Stargazers

by Astarea

Ch II - Releasing (Rewrite)

Stargazers

Chapter II - Releasing

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The next year passed in a blur of activity. Between the various catastrophes that befell both Ponyville and Equestria and the constant influx of new and additional duties that Luna seemed to be given, her visits to Twilight were shorter and shorter with each secret meeting. Yet, the relationship between the blue alicorn and the lavender unicorn was growing steadily and soon Twilight considered Luna to be one of her best female friends.

With the passing time, Twilight noticed something new about Luna. She was becoming fidgety and unfocused. The Moon Princess seemed to have problems with her own attention and sometimes acted as if Twilight wasn’t there. There was genuine surprise on her face sometimes when the unicorn spoke up after a long period of quiet and she would jump suddenly when touched.

When Twilight mentioned this weird behavior in one of her letters to Princess Celestia, her mentor tried her best to help her sister and her student. Yet there was not much she could do, aside from giving various tips about Luna. She also advised Twilight that Luna’s behavior might be influenced by the phases of the moon.

Twilight, as it was in her inquisitive nature, proceeded to make observations and spent days drawing various charts, graphs and diagrams. After all, proper prior preparation and precautionary planning prevent poor performance! Finally, she came to the only possible conclusion - there was no relation between the phases and Luna’s moods. What was going on with her friend, then?

There was one other method that Twilight could use to ascertain what was happening with the alicorn. She could magically scan the other mare. The problem with this method was that it was considered rude when performed without permission. There was no other way, though and the lavender unicorn had grown too close to Luna to simply give up.

So during one of the visits she discreetly cast the spell and waited for results. But Luna felt the intrusion and before it could finish completely, she just stood up and left. Twilight was distracted with the acquired data, so she didn’t take notice of the Moon Princess’s abrupt departure. The unicorn rushed to her basement.

There, the various machines used preciously to scan Pinkie Pie were easily reconfigured to analyze the spell composition from the data Twilight received from her scan. The results were quite clear and with the exception of Twilight’s magic there was only one spell active on Luna.

‘This equation makes no sense! Spells with such formulae were only used in the past by… Huh… This can’t be the case. The effect is magnified a thousand fold! This would make the spell… Oh no… I have to quickly find Luna!’ – Twilight thought, reading the results.

But the Moon Princess already left. The unicorn uneasily decided to postpone the confrontation until the next visit. When the date of the meeting came and Luna didn’t arrive, Twilight began to worry.

‘Did I offend Luna so much? Does she hate me now? Will she tell everything to Princess Celestia? Will she be disappointed in me?’ – Twilight’s thoughts took a turn into the worse as she stumbled backwards into a shelf, hyperventilating.

Luckily the collision caused a book to fall on Twilight’s head and knock her out. She was later found out cold by her friends. They took the time to listen about a mysterious friend, whom Twilight apparently offended. Most agreed that Twilight should simply give her friend some time and then try to apologize.

So time went on and there were no news from Luna. However, Twilight waited patiently, believing in her friends’ advice.

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Everything changed that Nightmare Night. After a crazy two weeks of Discord and Twilight’s mental breakdown, Luna came to Ponyville. Unlike her previous visits though, Luna looked and acted completely different. She didn’t acknowledge Twilight, she spoke in an unusual way and her new looks confused the unicorn. The Moon Princess looked her part now – her mane was blowing in an ethereal wind with stars shining in it. Her coat was a darker color. She also stood taller than most ponies, with the exception of Big Macintosh or Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor.

After all the events of the night, Twilight cornered Luna in an enclosed clearing in the Everfree Forest and tried to explain things to her. At first, the princess appeared confused and didn’t seem to remember any meetings with Twilight. But suddenly a spark appeared in her eyes and Luna embraced the smaller mare.

“We remember! We art sorry for Our oversight, dearest Twilight. ‘Tis as if a veil was lifted from Our eyes! We… I mean, I… have been neglecting thou!” – She apologized, crestfallen.

“It’s okay, Luna. At first I thought that you needed some time away from me, but I recently looked over the results of my spell probe and figured out what the problem is with your… erratic behavior.” – Twilight said and the alicorn raised an eyebrow.

