Sharing the Night

by Cast-Iron Caryatid

Chapter 11

Sharing the Night: Chapter 11

✶ ✶ ✶

Twilight was experiencing a special kind of cognitive dissonance as she attempted to wrap her mind around the day’s events. The fact that she and Luna could bring out the night, rough up a dragon on the other side of the world and be back in Ponyville on time to attend a session of court that was ostensibly scheduled to begin at dusk was surprisingly difficult to fully comprehend.

It was rather vexing, really, as she prided herself on her ability to do just that. To her dismay, however, having to actually deal with the ponies at said court wasn’t giving her much time to think about it or a plethora of other issues on her mind. As it was, she had to remind herself that ponies, unlike dragons, could not be negotiated with via a star to the face.

“Yes, Mayor Mare,” Twilight said, seated atop her sedate crystal throne with her head resting lazily on one hoof. “We did, in fact, instruct Rainbow Dash to delay Winter Wrap-Up until this morning, and yes, we realize that ponies are scared of the night over the Everfree. We promise you, though, that everything is under control.”

“I’m sure it is, Your Majesty,” the mayor said, shuffling back and forth on her hooves a bit but otherwise appearing perfectly comfortable in the presence of the princesses. “Surely, then, there must be something I can tell them in order to alleviate their fears.”

The mayor’s small sign of nervousness surprised Twilight. It wasn’t unusual in and of itself, but it served to highlight the fact that Twilight herself wasn’t doing the same. Her usual fear was present like a chill up her spine, but the accompanying stress from the night before last was absent. She had no headache, no disquieting unease. Stardust coursed beneath her skin in the wake of her earlier adventure like some kind of celestial adrenaline. Nervousness was beneath her.

Or maybe she was just distracted. She had good reason to be distracted. Stars. The word was becoming her own personal expletive, which was probably not a healthy thing. The stars had destroyed the world. She—no, the last alicorn of the stars—had died, and that death had been the harbinger of countless others.

Stars fall, everypony dies.

“Nay, mayor,” Luna responded to something Twilight had missed, pulling her away from her dark musing. “In this case, we fear that explaining matters would only make the situation at hoof sound worse than it actually is.”

Twilight let out a humorless scoff. “No kidding.”

“Well, in that case,” Mayor Mare said, glancing to the side with uncertainty. “We don’t have to give details, Your Majesties. We can simply say that it’s harmless and that you are studying the phenomenon.”

Neither princess answered immediately. Luna narrowed her eyes, and Twilight tapped her hoof on the side of her throne absently as she attempted to shift her mind back to the subject at hoof. “It… wouldn’t exactly be a lie,” Twilight finally reasoned, glancing over to Luna to see what she thought.

Luna looked no more certain than her co-ruler. “What research would we claim? It cannot be the truth, but we would have to do it regardless. We will not be false with our subjects even if we are not being entirely true with them.”

Twilight had no immediate answer, but the mayor licked her lips and swallowed. A moment later, she worked up the courage to ask, “Could you recreate it?”

Luna furrowed her brow and looked to Twilight for an answer.

Twilight shivered as she recalled how she had pulled the sky down back when she had faced the ursa major. “There… is a good chance that I could, yes,” she answered. “Why?”

The mayor took a breath and looked Luna in the eye. “City of the night,” she said.

“No,” Luna said without hesitation. “No. Absolutely not. Ponyville is a farming community, and… no. We are not even going to discuss it.”

Mayor Mare wilted under the moon princess’ gaze. Turning away, her eyes fell on Twilight. “So… that’s a no?”

“No,” said Twilight, nodding. Her nod stopped mid-motion, and she squinted her eyes, considering what she had just said. “I mean, yes, that’s a no. No, we’re not doing that.”

“Right,” Mayor Mare said, glancing at Luna, possibly weighing whether or not she wanted to test the moon princess’ scowl any further. “I think I should go.”

“That… might be best,” Twilight admitted. Though when the mayor turned to go, Twilight shouted after her. “Wait!”

Mayor Mare stumbled in startlement, but recovered quickly. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Your office hasn’t gotten any inquiries from Canterlot about this, has it?” she asked.

“No, Your Majesty,” the mayor said and left.

“Strange,” Twilight said in the mayor’s absence. “Nothing has come to us, either. Do you think that we should tell Celestia what Emberstoke said?”

“Why would we not tell her?” Luna asked, still looking at the spot on the floor where the Mayor had been standing. “She and I do not keep secrets of this magnitude from each other, and neither should you.”

Twilight blinked. “No, I mean… should we go tell her. Now. After court.”

Luna finally turned her unfocused gaze to Twilight. “What? Oh… I suppose we should, should we not? We are, after all, planning to do something very stupid. It would not hurt to give her a… what is it called? A head’s up?”

✶ ✶ ✶

It was after dinner by the time Twilight and Luna made it to Canterlot castle. Luna’s chambers felt odd to Twilight, having lived in a very different palace for the last two weeks.

If the stark contrast of black crystal and white stone in the Ponyville Palace was the result of Luna’s design, then what was this? This room of rich blue velvets and creamy marble? Had it been prepared before Luna’s return? Was this how Celestia saw her sister?

It didn’t fit the Luna that Twilight knew, certainly. Luna was… she was stiff, yet honest. The room was decorated to be fluffy and relaxing, but Luna preferred the sleek and sheer to lace and velvet. Luna preferred to relax where others couldn’t—in bitter winds and stormy skies. That was the Luna that Twilight knew.

Tonight in particular, the fluff and frippery was a sharp contrast to the lunar princess’ countenance. Luna could only have been described as dour, or perhaps brooding, as she had been ever since the mayor’s suggestion.

In truth, it had been rather inconvenient for Twilight, as the older alicorn’s distraction had left her to pick up the slack at court. It was an odd mirror of their first session and not something she was at all used to, nor did it leave her any room for her own concerns. Even now, unfinished thoughts churned in her head, each one chopped off by this or that matter of state and left to languish, filling her with floating bits of uneasiness and dread.

Still, Twilight could hardly blame her, and she pushed her own thoughts aside for the umpteenth time that night to focus on the lunar alicorn.

“Are you okay, Luna?” she asked. “Did the Mayor’s suggestion bother you that much?”

Luna frowned, glancing at the door that led out into the rest of the castle. Celestia’s castle. “She is too conniving for her own good, I think. She presumes to court the nightmare because it is the only thing she knows of me.”

“It was… okay, yeah it was pretty stupid of her,” Twilight admitted, seating herself on one of the many embroidered divans that were scattered throughout the room. She wasn’t sure she should say this, but Luna had been pretty open about it. Looking up at the older alicorn she’d gotten to know, she risked the question. “She’s not wrong, though, is she?”

Luna looked downcast at the assertion. “She is wrong,” Luna said stubbornly. “I cannot divorce myself of responsibility for my actions as Nightmare Moon, but I do regret them. I was wrong to force my night on ponies; I won’t do so through politics just because I failed to do so with power.”

“It doesn’t have to be about that, though,” Twilight insisted, jumping to her hooves. “We can make it work with the farms.”

Luna stepped back from Twilight’s advance. “E-enough, Twilight,” she stuttered, uncomfortable with Twilight’s… fervor.

Twilight balked when she saw Luna pull away from her. “Sorry,” she said, taking a step back herself. “I’d just be sad to see you denying part of yourself because you’re afraid of what happened.”

Luna sighed. “That is… sweet, Twilight, but unnecessary. Tell, me, do you wish eternal night for Ponyville?” she asked with one eyebrow raised.

“Of course I—” she began to say and froze. “I mean, if you wanted…” she tried again, but that wasn’t what Luna had asked, was it? Did she herself think it was a good idea? She hadn’t really thought about it. She just wanted to see Luna happy about her night, but it wasn’t her night, it was their night.

After two failed rationalizations, the answer was obvious, but Luna let Twilight’s train of thought run its course.

“It would be a fun challenge, I guess,” Twilight offered, tapping her forehooves together, but her heart wasn’t in it. “But it wouldn’t be… how it’s supposed to be.”

“No, it wouldn’t,” Luna agreed, turning to the large double doors that separated her chambers from the rest of the castle. “And we shall leave it at that.”

Twilight nodded and stepped up next to Luna, steeling herself for the castle beyond. It was Celestia’s castle now, really, for all intents and purposes. It had been a while since she’d seen the eldest diarch—no, actually, it had been last night, she realized. They hadn’t really… talked, though. Hopefully tonight would be different; it wasn’t that late, yet, and she was a great deal calmer.

“On the other hoof,” Luna added, pulling Twilight close her with a wing as she swung open the doors. “It is good to know that I can count on you should I decide to overthrow Celestia.”

Luna’s statement still echoed through the hall when the two of them realized that the door across from Luna’s chambers was open, and there was a tall white alicorn standing in it.

“C-Celestia!” Twilight squeaked. “Well, this is… awkward,” she said, forcing a smile as she attempted to extricate herself from under Luna’s wing. The feathered appendage had locked up like an iron cage at the sight of her sister.

“I am not!” Luna added quickly, waving her hooves in front of herself. “I mean, we are not. Overthrowing you. Ever. ‘Twas the subject of our conversation, in fact. Not overthrowing you.”

“It was!” Twilight interjected. A rising nervousness made her voice waver. “I mean, I offered—”

“The mayor offered,” Luna corrected hastily.

“Right!” Twilight said. “And I thought she’d want it.”

“But I don’t!” Luna followed up.

“She doesn’t,” Twilight agreed. “But I wanted her to be happy.”

“Which I am,” Luna said, glancing at Twilight.

“She is!” Twilight beamed and quickly turned to Luna in question. “Wait, you are?”

“Surely!” Luna insisted, shocked that Twilight would think otherwise. “Do I not seem happy?”

“Well, you do scowl a lot,” Twilight said, feeling a little guilty for saying so in front of Celestia.

“I do?” Luna said, blinking. She put a hoof to her face as if to feel what it was doing without her consent. Shaking her head, she took a step closer to Twilight. “If I scowl, it’s for only for your sake.”

