Ponyville again jogged her memory – a pink pony, shrieking in horror… “Hmm?” Twilight had started to canter down the street, but now turned back to Luna. “She was frightened of me last time.” Luna hesitated, her hoofsteps slowing. “No, no, she was just pretending! Apparently she likes to do that now and then. She’s a little, well, random, if you’re not used to it.” “Pretending to be scared? Why would she do that?” Luna frowned, her ears drooping. Twilight shrugged. “I have no idea, but she’s really nice once you get to know her.” “I-I’m not sure.” “If you don’t want to do this then it’s fine, we can go somewhere else.” Twilight pawed a hoof in the snow. “Could we talk to Pinkie Pie again next time?” Twilight nodded. “Then is there anypony else you’d like to meet?” “I believe I have met all your friends twice before.” Luna licked her suddenly dry lips, her voice small. “Though the first time wasn’t under the best of circumstances.” “Except for Rarity,” Twilight corrected Luna as she looked in the direction of the Boutique. “She was too busy making nice costumes for everypony else last time! So would you like to meet her again?” “Yes, I’d like that, given that we didn’t have the chance to talk on Nightmare Night.” Twilight nodded, leading the princess through the streets until they came to a tall building decorated in the style of a colourful carousel – which, Luna thought, was very fitting given its name. Twilight pushed open the door and a cheery, melodious voice rang out. “Welcome to the Carousel Boutique-” The alabaster unicorn saw Twilight and waved. “Twilight!” “Hey Rarity!” Luna stepped inside as well, and upon seeing her the fashionista promptly dropped the pair of scissors and ribbons she was levitating, moving out from behind her working table. “Rarity, this is Luna; Luna, this is Rarity.” “A pleasure to meet you, Rarity.” Luna inclined her head in greeting and smiled at Rarity. “It is an honor, Princess.” Rarity beamed and curtsied. “How may I be of assistance?” Luna was taken aback by Rarity’s question and glanced at Twilight for some assistance, but her friend was looking at Rarity with a grin. She couldn’t tell if some secret signal passed between them, but the fashionista suddenly beamed and clapped her hooves together. “Ooh, I have the most wonderful idea!” She turned to Luna, nodding to herself as her gaze swept along the other’s body. “Princess, would you allow me to take your measurements?” “I… of course?” Luna looked to Twilight again for any sign of what they were planning, but the lavender unicorn only gave her an encouraging nod before looking back to Rarity. The fashionista led Luna to a pedestal, Twilight following behind, and took out a few measuring tapes and a clipboard. Rarity’s blue aura surrounded the tapes, alternately curling and straightening them around the blue alicorn in practiced movements. Finally the alabaster unicorn let the tapes drop, once again beaming; she pranced over to her drawing board and sketching materials, gesturing to her guests to make themselves comfortable on the two cushions beside it. “It won’t take too long,” she chimed as Twilight and Luna settled down on the cushions. Rarity floated up a piece of charcoal, drawing a rough outline of a saddle much like Twilight’s, but sleeker and longer, with more elegant curves and more lace along the borders. She then showed it to the librarian and the princess. “What do you think of this design?” Luna felt her body heat rising again, her sweat glands suddenly fully functional despite the cool weather, and nervously looked at the lavender unicorn, who looked back expectantly. “Oh, well, it’s wonderful…” she said, involuntarily leaning back, her voice becoming smaller and smaller. That however was enough to satisfy the fashionista, who immediately got to her hooves and levitated different bolts of fabric of varying shades of purple, cutting them into interlacing pieces according to her design. She then assembled and sewed up the pieces into a finished saddle, though without the lace and straps, making a few notes on her design where she felt the buckles could be attached more comfortably. She floated out more fabric of a stiffer quality, which she then cut out, curving and stitching together several pieces to make the central part which would rest over Luna’s back. She then cut more pieces of satiny lavender fabric, sewing it on the top and back separately. With a fluid motion she spread a length of indigo ribbon along the border, weaving it in ripples before stitching them up. The needle and thread flowed up and down, spacing the stitches in precisely identical intervals, Rarity’s skilled and elegant threadwork like a performance in itself. Luna rested her head on her hooves, leaning