By Ultra1437
Twilight twitched in irritation as she looked over the documents before her. Tossing one aside she thought, ‘No. Too bulky.’ A pair more met their end in a trashbin with similar thoughts as she huffed in irritation and a strand of her mane curled. A dozen after that she nearly yelled, “Is there nothing that would fit her? Nothing at all?” A shadow twitched in the corner behind her, shaking silently, almost laughing.
Resigning her campaign against the documents for now, Twilight got up and made her way out of the room, walking a little more forcefully than she intended.
‘We meet again…’ Twilight thought as she scowled at the large paper pile. She dove in again, tearing through a dozen more documents.
A knock sounded at the door. “Twilight? May I come in?”
Twilight’s ears perked at the welcome distraction as a small smile worked its way to her face. “Luna? Of course, it’s unlocked.” Almost instinctively she nodded, despite Luna not able to see the gesture.
The door opened and Luna stepped through, shutting it behind herself. She gazed at the stack of seemingly-important documents that Twilight was working on. Her eyes widened and she asked, “Is this a bad time?”
Twilight followed Luna’s gaze. Her horn lit and the stack shuffled into one of the desk’s large drawers. “No! No no. This isn’t really important right now, just a pet project. What do you need?”
Luna smirked, it seemed she stumbled upon a secret. Her horn lit and overpowered Twilight’s, setting the stack back on the desk. “It seems like you need my help more than I do yours right now, Twilight Sparkle.” She fixed a serious look on her face before pointing at the stack with a hoof. “Now, what do you need help with? We can get to my issue later.”
“No, really. It’s nothing–” Panicking now, Twilight tried to grab the stack again only to be rebuffed by Luna’s magic. Luna noticed that Twilight’s panic brought a blush to her face.
“It certainly is not ‘nothing’, Twilight. If this is a secret project, I will keep it so, but you are obviously in need of some help with whatever this is.” Luna stepped forward, sitting at the desk, opposite Twilight.
Twilight’s voice squeaked softly, “You promise?”
“I do. Do you wish for me to Pinkie Pie Promise?” Luna held a hoof up, almost starting into the motions.
“No. I trust you, Luna. I… just do not tell Celestia about this.” Luna quirked an eyebrow as Twilight continued, “You will see shortly why.”
Nodding once Luna’s magic faded from the documents and she replied, “Very well. What do you wish for me to do?”
Twilight sighed. She motioned to the stack. “Help me find a blueprint.”
“A blueprint?” Luna’s curiosity piqued and she leaned forward slightly.
“Yes.” Twilight nodded once.
“For what?”
“A starship!” Luna deflated slightly, her posture slouching.
Luna shot a flat stare at Twilight. “That does not answer my question, Twilight. For what reason are you looking for a blueprint of a starship?”
“It…” Twilight’s blush returned and she looked away. “It’s for Celestia. She’s mentioned feeling useless after Equestria turned into a republic.” She looked back at Luna. “I wanted to help her.”
“With a ship?”
“Of course! We can sail the stars, helping everypony in need!” Twilight’s voice rose, her excitement on display for all to see. Her wings unfolded halfway before she reeled the reaction in.
“We?” Luna questioned, her eyebrows seemingly never getting the chance to level out.
“I… had planned on going with her,” she whispered.
“So, this is a gift?”
“Yes.” Twilight nodded meekly.
“I see.” Luna thought for a few seconds, choosing her words carefully. “I can honestly tell you this: the ship you are looking for is not in that pile.” Luna stood and made her way around the desk, sitting next to Twilight. “A gift like this must not come from here,” Luna motioned to the pile. “It must come from here,” Luna’s hoof moved and pressed against Twilight’s barrel, “from the heart. Only then will you have found what you were looking for.”
“But I don’t know how to design a ship–” Luna’s hoof met Twilight’s lips, silencing her softly.
“Think of it this way, that pile there is now study material.” Luna removed her hoof. “We need a few more things though, to make it better. Her horn lit and several history books hit the table next to the stack. “Aha! Combat records of each battle complete with statistics, and testing records of those ships that have not seen combat yet!”
“But how will I know what to–”
“Twilight, believe me. You will know.” Luna grabbed a blank sheet of parchment and a pen. “Let me show you what I mean.” She stood and walked back to the door. “Hold still for a moment, please.”
Overwhelmed, Twilight acquiesced, “Alright.”
Luna’s look turned serious as she started marking the parchment. A few minutes passed silently as she continued. Finally she brightened and said, “Alright, I’m done.”
She walked back over to Twilight and proffered the parchment for her to view.
The parchment was a scene of a ship passing over a hilltop at sunset. Just from looking at it, she knew that the ship was unmistakably her. The sharp angling in the wings’ rears and weapon mounts were offset by rounded leading edges, with a long conic body giving it a fast, powerful frame.
She never even noticed herself and Celestia sitting on the hill, Celestia’s wing around her back.
“Luna… it’s beautiful.” Twilight was left speechless. She grabbed the picture with her magic from Luna, examining it in more detail.
“It’s also completely you,” Luna added simply.
“How did you do that?”
“I have been around a long time, Twilight. I have picked up a few things during my life.”
“Could… could you draw one of Celestia?” Hopefully, Twilight’s ears perked up and she leaned forward slightly.
“No. You must come up with the design on your own.” Twilight’s ears fell as her head dropped. Luna lifted her chin with a hoof to look Twilight in the eyes. “But I can help you.”
The wind was knocked out of Luna’s lungs as Twilight sprung at her, wrapping her in a hug. “Thank you! Thank you thank you thankyouthankyouthankyou!”
Luna laughed weakly, clearly enjoying Twilight’s enthusiasm.
Several years later, Luna sat with Twilight and Celestia as they looked over the completed Celestia.
Luna’s horn lit and a thought landed in Twilight’s mind. “You know, had I drawn Celestia that night, you never would have come up with this ship.”
Twilight smirked and looked at Luna from the corner of her eye. She sent a thought back. “I know. And thank you for pushing me like that.” Another thought floated to Luna after a moment. “You know, I never did find out what you wanted.”
“I was bored and wanted something to do,” was Luna’s cryptic reply.