“Well gee, thanks,” Twilight said, puffing her cheeks out in a pout.

Luna’s jaw dropped, and her eyes widened. “Th-that is not what I meant,” she insisted. She used her hoof to lift Twilight’s chin. “I’m only worried about you.”

“Oh,” Twilight said, realizing what Luna meant. Still, she lowered her eyes and turned away. “I wish you wouldn’t.”

“What?” Luna said as she backed off, brow twisted in distress. “Why ever not?”

“I’ve already messed so much up. I don’t like making you worry,” Twilight said, stepping back herself. She swept her hoof at the two golden doors that led to Celestia’s chambers. “You said you didn’t want me to see you as a teacher, but you still feel like I’m your responsibility. Just let Celestia—”

The two closed doors that led to Celestia’s chambers, Twilight realized.

Luna continued on for a few more moments before being similarly distracted. “Twilight, I worry because—wait, where did Sister go?”

The two of them stood there and stared at the doors for an indeterminate amount of time. They each raised their hoof to knock once or twice, but decided better of it—or maybe worse of it.

“Maybe tonight’s not a good night?”

☼ ☼ ☼

Celestia could not hear anything through the impassive golden doors, but she stared at them from her position on the cold marble floor nonetheless.

She had over a thousand years of experience in controlling her emotions. Some thought that this meant that she had excised them from herself—that she did not have emotions other than the gentle, motherly aura which she exuded at every moment of every day—and in some ways, they were right. She was very, very good at finding that part of herself and expressing it to the exclusion of all else.

She was still a pony, however, so while those other parts were neglected, they still remained, and a thousand years of control didn’t come without a finely tuned sense as to when that control would fail.

Would fail, was failing, had failed; she had crossed the gamut of emotion faster than it had taken to retreat over the threshold of her chambers in response, tripping over herself as she went.

It was an undignified position she now found herself in, her flank on the cold marble floor with her barrel twisted about and her mane pooled below her. She wasn’t rightly sure what had caused the reaction. No, that wasn’t right. She knew what, but not why. Her ears twitched as she heard the imagined echo of words she would never forget.

It is good to know that I can count on you should I decide to overthrow Celestia.

They were foolish words spoken in jest. She had no reason to take them seriously, but the shock had pierced her muddled mind regardless and stirred… something inside of her. Those words meant something to her. Some inner part of her was deeply distressed, but she knew not what. Now, the words echoed in the back of her head, haunting her.

She didn’t rightly understand this reaction. From the rather jumbled sound of it, Luna herself had led the charge in stopping Nightmayor Moon, so why? What was it that had wilted at hearing those joking words so suddenly as to send her fleeing?

Such actions would not go unnoticed. Any second now, Luna would be banging on the thick metal doors, demanding to know what was wrong. Twilight would entreat in her own quiet way, a meek little beckoning ‘princess?’

Celestia frowned. Something seemed wrong about that, she thought. It took her a moment to remember the previous night.

Hi, princess. Celestia. Princess Celestia. Did we already do the ‘don’t call me princess, princess,’ thing? I can’t remember.

Celestia. Would Twilight call her Celestia? She began to smile at the thought, but the expected warmth wasn’t there, just a knot in her chest.

The matter turned out to be moot. To Celestia’s gradual relief, the expected knocks never came. In the state that she was in, she couldn’t even question the fact that it was a relief. Her heart had twisted around and around itself until the idea of being with the very ponies she cared about suddenly filled her with dread.

It is good to know that I can count on you should I decide to overthrow Celestia.

She swallowed hard on a lump that had formed in her throat, and a single uneven breath escaped before she caught herself. No. She would not lose her composure over a simple thing like this. It was utterly ridiculous. She had endured a thousand years of loneliness for the sake of her sister. She would not let two weeks do this to her.

Two weeks? Wait, no, Twilight had been living in Ponyville for two years.

What was two weeks?

Two weeks was how long it had been since she’d sent Luna to Twilight. Two weeks was how long it had been since Luna’s concern had finally overpowered her anger. Two weeks was how long it had been since…

Oh. It struck her all at once. Of course she wasn’t lonely. How silly of her. She was Princess Celestia. She didn’t get lonely.

It is good to know that I can count on you should I decide to overthrow Celestia.

This must be what jealousy felt like.

✶ ✶ ✶

“What do you think made her shut us out like that?” Twilight asked, glancing in the direction of the doors. “She couldn’t have possibly taken it seriously, could she? I mean, not that I haven’t been wrong about that before.”

Luna shook her head. “I cannot say. She and I are not as close as we once were. In fact, I would venture to wager that you know her heart better than I, these days.”

“I thought I did, but she’s never left without a word like that before,” Twilight said, remembering how surprised she’d been to see Celestia gone. “Now she’s done it twice.”

“No doubt she has her reasons,” Luna said, seemingly unconcerned. “I can imagine she doesn’t want to interfere.”

Twilight frowned. Luna had a point. Celestia hadn’t exactly been subtle when she’d sent Luna to Ponyville. Come to think of it, Twilight actually had been snubbed by Celestia once before, back when she had first read about Nightmare Moon. Maybe this was just more of the same?

“I guess it could just be Celestia being Celestia,” Twilight admitted. “Kind of silly if you ask me.”

“Aye,” Luna agreed. “We have bigger problems to deal with.”

“Bigger problems?” Twilight asked. “Oh, right. The whole… yeah. That,” Twilight said, her stomach sinking like she’d just walked into a test that she hadn’t studied for. She chewed her lip as she looked away, searching the room for inspiration. Finding nothing, she rubbed her hooves together uneasily.

“Twilight?” Luna prompted, noticing her odd behavior.

Suddenly, Twilight brightened. “Follow me, I have an idea.”

☼ ☼ ☼

Celestia had recovered her composure. She had even opened her doors again in hopes of finding Twilight on the other side of it or in… Luna’s chambers.

She had failed, of course. Twilight was nowhere to be seen, and Celestia could not bring herself to knock on Luna’s doors for fear of what she might find inside.

She was being silly. She was. She had successfully driven Twilight and Luna away from her, where they could grow away from her shadow. She wanted them to support each other, and it was no business of hers how close they grew to be. Closer was better, wasn’t it? Yes. As close as possible. That was the goal. An amorous relationship was always a possibility. Declarations of undying loyalty were not quite as romantic, but the result was the same. She couldn’t ask for anything more.

Still, such declarations didn’t have to have been phrased quite like that. Celestia paled and had to take a moment to take a deep breath and calm herself.

No, that way of thinking was wrong. In fact, it was good that Luna had chosen to phrase it as such. The words had brought Celestia’s feelings to light. She was… jealous. Yes, she was jealous of her sister. If she hadn’t figured it out, she might have gone years without knowing, letting those feelings eat her alive. Now that she knew, she could fix it.

All she had to do was stop being jealous.

Simple enough.

☾ ☾ ☾

Luna found herself in front of a comfortably sized manor in upper Canterlot. A pair of plaques decorating the mail slot bore three stars and two moons.

“Twilight, what are we doing here?” Luna asked, trying fruitlessly to peer around the curtain in the right sidelight.

“Visiting my parents,” Twilight explained as she came up from behind Luna and placed a hoof on the older alicorn’s shoulder.

“Ah,” Luna said then cocked her head in question. “Why?”

“Well, I haven’t actually seen them since I became an alicorn, you know?” Twilight said, glancing up at the building before them. Actually, Luna had not known this. “I sent a letter the night after I went back to Ponyville, but they didn’t show up with the guild.”

“Ah, they are astronomers?” Luna asked, genuinely interested, before realizing she was being distracted. “Twilight, this is not what I meant by more important things.”

“Astronomers by hobby but not by trade,” Twilight explained. “And I figured we might as well stop in as long as we were in Canterlot.”

“As if that has any meaning,” Luna said, pressing a hoof against her face. “Twilight, I will gladly accompany you in this if you wish, but do not think that I am fooled for a moment.”

“Great!” Twilight said, beaming as she hopped forward and knocked on the wooden door with one hoof.

In spite of the late hour, it wasn’t long before the door opened to reveal a mare who looked rather young to be the mother of a pony Twilight’s age. In fact, the resemblance to Twilight was uncanny… or at least it would have been before Twilight’s ascension.

The ascension was the key, for Twilight’s mother did not, in fact, look too old to have borne a child or two and raised them to adulthood. It was Twilight’s appearance which threw the comparison off, being herself somehow more than adult.

The sight stirred hazy memories of a long-forgotten time, fuzzy shapes and an odd feeling in her chest, but no more. One might have expected the concept to be one which Luna was reminded of on a daily basis, but it had been so long since she and her sister had been in quite this situation that they had come to think of themselves as being something else entirely.

Twilight had not yet become completely separate from ponykind, yet even so, the difference was plain enough to even the most casual observer. She stood half a hoof taller than her mother and bore a certain regal maturity that her progenitor would never achieve no matter how long she lived; Twilight’s snout was longer, and her legs more elegant than her heritage could account for. Even her coat had a certain lustre that made her mother’s look dull in comparison, and it would have been unkind to even try to compare their manes.

Twilight noticed not a whit of of this. She shrank back and meekly waved her hoof with tiny motions. “Hi, Mom,” she said, self consciously.

Twilight’s mother, on the other hoof, certainly noticed the difference. Looking distinctly up at her daughter, she squinted into the dark. “Twilight?” she asked then dropped her head. “Not this again,” she said, shaking her head.

Twilight rolled her eyes and continued on as if this was normal. “Mom, this is Princess Luna,” she said, gesturing with her hooves as she made the carefully enunciated introduction. “Luna, this is my mother, Twilight Velvet. Yes, I know, it’s confusing; welcome to Equestria. She goes by Velvet.”

“Lady Velvet,” Luna said, uncertain, as she inclined her head in greeting. She held the pose for a moment and was greeted by a look of confusion when she raised her head. Clearly, she had erred. “I apologize if my manner of address was incorrect. I’m afraid I was not properly prepared for this meeting,” she said. Quickly, Luna turned to the mare beside her. “Twilight, what titles do the archlibrarian’s parents hold in the Librararchy?”