onto Twilight. “She truly is talented, is she not?” Her thoughts then took a more unpleasant turn as she remembered that it was a saddle – for her – that Rarity was making, her smile vanishing. Luckily for her Twilight had her attention on the fashionista, and did not notice. “Yeah, she’s very talented,” she replied, her voice swelling with pride for her dressmaker friend. Rarity turned the saddle, securing and sewing the straps and buckles on with quick strokes of her needle, then trotted to the two other mares, a bright smile on her face. “Would you like to try it on, Princess?” “Ah, I…” Luna glanced around nervously, her stomach fluttering with a strange sensation. Rarity took that as a yes, and levitated the lavender saddle onto Luna’s back, fastening the buckles. “It looks wonderful on you, Princess!” Not noticing Luna’s distress and her stammering, the two unicorns looked her over; to Luna it was as if she was somehow being laid bare, naked with nothing but shame, her dignity in tatters. She scrunched her eyes, thoughts swirling around in her clouded mind, and although she tried to push it away the unwelcome feelings still surfaced. The saddle, in olden times, was designed as a suggestive outfit for consorts; the frills and straps only heightened the already flagrantly sexual appearance. But of course nowadays it was only an everyday garment, right? The princess tensed, gulping. It was like her mind was snagged by a net, pulling her deeper down into murky waters. She bolted to her hooves, shaking her head slightly, her breath hitching. “We need to… go out for some fresh air,” she said frantically, shakily undoing the clasps and loosening the saddle before tossing it on the ground and bolting out. Both Rarity and Twilight followed the princess’ retreat with stunned, wide eyes; in a burst of magic the door slammed shut again, leaving the two unicorns alone in the Boutique. “Don’t worry Rarity… it was probably something I said,” Twilight said quickly, noticing Rarity’s wide eyes and half-open mouth. She stepped to her friend’s side and wrapped a hoof over her withers. “I’ll go look for her, and if she doesn’t want the saddle in the end, I’ll take it.” Rarity took a deep breath, looking at the door. “I do hope she’s all right, she didn’t seem very well.” “I don’t know. Sometimes she just thinks everything is her fault.” “Then she needs you Twilight, you can cheer her up and talk some sense into her.” The fashionista nodded and pulled away from Twilight gently. “Like you’ve always done for me.” “She doesn’t really listen to me all the time, but I’ll try.” Twilight nodded back, trotting to the door and looking over her shoulder. “Go now, before she feels even worse.” Rarity made a shooing motion with her hoof. “Got it. Thanks for the saddle, Rarity!” Opening the door, Twilight stepped out into the cool winter air in search of her companion. After thinking for a moment she turned right, taking the route leading away from the center of town. She was worried and without a single clue as to where Luna had gone, but decided that the princess would want to be alone. As she trotted across the bridge that Luna had moped on during Nightmare Night she looked up into the sky, wondering if the princess might have flown off. The winds were a bit chilly and she forced herself to hurry her steps, glad that she had her saddle on for some protection against the cold. After tromping further through the snow and past some trees she eventually reached the clearing containing Nightmare Moon’s statue with still with no sign of the alicorn; she was just about to turn back when she heard a soft thudding noise that repeated once in a while. She pushed through the trees, dislodging a few clumps of snow, following the sound as it grew louder, now accompanied by a faint humming as well. Using her magic to move away a few branches that were in her way, she broke into another, smaller clearing. A huge snow castle, almost as tall as the trees and resembling the ruins in the Everfree, dominated the clearing. A dark blue aura surrounded the glistening icicle balustrades and delicate ice window panes, more of which were being constructed in a flurry of movement at such high speeds and with such precise use of a large amount of magic that Twilight’s horn tingled from the ambient magical residue. She watched with awe as snow liquefied before spreading out and solidifying again, and to the side a large mound was lifted and shaped into perfect, heavy rectangles. They thumped to the ground in precise alignment - which Twilight recognised as the source of the thudding she had followed - before magic worked on them to carve out ridges and towers. Twilight stood breathless, staring at the snow fortress, before