“We remember thine spell. It was not very polite of thou to cast it without Our permission. Pray tell, what could this problem be?”

“Do you know the practice of unicorn mothers of old, that consisted of casting a protection spell over young foals, to prevent them from being forced into unwanted… well, coupling?” – Twilight asked with a blush.

“Indeed. We… I remember Our… my mother casting the spell on me… It was such a long time ago.” – Luna replied with a thoughtful frown on her face.

“You see… according to my probe from our last meeting, there is only one spell active on you. It’s… the protection spell.”

“But… from what We… I know of the spell, it should have worn off a long time ago, with my passing into marehood.”

“Normally that would be the case… but according to the probe, you had it cast on you about a year and a half ago.” – Twilight explained, avoiding Luna’s eyes.

“A year and a half? But why would… Ah. Our… my return!” – exclaimed the Moon Princess with sudden fierceness. – “If this is Tia’s idea of a prank then…” – She trailed off.

“No, Luna. It seems like the spell has been… Well… Princess Celestia made… a mistake. It looks like she cast the spell not only upon your return, but once in the past as well. According to my research and calculations, she did not take into account her power and basically… made the spell a thousand times more potent than it should ever be.”

The mares sat in complete silence for a while, Luna absorbing what has been said and Twilight shifting nervously opposite her. Finally, Luna’s eyes widened as realization struck.

“You mean to tell me that…! All of that time alone, friendless and bottling all my growing feelings was a result of… a mistake? Because my sister overpowered a SIMPLE SPELL?” – The alicorn asked, confused and angry.

“Yes. And it seems that it’s happening again. The spell is powered by your own magic now, so the more you return into your element, the more it binds you and the further you lose interest in all relations with ponies. But on full moons, when your power peaks, your nature slightly overpowers the barrier. That’s when you try to befriend ponies.”

“That is troublesome. Is there a way to remove the spell?” – Luna asked. – “I would ask my sister but I sense it would be very awkward for the both of us.”

“You’re in luck Luna! Of all the ponies in Equestria, only three ponies have the power and knowledge to perform such magic. As your sister’s student, I have the highest chance of achieving success. Well… other than the original caster, Princess Celestia herself.”

Luna thought for a second, her mind working out the pros and cons and of course the first were more numerable than the latter. She needed to be free.

“Do it.” – She said with determination, approaching the lavender unicorn.

Twilight nodded in response and used her magic to clear a patch of land around Luna. She then carved various paths and symbols inside of a crude circle. Finally, looking at Luna, she lit her horn and made a stabbing motion in the direction of the alicorn. Sweat started to fall from Twilight’s brow as she concentrated on supplying power to the unbinding spell. There was a sound like a rope snapping and Luna visibly relaxed.

Now that the barrier was gone, their shared feelings, preciously strong enough to seep through the barrier, returned magnified. Both Luna and Twilight suddenly understood what the feeling was. It was as if they could finally see each other clearly.

Both mares approached each other carefully, slowly, as if testing the ground. Neither of them broke eye contact as the distance between them reduced to mere inches. With a soft sound, their muzzles connected in a first, tentative kiss as their eyes closed.

The kiss was nothing epic, just a simple peck, but for both of the ponies it was glorious. Twilight decided to kiss Luna once more, just to feel that feeling again. This time, however, Luna opened her mouth and pushed her tongue out, deepening the kiss. This new sensation proved to be too much for both as they felt lost for an eternity.

Both mares emerged from the deep kiss, requiring air. They gently embraced each other and sat in the clearing, watching the stars winking at them from the beautiful night sky above. An hour later, they retired to the library.

Before dawn, Luna woke up in Twilight’s bed. Still sweaty from the passionate night she shivered in the predawn cold air. She placed the quilt over the lavender mare, hugged Twilight and kissed her on the forehead. With a last look at her newfound love, the alicorn flew out through the balcony door, heading for Canterlot.

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Arriving in Canterlot, Luna quickly navigated the palace, approaching the giant double door to her sister’s chambers. The two Guards, stationed on both sides, scampered away as the entrance was thrown open with the dark blue alicorn’s magic.