Twilight blinked. “I, uhh. I’m not sure they’re actually citizens, come to think of it.”

“Oh,” Luna said as she looked back to the mare in front of her. Curling one hoof under her chin, she considered the matter. “I am not well versed in the modern heraldry, but I believe your Equestrian princesshood should confer lordship and ladyship to them in the same manner as it would if it were native in origin.”

For some reason, Twilight Velvet was less than amused. “Twilight, you don’t have to do this. If you wanted to bring a mare home, you could have just told me.”

Luna wasn’t certain why Twilight would have to inform her mother that she was bringing a mare to the house, so she kept quiet.

“Wh—bring a mare…?” Twilight sputtered. “Mom, I told you in my letter, I am seriously an alicorn princess this time!”

Twilight Velvet let out a dejected sigh. “Well, you girls might as well come in,” she said, disappearing back inside.

Twilight and Luna remained standing on the doorstep for a moment. “‘This time?’” Luna asked.

Twilight, who had her face buried in her hooves, let out a groan. “Ever heard of ‘the filly who cried timberwolf?’” she asked sourly, following her mother into the house.

“Ah.”

☾ ☾ ☾

Though the house was large enough to be considered a manor, it lacked the wide open spaces of some of its peers. Instead, the design was closer to what Luna would have expected of a house a tenth its size; there was just… more of it. It wasn’t cramped, but it was definitely all being used.

As to precisely what it was being used for, Luna wasn’t quite certain. There was a great deal of… stuff… and a moderate number of things as well. Just about the only thing she actually recognized were the various books, scrolls and papers that filled the gaps between the stuff and things.

“Do ponies actually live in this house?” Luna whispered to Twilight Sparkle as Velvet led them through a maze of hallways. “I will not hold it against you if your father is some sort of clockwork creature… nor would I be entirely surprised, come to think of it.”

“Night Light is a wonderful stallion who will not be joining us until you cease this charade,” Velvet stated primly she led the two princesses into what appeared to be either a sitting room or a library built within a timepiece.

“Why ever not?” Luna asked absently, her gaze wandering about the room.

“He can be… excitable,” Velvet said as politely as possible. “And, sadly, more than a little gullible,” she added, somewhat less so.

Luna blinked then tore her eyes off her surroundings in order to glance at Twilight for a translation.

“What she means is, Dad would believe me about the whole alicorn thing,” Twilight explained, dropping into a well worn couch with a huff and a pout.

“Yes. We happen to know this from experience,” Velvet chipped in helpfully as she sat herself across from her daughter.

“He’d also really like to meet you,” Twilight added, yanking Luna down into the couch next to her without ever taking her eyes off her mother.

“He would?” Luna asked, interested.

“He would,” Twilight Velvet confirmed with a sigh. “Honestly, Twilight, your methods have improved, but your originality hasn’t.” Looking Luna over, she shook her head. “A princess Luna with the moon in her mane? Really?”

“As if you’d know anything about originality,” Twilight grumbled under her breath.

Luna was utterly and completely lost. “Twilight, if you could just hold a moment and—”

“Dad’s cutie mark is a pair of moons,” Twilight explained, drawing the shape in the air with her hoof. “One inside the other.”

“A pair?” Luna asked, her eyes widening a bit in interest. “How peculiar.”

“The smaller of the two is inverted, like the image in a telescope,” Twilight continued explaining. “They’re his passion, and he has a fascination with the moon in particular.”

“Truly?” Luna asked, leaning forward. “I should very much like to meet him, then!”

Twilight sighed. “Give me a minute to bring Mom back to reality,” she said, giving her mother an exasperated glare. “Several minutes,” she amended.

“Give it up, Twilight. I think I would know if my daughter had become a princess,” Velvet said, returning Twilight’s glare in equal measure. “There would have been a coronation, for one thing.”

“A coronation?” Twilight said in a skeptical tone and then stopped to think. “Wait, why wasn’t there a coronation?” she asked Luna.

“You would have to ask one of your heralds about the lack of a native Libraropolean ceremony,” Luna reasoned, thinking aloud as much as anything. “Your Equestrian princesshood, however, was granted by governmental decree merely to match your existing status. It would not have taken the actual title involved into consideration, nor would a ceremony normally be held in such circumstances.”

“Oh, that makes sense on the Equestrian side at least, I suppose,” Twilight admitted.

“Did you want a coronation?” Luna asked, a little worried that Twilight would feel that some sort of protocol had been breached. “Or a crown, for that matter, since you cannot manifest regalia? They could certainly be arranged.”

“Uhh, no,” Twilight said, either giving her mother another glare or merely continuing on with the old one, Luna wasn’t quite certain. “I could do without the pomp and circumstance.”

“You’ve really thought this charade through, haven’t you?” Velvet asked, almost incredulous at the time and effort that had apparently been put into this. “Legally, I mean. That’s actually a plausible loophole.”

“I’ve recently discovered that reality doesn’t have to be thought through before it happens,” Twilight groused sourly. “If it did, my life would be a lot simpler—not that you of all ponies would know what’s plausible and what isn’t.”

Rather than even bother asking again, Luna simply gave up and decided to wait the conversation out, hoping that it would explain itself in due time. She wasn’t entirely disappointed.

“Don’t be like that, Twilight,” Velvet said, little bits of her daughter’s own pout and exasperation worming its way into her voice in equal measure. “I’ll have you know, I’ve researched things like this thoroughly. I always knew that one of my children would marry into royalty.”

“One of your children?” Twilight asked, raising one eyebrow in disbelief. “Mom, unless there’s something you aren’t telling me, you only have the one.”

Velvet grinned, looking like nothing so much as the cat who had caught the canary. Luna in particular was reminded of how Celestia looked when she spied a cake. “Well now, Twilight. If you aren’t going to give me grandfoals…”

“What?” Twilight said, visibly blanching at the thought. “No! Don’t you dare! I do not need a little sister twenty-odd years younger than me!”

“How about a brother?” Twilight Velvet teased, tapping a hoof on her chin as she pretended to consider it seriously.

“No!” Twilight cried vehemently. “Absolutely not! I am not going to explain to all of my friends that I suddenly have a brother out of nowhere!”

“Darling, we talked about this; it’s not ‘nowhere,’” Velvet said, taking on a tone as one uses with small foals. “You see, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much and have grown tired of hornplay—”

“Moooooooooooom!” Twilight whined, her face red with embarrassment. “Shut uuuuuuuuup.”

“Perhaps she should,” Luna suddenly suggested, thoughtful.

“Yes, she should,” Twilight said through gritted teeth.

Luna blinked, only then realizing that she had spoken aloud. “I mean the foal thing, Twilight.”

“What?” Twilight shouted, whipping around to bear down on Luna.

“She has already birthed one goddess, and we are currently missing a second,” Luna reasoned. “There is even precedent for siblings to both ascend. I am merely saying that perhaps it would not hurt to see if she can manage two for two.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped, as did her stomach. “There are all kinds of… no! Stop encouraging her!”

Luna, however, found herself distracted by the thought. “It would be best if she grew to adulthood before finding out she is an alicorn, as you did, but depending on her cutie mark, that may or may not happen.”

“Look, girls, your… roleplay thing is cute and all,” Velvet said, clearly trying very hard to be understanding. She was not quite as good at it as Celestia was, however. “Most couples reserve that sort of thing for the bedroom, but if it’s really how you want to go about your relationship, I won’t judge. I’m really going to have to draw the line at bringing theoretical foals into it, though.”

“Oh, like that ever stopped you, Mom,” Twilight snapped with a level of rancor that quite surprised Luna with its bite.

Luna raised her hoof and opened her mouth to say something. A moment passed before she simply stated, “I am confused.”

“Mother is an author,” Twilight said with grit teeth.

“Indeed?” Luna asked, attempting to see how this was relevant to the conversation. “‘Tis a fine and noble profession.”

“Mother is a fiction author,” Twilight clarified. “Juvenile fiction. She’s a night owl as much as the rest of the family, but the stars in her cutie mark actually represent imagination. Idealistic imagination, I might add.”

Oh, well, maybe noble wasn’t quite the word, then, Luna thought, mentally remanding her previous statement. “Such things are… enjoyable, I understand.”

“Yes,” Twilight said, looking Luna dead in the eyes. “You do understand.”

Luna paused to think, but still came up blank. “I do not, in fact.”

“You’ve read her work,” Twilight added unhelpfully.

“I have?” Luna asked, remembering no such thing. “That stack sitting on the nightstand? The Daring Do series does look rather interesting, but I am afraid I have not had a chance to peruse them as yet.”

“Hah!” Twilight exclaimed derisively, becoming distinctively hostile. “She could only wish to write something like Daring Do.”

“I am at a loss, then, Twilight. The only ‘fiction’ novel I have read thus far is the eponymous Twili—oh. Ah, I… see.” Luna looked at Twilight, then her mother, then back to Twilight. Twilight had made her opinion on that particular series of books very clear. “You two do not exactly get along, then, I take it?”

“I had an interesting childhood, Luna. A very interesting childhood.”

✶ ✶ ✶

Twilight’s mother had bowed out for a short while to fetch some tea for her guests. Twilight was grateful for the reprieve and slumped deeper into the old family couch.

“Perhaps it would be easier to simply leave and return on the morrow with a royal procession,” Luna suggested.

“…No,” Twilight said after a brief, but notable hesitation. “No, she’s a smart mare. She’ll figure it out eventually,” she added but couldn’t keep herself from imagining the look on her mother’s face if she showed up with a line of ponies in ceremonial barding and giant banners declaring her princessdom. The corners of her mouth began to curl into a smile before she caught herself. “No, bad Twilight,” she mumbled to herself.

“What was that?” Luna asked, having noticed Twilight’s self-reprimand, but not understood it, apparently.

