Stargazers

by Astarea

Ch I - Warming (Rewrite)

Stargazers

Chapter I - Warming

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Daytime was slowly changing into nighttime over the magical land of Equestria. Far way on the distant horizon, the beautiful summer sky changed gradually into the darker hues of the twilight. All over Equestria, streets emptied as ponies returned to their homes to prepare supper.

A shrill cry of panic broke the silence in Ponyville. The last remaining ponies dotting the small town’s streets turned to the source of the scream. But once their eyes landed upon the building that the loud cry had originated from, they shrugged with indifference and went their way. Ponyville was already used to the librarian’s oddities.

The aforementioned library in itself was a sight to see. A massive living tree, hollowed out to house the Books and Branches library of Ponyville. Inside, shelves made mostly from the tree’s wood pulp sagged under the combined weight of many tomes of knowledge. Since the new librarian moved in, the library was always neatly organized, with books lined up perfectly on the shelves according to the library’s main catalogue. Pamphlets and magazines lay on their dedicated racks deeper within the main chamber of the building.

Yet, there was something different about the library this evening. Every spot was polished to a sparkle, and not a single mote of dust could be seen. The library smelled of fresh pine. The building was also filled with a sense of nervous expectation. The reason for this atmosphere was the librarian herself, a lavender colored mare with a dark blue mane and tail; two highlights in her mane, perfectly divided by her horn. The unicorn also sported a starburst Cutie Mark, indicating her deep connection with magic.

Twilight Sparkle - for that was the name of the unicorn - paced nervously on the topmost balcony of the library. The balcony itself was accessible through the mare’s private apartment on the top floor of the tree. The mare stopped occasionally to check the various items gathered for tonight’s stargazing session.

Normally Twilight would not bother so much with the library’s state while she was indulging in her favorite nighttime activity of observing the heavenly bodies. But this time she was expecting a visitor. None other than Princess Luna, the recently returned co-ruler of Equestria, had invited herself to exchange notes and observations on the topic of the night sky.

One might ask how the princess got wind of the activity. Apparently Princess Celestia, Twilight’s mentor and sister to Princess Luna, had been letting her sister read the correspondence exchanged between student and teacher. Twilight didn’t mind that fact.

What irked the lavender unicorn was the fact that there was little to no warning about the visit. The letter detailing the incoming visit had only arrived two hours ago! Twilight spent the time desperately cleaning the building from basement to attic with the help of her draconic assistant, Spike.

After taking inventory of the items on the balcony for the hundredth time, Twilight trotted inside of the building and prepared herself to holler at the top of her lungs.

“Spiiiikeeeee! Did you find the telescope? I could have sworn it was in the top floor storage room!” – She yelled into the building.

Almost immediately, the baby dragon ran into the room, carrying the aforementioned apparatus. The draconic assistant was looking a bit miffed for being yelled at, but quickly composed himself.

“Yes, yes, Twilight. Here you go. It was in the…” – He stopped when a purple aura of magic took the telescope from his grasp, accidentally pulling and effectively tripping him. He unsteadily got back to his feet, dusted himself off – even though the floor was clean and reflective as a mirror – and looked upon his slightly crazy surrogate sister with a smug smirk.

Twilight barely acknowledged her assistant as her magic quickly and precisely re-assembled the telescope. Turning back to him she paused for a second and addressed him.

“I hope you can forgive me for brushing you off like that Spike, but in order for this to work I need to have no distractions. If it helps, I organized for you to sleep over at Rarity’s. Make sure you grab your gems and basket on the way out!” – She quickly told Spike, whose eyes widened at the explanation.

“Whoa, that’s wicked! You got me to stay with Rarity! You’re like the best ever, Twilight!”

“Yes, well, tell me that AFTER you come back and reshelf and dust off the library tomorrow. Now off you go!”

