9 Playing Games
Chapter Nine
Playing Games
Lunch was wonderful.
Luna was playful and charming and the food was incredible. There were appetizers of cheese and apples cut into the shape of lotus blossoms and swans on a blue crystal plate that made them look as if they were floating on water.
The maître d' himself came to the table to dress and toss the salad, which was amazingly good.
About half-way through that course, Luna lifted a forkful of salad and very slowly moved it toward her mouth. Her eyes twinkled with mischief as the bit of salad approached her slowly opening mouth. I knew she was up to something, but I just couldn't figure it out. After a minute of watching her agonizingly slow display, I gave up and asked, "What, exactly, are you doing?"
Luna grinned and then, in a cheesy Nightmare Moon voice, said, "Mwa ha ha ha! The bite shall last foreverrrr!"
It was dumb and goofy and it completely cracked me up. Then, it was kind of hard to stop laughing, because the reactions of the ponies around us were even more hilarious. One young mare almost strangled herself trying not to laugh while her parents scowled their disapproval. The rest of the crowd stifled snickers or shifted uncomfortably in their seats, depending on their temperaments. And, best of all, a very proper old stallion behind Luna did one of the most magnificent spit-takes I've ever seen, and there was an angry shout from a pony on the street below who had been on the receiving end of the sparkling cider spray.
"Or not," Luna quipped, and popped the bite of salad into her mouth.
I had to wipe my eyes with my napkin when I finally got control of myself. "You are outrageous, Luna!"
Her smug smile was all the reply I got.
The main course was a medley of roasted vegetables and mushrooms with crunchy baked oat and rye nuggets, drizzled with a creamy herbal sauce that was absolutely superb. Somehow, our conversation got onto the subject of books, and I was surprised to learn that, though Luna enjoyed poetry and history, she hadn't read any modern works.
"I think you would like some of the better adventure stories. Maybe you should give the Daring Do books a try."
Luna nodded thoughtfully. "If you would recommend a good one, one which you particularly enjoy, I shall make the attempt."
"You make it sound like it would be more of a job than an enjoyable pastime. If you really don't want to—"
"No, I am sure I would enjoy the story." Luna pushed a piece of broccoli around her plate. "But, you see, I am used to such tales and sagas being spoken aloud or chanted to harpsong. Cold, unliving words on a page do not seem terribly stirring to me. In the old days, such a thing as a novel was unheard of."
"Oh, I see." I should have realized it was something like that. "Well, then maybe I can read a novel to you. Some evening, the two of us could settle in together with a good book and some tea in front of a nice fire."
"That sounds delightful, Twilight," Luna said, a soft smile spreading across her face. "I would be glad to share some of the old stories with you in exchange. Providing that you excuse my poor performance. I am no bard, I fear."
Considering how well she'd told the story of our battle against the monsters, I supposed she had very high standards where such things were concerned.
We talked about poetry and history for a while, and then the waiter arrived with our desserts. We were each served a little chocolate cake surrounded by fresh raspberries and decorated with our own cutie marks in frosting. They were so perfect, it was almost a shame to eat them. Almost.
When we had savored the last exquisite bite of our desserts, the waiter appeared at our table and asked, "Will there be anything else, Your Highnesses?"
"No, thank you," I replied. "Just the check, please."
"Oh, we would not presume to charge Your Highnesses! The Hayloft is honored by your patronage."
That made me deeply uncomfortable, but I didn't want to get into a debate with the waiter, so I just smiled and said, "That is so very kind! Thank you. But you will, of course, accept a gratuity for the excellent service of your staff." It wasn't a question and the waiter knew it. I popped a bag of bits onto the table, that I was sure contained nearly double the price of the meals.
"Your Highness is most generous."
Rarity would have been proud of me.
Luna and I thanked the maître d', the manager, and especially the chef on the way out. All in all, our first date had been a complete success.
"Do you have anything else you need to do today?" I asked Luna. "I need to check on the airships, but that's probably going to be boring. Maybe later...?"
"I am to command Solar Flare, and an inspection is among the many things I must attend to, my sweet Twilight," Luna said. "My duty and my pleasure combine in one, as the shipyard shall seem a pavilion of delights with such a beauty as you for company."