“I said you’re a bad influence,” Twilight lied and stuck her tongue at the lunar princess. “Who knew that when they say ‘power corrupts,’ the sense of humor comes first?”

It took a moment for Luna to follow Twilight’s meaning, but when she did, her expression broke out into a toothy grin. “I believe I can muster up a respectable force without Tia catching on,” she said, rubbing her hooves together, playfully devious.

Twilight’s response was cut off before she could decide what it was to be as her mother returned to the room, a tea set in her magical glow. Twilight’s mood soured the moment her mother opened her mouth.

“While this has been an interesting insight into the mind of my daughter, it really is getting old, girls,” she said as she set the tray down on the coffee table. Changing tactics, she turned to Luna this time. “I’d really much rather meet the pony my little girl has brought home face-to-face. I promise I don’t bite.”

Luna didn’t seem quite sure what to say. She glanced over at Twilight, who just rolled her eyes.

Met with only the blank, doe-eyed stare of the lunar princess, no capitulation forthcoming, Velvet let out a sigh and gave Twilight a quick pleading look. “You were never this stubborn about it last time.”

Twilight too had had just about enough of this. “It wasn’t true last time!” she insisted hotly.

Velvet’s ears flattened at her daughter’s outburst. Her eyes narrowed darkly. “Don’t you take that tone with me, young filly, or I’ll—”

“Mother!” Twilight shouted, jumping to her hooves and interrupting her. The room slowly grew darker as Twilight fumed until, all at once, she exploded outwards. Stars filled the cluttered space, and the cold chill of night washed over her mother. “For the last time!” her voice boomed. “I—am—a—god!”

Silence descended on the room. Velvet, who suddenly seemed to be alone in a very convincing pastiche of the night sky, transitioned back and forth through a series of emotions—annoyance, disbelief, confusion, concern, reflection and something else.

Not quite satisfied, Twilight remembered the discussion her mother had just interrupted. Reaching through the night, she found her guards and heralds and dragged them through. The guards found themselves bearing standards with her cutie mark on them, which they only barely managed to hold on to.

Moments later, her heavy crystal throne crashed into the wooden floor with a thud that made Velvet wince. It teetered precariously before settling cockeyed, one leg on top of a discarded book. It sat there, conspicuous in its emptiness until Twilight’s starry body coalesced into it, discernable from the rest of the room only where it occluded the throne.

Just as her guards managed to get themselves to attention, there was a pop from behind the throne, shooting confetti into the air. Smugly, Twilight sat back and crossed her hind legs. Only a small twitch of her ear belied her desire to go see where it had come from.

Silence returned for a short second before the sound of a stallion’s voice came from upstairs. “Honey?” the voice said. “Now, I know this is going to sound odd, but I think the moon is… um, giggling?”

Twilight turned to look at Luna, but the round white orb was impassive against the starry backdrop. Then, slowly, it rolled over and bumped into the coffee table, rattling the tea set but doing no permanent damage.

Twilight’s head sank onto her hoof with a sigh. “Shush, Luna, you’re ruining it,” she said in a reprimanding tone that held little bite. Twilight’s serious expression broke into a wry smile, and she couldn’t help but give her own chuckle.

The moment over, she released the stars she’d pulled out of the sky, suddenly feeling very silly sitting on a crystal throne in the middle of her parents’ house. As the cozy room once again brightened, Twilight’s and Luna’s forms became naturally equine again, and the standards held aloft by her unicorn guards clattered amongst the light fixtures, barely capable of standing upright in the crowded room.

“Seriously, though, Mom,” she said, looking at Luna with something akin to pride. “I’m not kidding.”

The smile on Twilight’s face disappeared when she looked back to her mother. Twilight Velvet was on the ground breathing heavily and staring up at her daughter in abject fear.

“…Mom?”

✶ ✶ ✶

Twilight’s mother insisted that she was fine, a fact which one of Twilight’s unicorn guards hesitantly corroborated. Twilight didn’t buy it, and neither did her father, who was somewhat at a disadvantage as to why there were nine ponies he didn’t know in the sitting room, one of them Princess Luna herself. He didn’t have a chance to ask, however, as he was more concerned about his wife.

“I’m sorry, dear,” Velvet said, still breathing a little heavily. “I don’t know what came over me. I was just suddenly afraid for my life. I can’t explain it.”

The words, of course, sounded all too familiar to Twilight, though it was eerie hearing them from somepony else. Twilight frowned and pushed her way closer to her mother through the crowd of ponies. Setting one hoof on her mother’s side, she opened herself to the night.

“That’s impossible,” she stated aloud to nopony in particular. “No, really. It’s… what the hay, Mom?”

“Language, Twilight!” her mother snapped, but Twilight was not concerned about her uncharacteristic lapse of manners.

“Mom,” Twilight said, trying to order her thoughts. “Mother, why in the name of all that is good and right… why do you have a star in your chest?”

“I have a what?” Twilight’s mother responded, along with similar mumbling from everypony else in the room.

Reminded that she wasn’t alone in the room, Twilight brought her gaze up to look at them each in turn. Her hoof reached out of its own accord, finding its way to her father. “So do you,” she stated absently, a rising disquiet in her chest. Her hoof dropped away, and just then… she could see it. “And you, and you, and you. All of you.” Stars filled the room, and they weren’t hers.

But they were hers, weren’t they?

Now that she knew they were there, she couldn’t not see them. They were so… tiny, so fragile. She could easily just reach out and—no! She stumbled back trying to put distance between herself and everypony else before she did something she’d regret. The room was too small, though, and she couldn’t find an empty space, not with them all trying to get closer to her.

With no other choice, she threw herself against the door and down the hall—at least, that was her intent. At the last moment, the door was replaced by a wall of blue. Fluffy, feathery, midnight blue. Luna’s wing wrapped around her, blocking the crowd out.

Twilight was startled, suddenly finding herself in the lunar princess’ embrace, but she didn’t object; she was grateful. Luna warded off further interference with sharp looks and posture, giving her a moment to calm down.

“Better?” Luna asked, craning her neck to look at her.

Twilight took a deep breath and leaned into Luna’s warmth. “Yeah, sorry.”

Twilight’s parents took this as a sign that it was okay to approach, but got a bristling of feathers from Luna in response. She wasn’t about to let anypony close until Twilight was good and ready, it seemed, and she was right.

“Stay back,” Twilight said, maneuvering Luna to put her between herself and everyone else. Peeking up over Luna’s back, she motioned with her hooves. “Just… stay there while I figure this out, okay?”

✶ ✶ ✶

In spite of Luna’s intervention, Twilight still needed a moment to herself. She hadn’t even had a chance to come to terms with what Emberstoke had said, and here she had a whole new problem to deal with. Leaving Luna to handle her parents, Twilight stepped out of the room and into the sky, where the moon was waiting for her.

The irony was not lost on Twilight as she stretched out and wrapped herself around it for comfort. Being an alicorn had its perks.

It had been a while since Twilight had spent much time just being the stars. At the very least, it had been since before she had finally brought herself to be honest with Luna, and if she was being honest with herself, the week and a half prior didn’t really count either.

Even she had to admit that she hadn’t been quite right in the head for that week and a half. She’d been driven, hunting down starbeasts, and for what?

It was funny how much of a difference knowing made. Equestria turned beneath her, dotted by stars, every one of them a life. In actuality, it was she that turned around it, watching as the sparkling lights slept peacefully, unaware of the monsters above and below.

Yes, above and below. Stars though they somehow posessed, the ponies of Equestria were not the source of her fear. There was something still deeper, something more primal below the surface around which the earthbound stars orbited, slipping in and out of the night below like flotsam bobbing on the surface of a terrible, deep, dark sea.

She could imagine what it was—what they were—but she didn’t know. Not for certain.

She didn’t know what was down there, that the night below was a mass of stars as great as she was, split off from the sky when last she had died.

She didn’t know what had become of them, that those stars that fell in precordian times had turned into something terrible. There had been no constellations back then. Ponies would not have been weaving fairy tales of fanciful creatures as they looked to the sky, fearing when next it would fall.

No, she didn’t know, but she suspected, and she needed no more reason than that for Luna’s presence by her side to be comforting and welcome. Though the moon was small, it was solid; it was real. It filled and supported her. It was, quite literally, her rock in an increasingly turbulent sky, and she was grateful for it.

Soon, she would have to deal with it. Soon, she would have to deal with the source of her fears, the night below, which was most likely in some part… her.

Right now, though… Right now, she had parents to contend with. That was almost the same thing, right?

✶ ✶ ✶

A shiver rippled across the night sky. It was at once a stretch, a yawn, and a cry of frustration. She was getting nowhere, and she knew it. She was avoiding things, which wasn’t at all like her.

Who could blame her, though? Everything that had happened, one discovery after another making her life worse and worse, was it any wonder that maybe she just didn’t want to know any more?

No. She refused to think that. She wanted to know; she had to know, and she had to accept what she did know. She couldn’t be like Celestia and trust that all would be well. She had no trust left for such careless thoughts. It was all invested elsewhere, where it was safe.

The moment she poured herself out of the night sky and into her old room in her parents’ house, there was a knock on the door. Twilight couldn’t help but smile. “Luna?” Twilight asked, expecting that only the lunar alicorn would know she had returned.

To Twilight’s disappointment, the head that peeked around the door lacked an ethereal mane. “Just me, dear,” her mother said.

“Oh,” Twilight said, her wings visibly drooping. Self-consciously, she scratched one fetlock on another. “Hi, Mom.”

If Twilight Velvet was put off by her daughter’s body language, she didn’t show it as she entered the room and quietly closed the door. “You gave me a scare, there,” she said.

“Sorry,” Twilight said, her ears flattening as if they didn’t want to hear what was being said. “I didn’t know that would happen. If it’s any consolation, you—um—kind of get used to it. I have.”

Her mother’s brow creased in veiled worry, but she shook it off. “You gave us all a scare,” she said. Pacing over to the bed, she sat down and patted the mattress beside her. “Are you alright? You don’t look too good.”