Inside, bathed in a dim, false sunlight, were her sister’s rooms. In Luna’s opinion they were much too opulent compared to the previous accommodations in the Everfree Castle. Several hoof-crafted pieces of white wood furniture stood here and there. A majestic desk stood to one side, covered in several documents and scrolls. Half a dozen bookcases filled with romance, of all the things, stood against the main wall. In the middle of the room, there lay a giant velvet pillow, on which her elder sister currently slept. With a mischievous smirk, Luna silently approached the white alicorn and with a giant intake of air, unleashed the power of the Royal Canterlot Voice.

“Wake up dearest Tia! You have some explaining to do!” – Luna exclaimed and the voice shook the entire palace. She could hear glass breaking in the distance.

Celestia stood up with a start, her sleepy eyes filled with panic as her messy bedmane tangled around her. She did a double take as her eyes fell upon her sister and she relaxed, slipping her peaceful mask back on. She graced Luna with an irritated smile.

“Lulu, dearest sister! How many times have I told you? Do not wake me before I need to raise the sun, unless there is an emergency? And I told you, nobody uses the Royal Canterlot Voice anymore.” – She chided, regaining her patience.

Now that Celestia looked at her own sister properly, there was something different about her. She wasn’t furious but looked irked, just like she did in the past when a prank backfired and Celestia caught her in a counter-prank. This was new.

“’Tis… I mean… It is true. But you have to explain yourself. Then, after I feel you understand what happened, you will join me in scouring the Royal Archives. There’s a need for Starswirl’s book.”

Celestia perked up, hearing that. If Luna mentioned his book, things were going to get interesting in Ponyville soon.

“Are you saying my student is ready for the next level?” – She asked to clarify. – “Did she achieve another impossible thing? You know she needs to understand the magic of friendship to pass the final test.”

“Nay, she is not ready. But from what I know of her, it will be soon, very soon. She has shown me her true power by breaking your enchantment. Besides, it will take a long time to find the blasted book, you never remember when you put away your things…” – Luna trailed off, seeing as Celestia had perked up even more.

“I’m proud of her, although I have to admit, I am confused right now. What enchantment? And don’t tell me she got the ward over Ponyville. It took me ages to set that up!” – The white alicorn complained.

“She broke the maternal protection spell over me.” – Luna replied, with an angry blush.

Celestia was once again confused and pondered the answer for a second, frowning.

“Why would she need to break that? It shouldn’t be there as it was meant to dissolve on its own a long time ago. I cast it so it would last only half a month to protect you from some of the… advances you might have received.”

“Yes, yes, I know your overprotectiveness. Sadly, you forgot to take your power into account, as usual. If it wasn’t for Twilight’s intervention it would have vanished on its own, aye, but only after six hundred years!” – Luna ended with an angry exclamation. – “Just. Like. Before!”

The implications of the last sentence which was said between her younger sister’s teeth made Celestia balk. She quickly ran to the blue alicorn, trying to embrace her in an apologetic hug. Luna reluctantly returned the embrace.

“I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry, little sister. It seems that because of my good intentions, I have made even more mistakes than I realized…. I thought I was protecting you! Instead I have driven everypony away from you! Will you find it in your heart to forgive me once more?” – Celestia asked, tearing up.

Luna looked at her sister. There was no dishonesty in her sister’s expression. She was genuinely regretting the past mistakes. Deciding to lay that part of her past to rest, she finally decided.

“Of course I do.” – She replied softly. – “Just as you have forgiven my transgressions, so I will put our past faults where they belong – in the past. If we are to survive eternity together, there has to be no animosity between us.”

Celestia’s tears slowly dried up as the sisters sat embracing each other, taking comfort in the knowledge that they had someone that would support them no matter what happened. Finally, a thought occurred to the white alicorn and a smirk graced her muzzle.

“Now, what happened after Twilight broke the spell, hmm? You’re awfully ruffled!” – Celestia exclaimed.

“TIA!”

Author's Note:

Another rewrite!

To clarify: Luna looks like her S1 self until Discord happens.
So Twilight would see the new Luna for the first time on Nightmare Night.