With that, the purple dragon quickly ran out of the room, grabbing his necessities on the way. Finally, Twilight was left alone with her thoughts. Considering her vast intellect and slight obsession, her thoughts quickly went through normal thoughts and went to analyzing her incoming visitor.

Unlike Princess Celestia, who radiated some kind of aura of being untouchable, her younger sister was a bit easier to approach. The lavender unicorn considered it might have been a combination of Luna’s shy personality combined with her lack of knowledge of the modern equish culture. This made it easier for Twilight to relate to the younger alicorn princess, after all, she was also taking her first awkward steps on the social scene and study of friendship.

Twilight noted the sun slowly start on the last stretch before the night and went back to thinking. The move to Ponyville was unwelcome at first, what with all the unpleasantness of the events of that Summer Sun Celebration. Back then when night fell over Ponyville – her second night in her new home – she noticed the magnificent view offered from the balcony. There were no bright lanterns and the sky was mostly unobstructed. This made it perfect for stargazing, even though one third of the sky was hidden from the view by the tree’s corona.

Twilight’s musings were interrupted by soft knocking upon the doors. She muttered something about it being a public library under her breath and went down the stairs, quickly throwing her gaze upon everything on her way, assessing the state of the library. The knock repeated once more and the lavender pony opened the door wide.

On the other side of the door, there stood the younger princess of Equestria, in all her glory. Well, as much as a pony Twilight’s size, shifting nervously from hoof to hoof could be. The lack of light outside prevented Twilight from making more observations as her own body blocked the cone of light coming from indoors. Noticing the awkward silence, she decided to, as they say, break the ice.

“Hello Princess Luna! It’s a pleasure to see you again. Please, do come in.” – she said to the blue alicorn.

Luna shifted nervously once more and, gathering herself, entered the library. The inside lighting allowed Twilight to continue her observations of the visiting pony. Luna’s azure blue coat and lighter blue mane – which unlike her sister’s mane did not sway in an ethereal wind – were ruffled as if she flew against the wind for too long. Her larger than normal wings twitched nervously on her side and a black splotch of night sky with a moon on it adorned her posterior. A scarf decorated with astrological signs was wrapped around the mare’s neck.

Summing up, Twilight compared Luna to a vision of mysterious beauty. It was in that moment that the lavender mare felt her longtime crush (which bordered on unhealthy obsession) on her mentor shifting to the younger alicorn. The unicorn decided that she wanted to know more about the moon princess.

“Hail, Twilight Sparkle.” – Luna exclaimed with mixed uncertainty and authority. – “I am deeply sorry that I arrived earlier than indicated in our correspondence, but my sister convinced me to … raise the moon this evening. It would be my first moonrise since… a very long time…” – She trailed off, looking to Twilight in order to judge the unicorn’s reaction.

“Oh wow, that would be so wonderful, Princess Luna! I’ve always been fascinated by the celestial mechanics of raising the sun. I look forward to seeing you perform such an important act!’

“It is… not as glorious as my sister’s performance may be. My approach is more… subtle than hers is.” – The alicorn deflated, thinking about Twilight’s possible reaction. She still didn’t want to be compared to her sister.

“Oh, there’s no worry, Princess! I love all kinds of magic. My special talent is Magic, after all.” – Twilight assured Luna with a gentle smile.

The mares slowly walked through the library, the alicorn looking around with curiosity while the librarian once again took note of the state of her library. Upon seeing the entire balcony filled with books, star charts and a telescope, Luna cheered up a lot.

“Has the world changed so much? Did ponies really write so much about the wonderful night sky?” – The blue alicorn questioned the librarian enthusiastically.

“Yes. Ever since Princess Celestia scared all of the monsters into the Everfree Forest, ponykind stopped fearing the dark and the night. It’s not as active as the day perhaps, but ponies study the sky in search for the distant past. Some see it as a time of mystery and romance. It’s a shame it took us so long to learn to appreciate yo… the night.”