“I’m fine,” Twilight said as she sat herself onto the bed next to her mother. “It just took me by surprise, that’s all. I mean, stars in ponies, who knew? Not me, I’m just the manifestation of uncountable celestial objects. Nopony tells me anything.”

“You’re a little bitter, I take it?” Twilight’s mother asked.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “You have no idea.”

“So tell me about it.”

☾ ☾ ☾

"What... do you wish to know?" Luna asked, her enthusiasm somewhat dampened by recent events. She really would have liked to have somepony else there with her; either Twilight or—no, pretty much just Twilight. As affable as Twilight's mother seemed to be, Luna found the mare difficult to connect with.

Twilight’s father, on the other hoof, was a type of pony that she had a bit more experience with; clearly academic, but with a nervous composure and a hint of nobility. He seemed to be fascinated with Luna’s mane, and was wringing his hooves together to keep himself from doing something rude.

“Ah, Your Majesty,” Twilight’s father said, reigning himself in, as if he had only just remembered that the moon he was looking at was attached to an actual pony rather than a telescope viewfinder. “Well, I suppose the immediate question is… that is, if you’d be so kind… just… how did all of this happen?” he asked somewhat weakly. At a loss for words, he gestured with his hoof to indicate her mane and, after a slight pause, glanced up the stairs up which Twilight Velvet had disappeared.

“That is—” Luna started as she tried to put together in her head the most direct way to explain the situation. She failed. Utterly. “—a good question,” she finished rather lamely. “The truth is, we do not know. One day, I had the stars, the next, they were your daughter’s. She may have been an alicorn since she acquired her cutie mark… or even before.”

“Hrm,” Twilight’s father said, scratching his chin with one hoof. “Yes, that is troubling,” he said. “So, it just changed, did it? Does it ever show the dark side of the moon? I don’t suppose you can control that?”

Luna had to stop for a moment to make sure she understood what Twilight’s father was talking about. “My mane?” she asked, rather dubious. “What does this have to do with your daughter?”

In his distraction, Twilight’s father found his gaze had drifted up Luna’s tail to her tail, and quickly averted his gaze with a slight blush. “I’m sorry, what? Twilight? Why, nothing, I suppose,” he said quite simply. “Now, I’ve always wondered, is the dark side made of some other material entirely, or does it simply not luminesce for a different reason?”

Luna was taken aback by the eager stallion, and yet… suddenly, a number of Twilight’s behaviors made much more sense—or if not sense, exactly, she now knew where they had come from, at least. There was something infectious about his excitement.

“As a matter of fact…”

✶ ✶ ✶

Twilight’s mother only had one thing to say after Twilight had finished recounting the last few weeks of her life. “Princess Luna, huh? It wouldn’t work in the books, but hindsight is twenty-twenty. Honestly, it was hard enough working her in at all, but can you imagine the backlash if I hadn’t? Yeesh.”

“Oh for the love of—no!” Twilight said, her face twisted in exasperation. “Look, whatever you’re thinking, just… stop. I’ll tell you what I told Rarity; it—is—not—like—that.”

“Honey, you know it really is okay with me if you like mares, right? I just want you to be happy,” Twilight’s mother insisted. “And grandfoals,” she added shortly afterwards. “Mostly the happy thing, though, honest.”

“Yes, Mother,” Twilight said a bit icily. “Your books have made your stance on relationships like that perfectly clear.”

“So you say,” Twilight’s mother said, shaking her head. “But your marefriend is downstairs having a nice chat with your father, and here we are again, banging heads because you’re embarrassed about it.”

“Can we please just have one conversation where we live on the same planet, Mom? Even though we sort of technically don’t any more? I am not in a relationship with Luna. I’ve been telling you since I was fourteen, numerous studies have concluded that that sort of thing just doesn’t interest me. Not with stallions. Not with mares. Not with anypony.”

“Not with Princess Luna?” Twilight’s mother asked coyly, giving Twilight a friendly nudge with her shoulder. “Come on, you’ve been living around other ponies for a couple of years, now; it’s okay to look. Princess Celestia isn’t the best role model for everything, you know. Not the real one, anyway...”

“I’ve looked, Mom, believe me, I’ve looked,” Twilight groused. “I have a research journal this thick dedicated to making you drop the subject once and for all. It’s twenty pounds, and I’m warning you, I will send it C.O.D.”

“You sleep with the mare,” Twilight’s mother said, one corner of her mouth turned up in a smirk. “You can’t possibly find her that unattractive.”

“Why did I even tell you that?” Twilight asked herself, rubbing her face in her hooves. “Of course she’s not unattractive. She’s a goddess, Mom. She’s beautiful—but not like that!”

Twilight’s mother’s face lit up like a tree on hearth’s warming eve before she reached up and crushed Twilight’s neck in a hug. “Oh honey, beautiful is beautiful. It’s not always about the plot.”

“Every other word,” Twilight mumbled to herself. “She hears every other word… What did I just say, Mom? Look, earlier we woke up this dragon and he was… grumpy. Long story short, her body burned away, and she was just this… this pony-shaped figure of moonlight. It was beautiful like a sunset is beautiful. Like a storm is beautiful. Like a force of nature. That kind of beautiful.”

“Twilight,” Twilight’s mother said, hooves over her mouth in awe and looking like she might cry. “My little Twilight. That is the most poetic thing I have ever heard come out of your mouth.”

“I am not being poetic!” Twilight cried, her face growing hot in embarrassment. She slipped into a haze of stars for a moment as she fixed that little issue. “I’m being literal!”

“Ohmygosh! I have to tell your father!”

“Mooooooooooooooooom!”

✶ ✶ ✶

Luna appeared to be having a much better time with Twilight’s father than Twilight had been having with her mother.

“Twilight!” Luna shouted gleefully as she spotted the stellar alicorn coming down the stairs hot on the hooves of her mother. “Thy father has the most peculiar names for mine lunar features.”

Twilight’s mother reached the bottom of the stairs, narrowly evading her daughter’s grasp, resulting in the aforementioned daughter-slash-goddess eating carpet on the landing.

“Night Light! You have to hear—” Twilight’s mother began to say and then stopped short when she realized that Luna was there. Her momentum temporarily halted, she glanced back and forth between Luna and Twilight. Unable to contain herself, she gave out a tittering squeal of delight and hauled her husband out of the room in her magical glow.

Night Light, for his part, said nothing, seeming to be resigned to the situation as his topsy-turvy form disappeared down the hall.

Luna watched her conversation partner until he rounded a corner. She then glanced over at Twilight. “Ah, pardon, but neither you nor your father seemed to think that at all unusual. A thousand years ago, that would have been quite… rude.”

“It’s still rude,” Twilight reassured her as she picked herself off the ground, rubbing her forehead as she felt a headache coming on. “Unusual—I’m afraid not. Not around here, at any rate.”

“Should I be affronted?“ Luna asked.

“Well, that’s up to you to decide. She ‘ships’ us,” Twilight said, making air quotes with her wings as she took her father’s place next to Luna.

It took Luna a moment to process that odd sentence. Once she had, she seemed to decide that affront was indeed called for. “Alicorns are not cargo!”

“Well, actually, technically…” she began with no small amount of hesitation in her voice, her need for accuracy warring with a desire to not make herself sound very, very weird. The latter won out. “Nevermind. Look, Luna, she thinks we’re together.”

Luna blinked. “We are both present, are we not?”

Twilight cocked her head. “She thinks we’re seeing each other.”

“Is this about those peculiar ‘glasses’ your father wears?” Luna asked. “I have seen the like since my return, though I very much doubt that alicorns should ever require them.”

Twilight stared at Luna for a moment, trying to decide if she was being serious. Finding no sign of duplicity, she wrapped her hooves around the lunar alicorn in a grateful hug. “Thank you.”

“Err, you are most welcome, Twilight, but for what art thou thanking me?”

“For being a sane and rational pony.”

“I do believe that you are the first pony to ever call me that.”

“Shush, Luna, you’re ruining it.”

✶ ✶ ✶

Twilight’s mother seemed to have absconded with her father for the night, leaving Twilight to show Luna around the house as they searched for them.

“Well,” Twilight said, shutting the door to her father’s study. “I hope you got your fill of them, Luna. They seem to have legitimately vanished from existence.”

“Twilight, I’m am reasonably certain that we have not checked that room over there,” Luna said, pointing with her hoof down the hall. “Also, we are both in possession of varying levels of omniscience.”

A shiver went up Twilight’s spine, and she very specifically did not look where Luna had pointed. “It’s been a very long time since you had parents, Luna, so I’ll just come out and say it: a filly learns at an early age never to look too hard for her parents when they’re conspicuously absent.”

“Ah,” Luna said, her eyes drawn back to the door. “How early did you say?”

“Too early,” was all Twilight would say, and it was enough to make Luna drop the subject. Still, it didn’t stop her from saying it twice. “Too early,” she repeated, shaking her head.

Through unspoken accord, the two of them left the vicinity of Twilight’s parents’ bedroom in awkward silence. Thankfully, the house was large and convoluted enough that respite was easy to find in the form of a cozy kitchen.

Polishing off a carton of ice cream was an old tradition for Twilight when she ‘couldn’t find’ her parents. The very fact that she had a tradition for it made Twilight wonder at her continuing lack of siblings.

So far.

Another shiver ran down Twilight’s spine and she scooped herself another serving of ice cream.

Just when Twilight was beginning to appreciate the companionable silence, Luna spoke up out of the blue. “Twilight, about what you said, earlier,” she prompted. “About me not being happy.”

Twilight sighed into her ice cream. So much for silence. “Things are just… so much better now,” she said, less than enthusiastically. “And I hate to think it’s because I’ve dumped my problems on you.”

“Are they better? Truly? I worry about you,” Luna said, simply. It was a phrase she had spoken often enough in the past few days.

“I know,” Twilight grumbled. “That’s the problem.”

“Nay, Twilight,” Luna said. “It makes me happy.”