finally edging around one of the ‘wings’ of the castle. Luna was lying there, seemingly not feeling the coldness of the snow underneath her. Luna raised her head weakly upon hearing the light hoofsteps , her eyes widening as she took in the sight of the unicorn approaching. As soon as she recognized Twilight all of the magic-induced movement came to a standstill; the lunar princess herself was also motionless, as if the cold of the surface she was on had spread up to her limbs. “Oh... hello Twilight,” she mumbled. “Luna, I’m sorry about whatever upset you back there! It’s okay if you don’t like the saddles.” The unicorn took a few steps towards Luna. “I did mean it when I said yours looks good on you, it’s just…”The princess shook her head infinitesimally, opening her mouth a few times before licking her lips. “I’m just not used to… seeing ponies… in saddles.” “Well, I know that they only started becoming popular in the last two hundred years, so that explains why you’re not used to them.” “Yes, my sister has told me that they are common now, but they… had a much different meaning in the past.” She blushed at the memories before continuing. “I’m so sorry for leaving like that, it was rude.” Luna averted her gaze, her mane drifting to cover her face. “It’s all right, Luna.” Twilight inched closer to Luna slowly, before looking at the snow structure. “This is a pretty great snow castle you’ve built,” she said brightly, trying to distract her companion from her thoughts. “It’s a model of the castle where my sister and I lived, a long time ago. I – I hope Rarity is not upset with me.” “She’s not, trust me.” Twilight looked at the sculpture again, the corners of her mouth tilting up. “Say, Luna, have you played in the snow before?” “Well, if you count this?” Luna gestured to the ice castle. “Playing, that is having fun, is it not?” “Yes it is…” Twilight smiled impishly, scooping up some of the nearby snow and compressing it into a floating ball. With a flick of her magic she then sent the projectile hurtling towards Luna. Instinctively Luna tensed, her face twisting into a grimace as she deflected it away with a small shield, the thin blue aura shimmering in front of the snowball and sending it off course. “Why did you?” Twilight giggled, trotting over to Luna and looking up into her friend’s eyes. “It’s called a snowball fight! Ponies throw snow at each other for fun.” Luna relaxed, breaking out into a smile. “For fun? Then it is not because - because you dislike me.” She levitated up a few balls, a twinkle in her eyes. “Of course not!” Twilight tossed another ball at Luna, who didn’t block it this time, letting the ice hit her and slide down her coat. The princess retaliated with missiles of her own, creating more and more balls which she lobbed at the unicorn in quick succession, taking care not to use too much force. Some Twilight dodged, but many found their mark, squelching into her coat and dripping down her mane. They grinned at each other goofily, and Twilight shook herself of the ice that had lodged in her coat. They circled around each other, biding their time, until Luna broke the impasse with a well-aimed shot at the unicorn’s torso. Twilight skipped out of the way of the next hail of attacks, her hooves tossing up the white fluff and her breath coming out as a pale mist. “Missed!” “You’re fast,” Luna giggled, dancing nimbly out of the way as a few snowballs shot towards where she had been only moments before. Unseen by her though, one of them curved right back, impacting on her flank with a splatter of ice. Luna’s eyes glinted and magic flared up around her horn, snowballs erupting from the snow all around Twilight and arcing down to home in on their target. The smaller mare immediately flared up her horn as well, a shield shimmering in place to deflect them. The lunar princess pouted. “I thought you didn’t want to use shields, that is why I didn’t use them!” Twilight grinned sheepishly. “You’re right, I probably couldn’t have hit you if you’d used them – no shields from now on, sorry!” She pelted more icy projectiles at her friend, who flapped her wings and sped in a semicircle around the lavender unicorn, launching more missiles that trailed a cool blue aura. Cantering in pursuit, Twilight dragged up a large cloud of snow as she ran and hurled it towards Luna as soon as she landed on the ground again. The princess answered with an even bigger cloud, the two colliding with each other in the air; it was as if the snow had exploded, ice flecks flying everywhere then slowly settling. The alicorn leapt up and spread her wings again, swooping up then diving down towards her friend, her horn lighting up. A wave of snow curved up in front of Twilight - who wasn’t quick enough