If Luna noticed the other pony’s slip up, she didn’t give any outward sign. She approached the railing, closing her eyes. Her horn lit up as the last rays of the sun touched her face. Standing like that, Twilight once more compared the alicorn to a vision of beauty.

“Now, watch, Twilight Sparkle. This is a duty I perform only because of my sister and because I feel that you will understand it.” – Luna said as her eyes opened to reveal white orbs of white light.

The librarian stood transfixed on the spot as the celestial spectacle begun, her mouth wide open with wonder. Motes of light shone from Luna’s horn and slowly stars started to light the darkening sky. Once the sun hid beyond the horizon, the moon revealed itself in its glory from beyond the mountains. Luna slowly shut her eyes as her horn extinguished. She turned slowly to examine the unicorn’s reaction.

Twilight stumbled out of her stupor. She closed her mouth and a wide, excited smile appeared on her face. Also, a sparkle ignited in her eyes.

“That… that was different. Both from how it felt when Princess Celestia handled the sun but also how the night… feels. When my teacher raises her sun, it’s full of pomp and enormous amounts of raw power. I’ve always studied to be at the peak of my power, but this… so much precision, such perfect control! And it feels like the night is more… energetic and it’s...” – The unicorn looked at Luna. – “…it’s welcoming you back!”

Luna was shocked. She expected something different from a student of Celestia. They were usually stuck up and constantly sung praise at her sister’s sun. This mare, however, not only gave Luna respect equal to her sister but more than that… she understood the night! It was invigorating and much unexpected, very unusual for a normal unicorn.

“I… thank you Twilight Sparkle.” – She said in a quiet but grateful tone. The passion in the unicorn’s voice made her blush.

“No, Princess, don’t thank me. I should be the one thanking you for that amazing demonstration. And please, call me by my first name. When ponies use my full name I expect I’m in trouble again for reading past my bedtime or rearranging Canterlot Library books into a book fort…” – Now it was Twilight’s time to blush as she realized what she had revealed. Luna chuckled at the images.

“Well then, Twilight, it should only be fair you drop my title and use my name. And do not worry, you find yourself in the company of a fellow scholar. I have also overindulged myself in good books from time to time.”

“If that’s your wish, Pri… Luna.” – The lavender pony replied, testing the name without the honorific. It felt… right. – “Now, Luna, would you care to see what ponies have figured out about the night sky during your absence?”

“That would be most wonderful, thank you.” – The alicorn replied as both mares approached the telescope and star charts.

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The two ponies spent hours and hours discussing the beautiful night sky without even scratching the surface of all the knowledge gathered around. As the night got darker it also got colder, and the mares shifted subconsciously closer to each other, until they finally bumped sides together.

Both jumped back, surprised by the sudden closeness and locked hesitant eyes. After moments of deliberation, they sat back together and Luna put a wing around Twilight. The alicorn noticed that the lavender pony was still shivering. She took her scarf in her magic and offered half of it to her companion, so they could share it.

Twilight accepted the scarf and a smile slowly spread on her face as she looked up at the sky. She felt safe sitting next to Luna, who somehow made her feel more complete and at peace with herself than she had ever felt. Seeing the unicorn so enthralled by her night, Luna decided to give Twilight a gift.

“Look to the northern parts of the sky, Twilight” – The alicorn said with a small smile and slowly lit her horn.

Without warning, pinpricks of light appeared on the night, slowly changing to lines as they started to streak across the sky. After a second, Twilight realized what the mysterious objects were.

“Falling stars…” – The lavender mare whispered with awe and reverence in her voice.

Yes. Now, make a wish, my dearest friend.” – Luna whispered back.

“I wish we could stay like this forever.”

Author's Note:

Once again, rewritten to achieve a better flow.

Comments

[TheGloriousG]

"Luna slowly shit her eyes as her horn extinguished."

So I'm pretty sure that it's not meant to be shit in that sentence, but other than that nice rewrite.