Twilight scrunched her eyes shut. “I have a dictionary, Luna, and I’m not afraid to use it.”

Luna leaned back in her chair, took a breath and let it out slowly as she looked up at the dusty ceiling. “I am not sure if I could tell you how long it has been since I had somepony to worry about other than myself. I am gladdened just to have a reason to scowl these days.”

Twilight shifted, a little uncomfortable in her seat. She… knew a little about that feeling, not from her time as an alicorn, but as an only child with no friends. It couldn’t compare to what Luna had been through, but at least she could empathize.

Luna set down her bowl and spoon and closed her eyes. “Still, you are not wrong. I worry, but you could give me less to worry about.”

Twilight didn’t respond immediately. Truthfully, it took her a moment to even realize what had been said. They weren’t harsh words, nor were they spoken with anything but resignation, but at the same time, Twilight was quite unready for them. “I… excuse me?”

“Twilight, why did we come here?” Luna asked, setting the issue out plainly. “You have not enjoyed it, and I do not think you expected to. I told you I was not fooled. You are avoiding something and only hurting yourself in the process. You can consider this an ‘intervening,’ if you wish, just stop it. Please.”

“An… intervening?” Twilight repeated aloud, somewhat confused.

“Is that not the proper word?” Luna asked, uncertain. “Tia seemed to be a fan of—”

“Oh! An intervention!” Twilight beamed as she realized what Luna must have meant. The elation of her discovery quickly fell away as she realized precisely what the word implied. “An intervention?” she asked, incredulous.

“Aha! Yes! That!” Luna said, triumph over modern Equestrian lagging behind Twilight’s. “Um, yes, that.”

“Oh come on.” Twilight chewed her lip and looked away. “It hasn’t been all bad,” she said without much conviction.

“Twilight, we may not be all that close, but if I am here for anything, it is to help bear the weight of what you becoming an alicorn has wrought,” Luna said, leaning forward to rest her hoof on Twilight’s. “I cannot do that if you shut me out as you have your friends.”

“I’m not shutting you out—or my friends,” Twilight insisted. “You are helping. You were there when I panicked, and I’m grateful! And…” Twilight stumbled over her words, silently cursing her mother for putting ideas in her head. She wouldn’t let the feeling that she was justifying her mother’s words stop her, though. “I thought we were close. I know it hasn’t been very long, but I like having you around. A lot. You’ve been a great friend.”

Luna was speechless for a moment. “Then why? You haven’t said a word about it since you came back. Stars in ponies, Twilight. It’s not a small thing.”

Twilight shrunk back at the accusation, flattening her ears. “No, I guess it’s not,” she said then frowned. “Wait, it’s been, like, ten minutes since I came back downstairs.”

Luna opened her mouth to respond and then closed it. “Is that unreasonable?”

“It kind of is, yeah,” Twilight said with an edge of affront in her voice that made Luna wilt. “It’s not that I didn’t want to talk about it; I just haven’t had time to deal with it all yet. I was actually kind of disappointed that you didn’t come up to meet me.”

Luna’s back quickly straightened. “You were?”

“Well… yeah,” Twilight said, not thinking it at all unusual.

Luna actually blushed out of embarrassment in response. “Still,” she said, poking her spoon so it rattled around in the empty bowl. “You are avoiding something, or we would not be here to begin with.”

“I’m… not,” Twilight said, painfully aware that she’d been chastising herself for the same thing. She’d stopped herself, though. “I’d like to think it was the other way around.”

“You do not know for certain?” Luna asked, the now-familiar signs of concern returning.

“Don’t look at me like that. I hadn’t had time to put my head together,” Twilight said, groaning as she rubbed her face with her hooves. “I just saw the opportunity, and I took it. It’s not something I usually do, but it felt right at the time.”

“And now?” Luna asked. “Do you still think it was a good idea?”

Twilight took a deep breath as she considered the matter. “Yeah, I do,” she finally said, letting out her breath and slumping forward onto the table. Her even breathing made her barrel rise and fall against the table. “Look, you’re… you, so maybe what Emberstoke said doesn’t bother you.”

“This is what’s bothering you?” Luna asked, grateful to finally be getting to the point.

“Yes. No. I don’t know. I think so? It’s a thing,” Twilight said, aware that she was rambling. “I haven’t had time to figure it out. It’s not this big, oppressive thing that’s making me go crazy. It’s just… yeah, it’s bothering me.”

“I presume that it is not the identity of the missing alicorn that is the problem?” Luna asked rhetorically.

“Yeah, no,” Twilight said shaking her head. “That’s a mystery, but—and this might sound a little selfish—it’s not about me. Stars, I am glad to have something to solve that doesn’t revolve around me for once.”

“So, the death of the previous alicorn of the stars?” Luna said, stating the obvious through process of elimination.

“No,” Twilight snapped in immediate denial then abruptly recanted. “I mean, yes, but that’s just it. I can’t make myself look at it like that.”

“What do you mean?” Luna asked, unaware of any other way to look at it. “‘Tis a simple statement of fact, if we are to believe the words of Emberstoke, and I do not see that we have any other choice. Do you?”

“No, I wish I did, but I don’t,” Twilight said, aware that she was being obtuse about the matter at hoof—and here, just after declaring that she wasn’t avoiding the issue. “That’s the thing: if we believe him, then it wasn’t some former alicorn of the stars that died. It was me. He said it, didn’t he? Alicorns are forever.”

It took Luna a moment to figure out Twilight’s twist of logic, and she showed as much with a huff of dismissal. “You are taking him too literally,” she declared.

“But it fits, doesn’t it? We can’t die,” Twilight said emphatically, very much wishing to be proved wrong. “What’s easier to believe? That the sun, moon and countless stars just up and died—lost their souls, somehow, and then grew new ones—or that they just… forgot?”

“You were born,” Luna said, her wings flaring up in agitation. “Your parents engaged in the oldest and most basic act of creation—an act which we believe they are repeating right now—and you were the result. Any previous alicorn that existed was, at most, a past life. I do not see why you are so insistent upon taking upon yourself blame for something that you did not do.”

“It’s not about blame, but what does it matter if I’m going to get it anyway?” Twilight said, rising slightly out of her chair in response to Luna’s aggression. “Emberstoke blamed me, didn’t he? I have a whole history that I don’t know about, and it’s catching up to me. It’s been catching up to me this whole time. That’s all any of this is; dying hasn’t solved anything. There’s no starting over fresh for me.”

“Twilight, this is precisely the sort of hurting yourself which I wish that you would stop,” Luna said, her hostility quickly replaced by distress, stopping Twilight cold.

“I’m not,” Twilight said weakly. “I just have to accept it, and I can, really. Coming here wasn’t about avoiding it, I just wanted to… to…”

“To reassure yourself? Is that what this was all about?” Luna said, finally understanding Twilight’s reasoning and hardly believing it. “I… cannot begrudge you that,” she admitted with some difficulty. “Some ‘intervening’ this has turned out to be.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Twilight said, thoughtful as she tested Luna’s conclusion in her head and found a tentative match. “Maybe I just wanted to remind myself where I came from. Mom is… She makes me want to hoof my eyes out, sometimes, but she’s still my mom, you know?”

Luna tightened and looked down into her empty ice cream bowl. There was a long silence before she spoke again. “I do not,” she finally said with a reticent stiffness. “But I shall take your word for it.”

“You… don’t?” Twilight asked, unaware that she had said anything that could be dissented. “You don’t what?”

“I do not ‘know,’” Luna said, emphasizing the word with some derision. “I cannot express empathy in the shared experience of having a mother. I am afraid it has been… too long,” she explained, drooping sullenly. “I’m sorry. I should not have mentioned it. It is just something I was thinking about earlier. It is not important. If I am through making a fool of myself, then let us talk about stars in ponies.”

Twilight’s mouth hung open for a moment thanks to the combined shock of what Luna had said and the abrupt change in subject, then it snapped shut. Once the required mental gearshift had been achieved, however, she made an immediate decision. “No,” she said with a sudden steel in her voice as she jumped to her hooves.

Luna instinctually backed up out of her chair at Twilight’s sudden movement. “What dost thou mean, ‘no?’” she asked, stiff and uncertain.

“No means no,” Twilight said, advancing on Luna predatorily.

With each step Twilight took, Luna backed up. “I do not think that thou art using that phrase correctly.”

Twilight took another step forward. “I don’t ca—” she tried to say, but couldn’t make herself do it. “Okay fine, I do care,” Twilight said. Her momentum broken, she settled back on her rump with a pout and crossing her forelegs. “That’s fighting dirty.”

“Twilight, I appreciate the sentiment, but being obstinate is not going to help,” Luna said, shaking her head.

Twilight, though, was not going to give up so easily. “No, but I have just the thing that might,” she said with a grin.

“What is that?” Luna asked, shying away once more.

Twilight did not continue her approach. Quite the opposite; she rushed into the next room and rummaged around for something. “In this wonderful modern world, there is a book for everything,” she yelled so that Luna could hear her.

“There is no book that records my life, Twilight,” Luna said. “Not the parts of it I should like to remember, in any event.”

“Maybe not,” Twilight said, poking her head back through the door. “But there’s one of mine.” She held in her magic a fat, worn, cloth-bound book with an assortment of clippings and photos stuffed between the pages. “It even has pictures!” she said, wiggling the book as if she were talking to a foal.

Luna never had a chance.

✶ ✶ ✶

Several hours later, Twilight and Luna were asleep on the couch when a familiar tittering voice announced itself from the stairs. “Eee, just look at them!” it said, hurrying closer. As the hoofsteps closed in, however, they slowed. “Oh come on now, that’s just not fair. Embarrassing her with childhood photos is supposed to be my job.”

“Ahem, yes, well,” said another voice, slightly more dignified. “I am sure you will manage somehow, darling.”

“Mom? Dad?” Twilight said, groggy from her unplanned nap and not yet recalling anything but the warmth beside her. “Where were—?” she began to ask when it all came back to her at once. “No wait! Don’t answer that!” she said quickly, hoping to avoid soliciting unnecessary information about her parents’ bedroom activities. “Please don’t answer that.”