to respond as her attention was fixed on Luna - before washing over her and coating her all over in white. Disappearing in a magenta flash, Twilight reappeared right behind the princess, levitating another cloud of snow and dropping it right on her just as Luna looked back and tried to jump out of the way. Luna shook herself and narrowed her eyes, though she was grinning. “This is fun!” she exclaimed joyously, before teleporting behind Twilight as well, a dozen snowballs at the ready. Twilight disappeared again, just as a few of the balls smacked into her coat, and Luna immediately leapt out of the way, narrowly dodging more snowballs that came from behind her once again. They caught each other’s eye and giggled, then resumed trying to get behind each other in flashes of magenta and dark blue magic, making projectiles that grew larger and larger with each failed attempt. Lighting up her horn again, Twilight managed to escape the latest horde of missiles – each as large as a watermelon – and reappeared again, smacking right into Luna. The princess was knocked over, just as surprised at the sudden collision, and they landed heavily in a tangle on the ground, sending up a flurry of snow. Luna craned her neck awkwardly, her body pressed firmly on the ice. Twilight’s head was in the curve under the alicorn’s chin, her cheek pressed into the ice and her torso resting on Luna’s side, pinning down her foreleg. They were both panting slightly, and they could feel each other’s breathing though their physical contact. “Sorry,” Twilight mumbled, giggling and trying to squirm upright. Her movements only succeeded in making her slide down onto the ice beside her friend, so she tilted her head up to look Luna in the eye. The lunar princess grinned back; while it wasn’t the most comfortable thing, lying in the snow, somehow neither of them felt any immediate need to get up. She didn’t know what made her do it, but she wrapped a hoof around Twilight and pulled her closer. Twilight snuggled up to her, leaning against her chest. “That was great, like a game and magic practice all rolled into one!” Luna chuckled. “We could do it more often if you’d like – there are some more creative methods I can think of that I could show you.” She moved her hoof down, brushing against Twilight’s saddle, and suddenly all the conflicting thoughts and emotions came crashing back; she had been distracted from them by the snowball fight, but now that Twilight was actually lying beside her, in her hooves… Though she didn’t want to think about it, Twilight’s coat was warm and soft, a marked contrast to the cold and hard surface she was lying on; her mane was redolent with the faint, lingering scent of shampoo, a fragrance that refused to go away even though Luna’s breathing was becoming more and more shallow. She was sure something would happen to her ribcage – and was it even possible for so much blood to flow into her face and ears? For the second time that day, she found her sweat glands working uncomfortably well despite the weather; she squirmed a bit, hoping Twilight wouldn’t notice. The most logical course of action was to just let go and stand up, but somehow she couldn’t bring herself to do that – a tiny voice in her brain was telling her that every second stolen was another second gained. It didn’t help that the unicorn nuzzled her every once in a while, holding her just as closely as she was doing, her chest heaving against Luna’s with every breath Twilight took. The first time she had met Twilight she had noted a certain self-consciousness with which she carried herself; a result, the alicorn was sure, of the responsibility that came with being her sister’s pupil and one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria. She had thought of her lavender friend’s attractiveness in the same manner as that of mares she had admired in the past – not just their physical appeal, but the kind of attractiveness that came with respect. Luna was no stranger to admiring mares; many had caught her eye throughout the long years, be it for one or both reasons; she admired her sister as well for her grace and dignity. Now, looking down again, holding Twilight’s gaze, she was surprised to realize how keenly she could feel the rise and fall of Twilight’s chest against hers and the warm, moist breath on her muzzle. Her lungs felt like they had seized up and she had to force herself to take a breath, the scent of Twilight’s shampoo and sweat again filling them. She wished her senses were not as highly attuned to her friend as they were now, the intoxicating aromas already clouding her mind. She leaned forward, brushing Twilight’s muzzle with her own. The next thing she knew, her mouth had found the unicorn’s lips.