“What do you mean, dear?” Her mother coyly asked, pretending not to know what her daughter was talking about. “We were just playing—”

“No!” Twilight shouted, preemptively interrupting her mother while meanwhile doing her best to extricate her wing from under Luna in futile hope that she could still prevent her mother from getting the wrong idea. “No euphemisms! No sly hints! No information whatsoever!”

It was then that more than half a dozen nubile mares and burly stallions came down the stairs after her parents. As a defense mechanism against this new information, Twilight’s brain simply shut off. She fell off the couch and twisted her wing.

“Ow ow ow ow ow…” she repeated over and over as she struggled to right herself in a way that wasn’t painful. Just when she thought she had it, her wing was suddenly released, sending her back to the ground. “Oww.”

The scene was quite baffling to her parents’ ‘guests.’ “Does Princess Sparkle have something against Scrabble?”

Twilight knew that voice. “Herald three?” she asked, poking her head over the back of the sofa. Indeed, the gaggle of ponies that had appeared was comprised of her four pegasus heralds and four unicorn guards. “You guys are still here? Why are you naked?”

“I’m always naked,” said herald one, raising her hoof, and the other heralds nodded. The royal guards, however, looked more embarrassed.

“There was an… incident,” guard two explained. “I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but your father has this… device, and your mother—”

“Long story short, ma’am,” guard four interrupted, “is that our uniforms are in the wash, and I’m afraid that the standard poles will need to be replaced in their entirety.”

Twilight stared blankly at her subordinates, attempting to decide whether or not she wished to scour the last five minutes from her memory. She was sure she could find a spell for it somewhere.

“Whelp,” Twilight said suddenly, shaking Luna awake without letting her eyes off the rest of the ponies in the room. “Get up, Luna. I think it’s time we get going.”

“Snuzzah?” Luna murmured and quickly rose much more elegantly than Twilight had. She stretched and yawned for a moment before taking stock of the situation at hoof. “Twilight, why are your guards na—”

“No idea,” Twilight declared without a shadow of a doubt.

Luna eyed her quizzically, clearly believing Twilight not at all.

“Oh, as long as you are here,” Twilight said, suddenly addressing her heralds. “Why didn’t I get a coronation?”

Herald four was quick with an answer in spite of reaching for a clipboard that wasn’t there. “There was one was scheduled, but we didn’t get enough RSVPs.”

Twilight cocked her head. “How is that possible?”

“I am not certain,” herald four said, shaking her head in exaggerated bemusement. “I received confirmation that all librararchy citizens in the greater ponyville area were sent invitations.”

Twilight buried her face in the back of the couch for a moment. “Herald four,” she said after having recovered. “Please think about what you just said.”

There was a short pause before herald four responded with a thoughtful, “Ah, I see.”

“Twilight?” Luna prompted for explanation.

“There’s only one librararchy establishment in Ponyville,” Twilight said with a groan. “And I haven’t been there to pick up my mail in over a week.”

Luna clearly wanted to respond in some way to this, but was found wanting when it came to actually forming the words.

“Your Majesty?” said one of the other heralds, vying for Twilight’s attention.

Twilight looked over. “Yes, herald one?”

“Did you want the crown and sceptre?” herald one asked, eyes looking up as she attempted to remember something. “I believe they are in a closet downstairs, back at the palace.”

“There’s a scepter?” Twilight said, pinching the bridge of her nose with the crook of her hoof. “Whose idea was—no, nevermind. I don’t want to know. Put them on display down in the lobby or something; throw some gems in with it, and make a nice plaque about the historic crown jewels.”

“Historic, Your Majesty?”

“History has to start sometime.”

☼ ☼ ☼

Celestia felt much better. She was in control of herself once more, and that meant that everything would be fine.

She had no basis for this presumption, but that was the kind of pony she was. Calm. Measured. Trusting. She believed that the nature of a pony was everything—that good would beget good and bad would beget bad. A pony with a more normal life might have called her idealistic, but that was okay. She was the soul of a nation; being idealistic was her job.

It was thus, then, that she had spent the tail end of the night doing things that a good pony did. She took a bath, read a book and ruminated on all of the good things in her life.

At first, she was troubled by how much these things ended up revolving around Twilight. The book was a collection of letters from her erstwhile student, copied when the originals had been needed for Luna’s development. Likewise, her ruminations revolved around better times when the castle had enjoyed the tiny hoofsteps and laughter of a certain lavender filly. As for her bath… she had spent it under the most ostentatiously large skylight the castle had to offer.

These worries, she ignored. Regardless of who they were about, these thoughts were good thoughts. They were simple, happy thoughts; it was a wonderful night, and she went to bed content that everything would be just fine.

✶ ✶ ✶

After finally sending Twilight’s heralds and guards back home, Twilight and Luna found themselves a cloud above Canterlot. The harsh bite of winter was gone, but it was still cold enough that they had the sky all to themselves.

“We never did manage to talk about it,” Luna said, looking out over the city, counting the number of windows that still bore lights. “Even what we did talk about did not go anywhere. I remain unconvinced of anything, save that you were an adorable filly.”

“Too bad,” Twilight said, playfully sticking her tongue out at Luna. “I feel better anyway. Happiness isn’t always about fixing things.”

“I suppose,” Luna offered noncommittally, to Twilight’s disappointment. She guessed it was just one of those things that never made sense until you came up with them yourself.

As it was, Twilight couldn’t muster a whole lot of indignation for the matter, considering that the lights she was looking down on in the city didn’t come from candles. “It is hard not to think about, though,” she admitted.

“Stars in ponies,” Luna said, shaking her head. “It does explain why one bitter, old pony can have the same effect on you as the greatest of mythical beasts, but what does that imply?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight answered, well and truly tired of adding more layers to her presumptions. Still, she refused to accept ignorance. “And you’re right. I’m not okay with that.”

“It never stops, does it?” Luna said, her own thoughts on similar lines. “There is always a new truth.”

Twilight’s lips tightened into a frown. “No, it has to,” she said. “There has to be a beginning, and I know exactly where to look for it. It’s high time we paid a visit to the night at the center of the world and found out what’s going on once and for all.”

“The center?” Luna asked. “I do not think it actually goes that d—”

“Shush, Luna. You’re ruining it.”

Author's Note:

● Author's Notes ●

Comments

[conantheimp]

MY BODY IS READY!

edit: Damn, did I get first post? Alright, (hopefully) non-spoilery review coming after I read the chapter.

edit2: Here we are! Warning! Minor spoilers for chapter 11 and below!

This chapter really brought a lot to the table.. I feel it did things justice, and was good after such a long hiatus Your structure was in top form, and it was a good way to come back without requiring that much rereading of old chapters(I only had to go back once for a single reference).

The new characters were just...wow. I have never seen Twi's parents quite like that, but I love them! Crazy with a pinch of crazy, I can SO see her growing up in that household and coming out the wreck that she was. Add in the insular education under the princess and it's complete. The lack of a big brother.... I can see that. It's good that you avoided compromising your own canon for keeping up with the show canon, even though it a bit wierd to think of Twilight as an only child. It works better in some ways, considering what came out on the other end(both Twi' personality and Shining's...lack of any).

That's it for the review. This chapter worked, and it introduced some pretty cool stuff. Since I'm here, I might as well post my most recent theories... 2388278
I am now revising it to:
-The earth is made of dragons. Perfectly normal.
-Long ago there was a great starfall. Weird shit commenced.
-All ponies have a star.
-Twilight and other "star creatures" are physically MADE of stars.
-Star creatures can fight over stars and "eat" each other.
-Twilight "ate" a chunk of the earth.
-Twilight sees other creatures with stars in them as direct competition in her hind brain(or whatever) and naturally fears other things that could "eat her stars."

At this point I'm postulating that stars are more one of the building blocks of reality, particularly when it comes to magic.
-All ponies produce magic.
-All ponies have a star.
Therefor, stars produce magic. A star in a pony isn't so much their "soul" as it is their lifeforce, if that makes sense. A star-beast is an amalgamation of stars pretending to be alive. Twilight is the same, but with a real intelligence at the helm. Incredibly magical creatures, such as dragons, have a LOT of magic, and so can be a part of the food-chain of star-creatures. but since they've been converted to "real" matter, they don't...work right in that food chain.

No guesses yet for what's "at the bottom."

‘tis nothing but dragons all the way down.

[NebulaNyx]

Question: Ive heard Very little about this story other then it is "good". May I ask what exactly makes it good and why I should read it? Im trying to sort out my read latter list.

[Purgamentum]

Interesting chapter.

More than anything, I'm finding Celestia's parts more and more painful to read. There's scene after scene of her suffering, and nothing ever really happens outside of that. It's not like she deserves it. Is she ever going to be comforted, or have a breakdown, or is it going to go on for another five chapters?

[Vertorm]

4468998
Take your favorite food... and... wrap it in... a six pack of beer. Then, take that and wrap it in ANOTHER six pack of beer.

[LtMajorDude]

4469043
What happens if you're sober?

[hornsandhooves]

All she had to do was stop being jealous.
Simple enough.

Damn right, it's simple. Twilunestia sammich.

[Vertorm]

4469082
God help you.

[Cast-Iron Caryatid]

4468998
I'm a little biased, so hopefully my readers will chip in with their own comments.

4469043
That sounds... uhh, crunchy.

4469084
Did I catch everyone in the middle of dinner or something?

4469040
Next chapter, stuff happens. I promise.

[TheAccidentalBrony]

Okay, so, sadly...I was so excited by your post earlier that the new chapter would be coming up...and now that it's here, I realize that it's been long enough that I only have the faintest memory of the story...

Soooo...back to chapter 1 I go....

(this post will be edited once Chapter 11 has actually been read) :mustache:

---

EDIT: So, a day later, I've finally managed to get through the whole thing, again. And it reminded me just how much I enjoy this story. It has the perfect amounts of humor, romance, and adventure. This chapter just turns it up to 11 with the lunacy of Twilight's mother (though the explicit rejection of show canon with regards to Twi's BBBFF was a bit startling, I do accept the explanation). The only thing I could ask for are FASTER UPDATES, pleeeeeeease!

[Cast-Iron Caryatid]

4469103
I would appreciate it if you'd keep your font size to 2em at most, please.

[LtMajorDude]

4469113
Sorry

OK, I'm sorry for that.

[hornsandhooves]

4469102

Different type of sammich =). Twi in the middle of course =P

[Vertorm]

4469102
xD Hahaha

It's a specific reference to something.

[Peachy Moon]

By the Stars finally some promised answers! -grins and shifts nervously- God I hope everything it okay

[Vertorm]

4469103
Ow, my ears! You're paying my medical bills.

[Vertorm]

4469102
Sorry for responding twice, but I just noticed I'm not following you. This is unacceptable. You are hands down the best TwiLuna writer on the site. What is wrong with me that I had not followed you yet...?

[Archmage Ansrit]

Celestia is still being stupid about things, Twilight still hasn't grown a spine...

Very good chapter, nonetheless.

[LtMajorDude]

4469113
I'm allowed to use bold right?

By the way, you are actually the first person to remove a comment I posted. Thank you. I've always wanted that to happen.

[LtMajorDude]

4469140
Mission accomplished. JK though.

[deathbot4]

4468998 It has a very interesting take on Twilight becoming a goddess. Also; Librararchy.

[Ozbrony]

This fic never fails to make me laugh my ass off.

[SciGuy]

I just realized that this reads a great deal like something written by Terry Pratchett.

This is very much a positive thing, for the record.

[Cast-Iron Caryatid]

4469259
I definitely take that as a complement. The irony is, I've... never actually read Terry Pratchett I've seen snippets, and always wanted to, but back when I was reading heavily, they always seemed too short for the usual price. I should really go back and read them now.

4469201
Ah, good old Carl Sagan... Thankfully that little video wasn't enough to get those Symphony of Science songs stuck in my head again

4469189
Bold is fine, and 2em is still Very Large. As for deleting your post, um, you're welcome, I guess? I had meant for you to edit it, but since you didn't, and Vertorm replied, I figured there wasn't any harm in removing it.

[LtMajorDude]

4469280
Wait, I was supposed to edit it?!?!?

Acceptable?

Also, I said thanks because now I know how it feels. Better soon than later, right? You know?

[Aurora Dimmet]

4468998

Obviously because it is good. What would you expect? Purple prose on why you should take the time to read this? Poppycock! You shouldn't need convincing to enjoy yourself.

This is a damned good story, and it's your time that should strive to be worthy enough to peruse it, not the other way around!

Sit, read, enjoy!

[ThePrimoChocolatePony]

So...shining armor?

[Gamble]

haven't finished reading yet. It's just that when Twilight and Luna were talking about telling Celestia about what they were up to, it made me think of a fic idea where someone comes up to say Twilight, Rainbow, and Discord for example and tells them that something has happened that puts the land in danger and they all react like "Yep, sounds like a Thursday." If such tales already exist, feel free to link them in a reply.

[dlazerous]

what happened to Shinning Armor?

[Taranth]

4468998 In no particular order:

=> Awesome world-building
=> Lots of metaphysical drama, because being an Alicorn means a lot more than just 'three tribes of ponies in one'.
=> Really detailed and interesting conflict and arguments, the sort where things don't just drop in out of nowhere for a chapter then get resolved by the end but actually cause long-term hurt that needs to be worked through. Character growth!
=> Awesome snark and the sort of comedy that seems to just flow naturally into an otherwise slightly ominous piece.
=> Quite in-character Twilight facing an incredible journey beyond mortal comprehension.

(Can you tell this is one of my favourite stories on this site? )

Someone above mentioned that they got a Pratchett vibe from this, and I can see where they're coming from. It's not entirely his style, but in the same sort of genre, I'd say.

4469280 If you haven't read the Discworld books I can only thoroughly recommend them. You can find most of the books on bookdepository.com for about $10, or less on ebay. I personally recommend starting with "Mort" and the rest of the Death subseries (Reaper Man, Soul Music, Hogfather, Thief of Time off the top of my head) - the series officially starts with "The Colour of Magic" but that book - while excellent - is in a very different style to the rest of the series, and doesn't give a great indicator of what to expect.

Or, if you're not in the mood for starting a 30+ book series, just pick up Good Omens. :)

[FinalFan]

Emotions like
a roller coaster baby baby
I wanna ride
Shush

[VulcanFire09]

Twilight’s mother reached the bottom of the stairs, narrowly evading her daughter’s grasp, resulting in the aforementioned daughter-slash-goddess eating carpet on the landing.

Considering where Velvet's mind is, with regard to Twilight and Luna, this is awfully close to a certain metaphor for what she, and everypony else it seems, thinks they are doing. *Munch* *Munch*
Sorry if this is highlighting an unintended/unwanted allusion. I am enjoying the chapter so far, and this caused me to laugh and I wanted to share the laughter.

[BananaSplit]

I love this story, so much,

[NebulaNyx]

4469043 Sounds good

[NikitaKitten]

That was a wonderful chapter. I'm still not sure exactly where you're going with parts of this, but I mean that in a good way. I'm most interested (discounting the adorable relationship Twilight and Luna are developing) in Celestia. Could this be the beginnings of her version of NMM? I really don't know. Can't wait for the next chapter.

[MononokeWolf]

I am really, really happy to read a new chapter, and I applaud how much humor has worked itself in. Not overbearing, but at the same time, plentiful enough to add a great deal to the story. Please keep up the great work!

[VulcanFire09]

4469346
4469603

“No!” Twilight cried vehemently. “Absolutely not! I am not going to explain to all of my friends that I suddenly have a brother out of nowhere!”

I think that this is the author's way of saying that adding him to the story is unlikely at this point. The story was likely planned/started before Shiny appeared in the show and trying to shoehorning him in now, and try to follow the bouncing show cannon, would likely be a big pain and it would be a glaring addition like it was in the show.

[Cast-Iron Caryatid]

4469346 4469603
As I mentioned in the comments when the "four alicorns" thing came up last chapter—Sharing the Night predates their introduction. By the time they were introduced and vetted to be not terrible abominations, I was already past the point where I would have mentioned them.

Yes, I do actually write THAT slowly.

4469553
There is actually one that comes to mind, where some great evil returns and Luna freaks out, but Celestia and everypony she goes to blow it off as unimportant the second they hear that Ponyville is its first destination. Sadly, I can't seem to find it.

[Cast-Iron Caryatid]

4469716
Well, I was also poking fun at her having to do just that in the show, but same thing really

[windcaster_fuu]

Interesting update but I really hope that Twilight will be able to speak to Celestia soon and reassure Celestia that what both Luna and Twilight said of overthrowing Celestia is false since both of them do care for her. Also I hope that Twilight spend some time with Celestia and also tell Celstia what that old dragon said as well since their bond is strong. To lose such a strong bond is too cruel in my point of view since Twilight was inspired by Celestia herself when she was still a little filly. I hope that both Luna and Twilight will be quick to clear up that misunderstanding as soon as possible and also to remember that they really need to speak to Celestia as well. Other then that I really look forward to find out what happens next.

[SeiRyu]

I forgot how much I loved this story. I want more.

To the people wondering about Shining Armor, this story started before he existed, so it ignores him.

[Misago]

Well, it was said before, but I am really feeling sorry for Celestia. Seems like everything is currently conspiring against her...

[ThePrimoChocolatePony]

4469717 truly forgot this story started that far ahead of the show. Well time to sit and see how you have twi deal with the stars and celestia deal with her jealousy.

[Frustaz]

4469603 If I remember Correctly, This was Started even before the Wedding Episode was Announced, sooo...

Shiny Didnt exist to the viewer at this point.

[VulcanFire09]

“Ah,” Luna said, her eyes drawn back to the door. “How early did you say?”

The wording seems off. Shouldn't "say" be "see" or "learn"?

4469720
Yeah, I saw that you were poking at that, but I just included it in my summation "glaring addition like it was in the show."

[AppleTank]

i.imgur.com/8peSaS6.gif

[fireflutterpony]

Twilight and Luna's comic chemistry reaching new heights, mind-scarring allusions to old-pony sex, and Celestia starting down the royal road to tyranny?

It is SO GOOD to see this updated again. I believe all followers of this fic should hold council on how to ... ensure our author remains motivated.

[AcademicPony]

4469717

There is actually one that comes to mind, where some great evil returns and Luna freaks out, but Celestia and everypony she goes to blow it off as unimportant the second they hear that Ponyville is its first destination. Sadly, I can't seem to find it.

That fic would be "Celestia and Luna's Completely Average Day. Short, but funny.

I enjoyed today's update, and I look forward to future ones!

[Keeper of Jericho]

As long as there won't be any Daymare Sun's here, you're good. I do hope Twilight and Luna realise their selfishness soon and feel rightfully ashamed and awful about themselves. Do keep on being an ungrateful student and sister, you two, after all, it's only Celestia you're causing unmeasurable pain and heartache and who cares about her. That's pretty much normal for you, isn't it, Nightmare Mo-, I mean, Luna.

[ForSpite]

Luna preferred to relax where others couldn’t—in bitter winds and stormy skies.

I like this line. It reminds me of the fact she thought summoning thunder and lightning was a good way to announce her arrival on Nightmare Night. And her awesome spiky chariot..... You're right, her taste in aesthetics doesn't really fit in with Canterlot. Although, people do tend to be multifaceted. Perhaps Celestia simply is overly focused on one side of her sister, the one that sometimes likes fluffy things and gives enthusiastic hugs, and is ignoring the one that animates stuffed spiders and turns them into a creeping horde.

“It is good to know that I can count on you should I decide to overthrow Celestia.”

This and everything that followed cracked me up... Well up until the mood took a right turn. So did most of the stuff with Twilight's parents.