Okay... words are magic. At least, the right words seemed to be able to cast a spell on me. I knew it was just flattery, of course. I mean, who would give me a second glance with an impossibly stunning mare like Luna at my side? But it still made me ridiculously happy to hear her say such nonsense. It made me want to be beautiful for her.
= = =
The Canterlot Yards is always a busy place, and that day was no exception. Several airships in various stages of repair or construction rested on the timber ways that jutted out from the mountainside, but they were all dwarfed by the huge white hull of Solar Flare.
"Oh my," was all I could think to say when we first caught sight of her.
"Indeed," Luna said, and I realized the she must be seeing the airship for the first time as well.
Solar Flare was both beautiful and scary at the same time. Even the massive amount of gold-leafed acanthus scroll work and sun-in-splendor decoration she carried couldn't disguise the brutal efficiency of her lines or hide the openings of the firing ports along her fighting deck. The sleek surface of her envelope glittered brightly in the sunlight because of a fine mesh of enchanted wire that served as armor for the gas cells within. The fact that it was also beautiful was a mere byproduct of military necessity.
As we approached, I could feel the spells woven into her. Powerful and subtle, they had to be the work of Celestia. Aside from Luna and myself, I didn't know of any other ponies who could have even attempted such an intricate interweaving of self-sustaining magic.
My grand expedition aboard Evenstar now seemed like the play of a filly with a wooden sword and a garbage can lid by comparison.
We were ushered through a gate in the security fence that surrounded Solar Flare to be met by Gudgeon, the chief naval architect of the yard and designer of the massive airship. He glanced briefly at my armor but made no comment.
"Do you like her, Princess?" Gudgeon asked, seeing that I could hardly tear my eyes away from the bulk that now loomed above us.
"She's one of the most terrifying things I've ever seen," I said without thinking. When I realized what I had said, I immediately began to apologize, but one look at Gudgeon's face made it obvious to me that he thought I had paid him the highest possible compliment.
"Tell me," I asked. "Does the wire mesh stop punctures as well as slashes? The strands are fairly widely spaced for that."
Gudgeon beamed at me. Just like any other specialist, he loved to talk about his craft. "The spacing is a balance between protection, weight, and magical energy requirements. The mesh won't stop small punctures, but the volume of each cell is so great that they could take a score of hits and you'd scarcely notice the loss of lift. There are small pieces of enchanted cloth inside each cell that will automatically patch up to a few dozen holes, in any case."
I nodded in appreciation. "That's quite clever."
"I'd be happy to give you a tour, Your Highnesses," he offered. "And your brother is aboard now, if you'd like to speak with him."
"Shining Armor? Really?" A surge of happiness went through me at the thought of seeing him again. It was always too long between visits.
"Yes, Your Highness. The prince is on the forward fighting deck, I believe."
Gudgeon led us aboard and through a cavernous flight deck that could have held Evenstar's entire gondola. We went up two decks and emerged into the area where ranks of unicorns were supposed to serve as the airship's main offensive weapons. Shining Armor was talking with a couple of mechanics who were working on some piece of equipment I couldn't immediately identify.
"Shining!" I called out to him. "What are you doing here?"
"Twily!" he replied as he turned. "It's good to see... whoa! Look at you!"
"Getting used to the weight of the armor," I explained shortly. "So, back to why you're here..."
"I'm getting a short course in airship operations; things I should know if I'm going to command the unicorn contingent."
I gave such a start of surprise that the lames of my criniere jangled against each other. "Wait. You're going along as captain of the unicorns?"
"Yep! Princess Celestia asked me as a personal favor. The Empire is just as much at risk from the dark magic, and I couldn't say no to the Big Lady, could I?"
"No, I guess not. Well, it will be nice to have you along."
"Uh... you don't sound all that glad, Twily," Shining Armor said with a frown.
"Sorry. I'm just kind of overwhelmed at the moment. Of course I'm glad that you'll be coming! I guess I still haven't gotten used to the huge scale of this operation."
"You will. You'll do great, Twily! You always do!" He grinned and clanked a hoof against my shoulder. "Gudgeon giving you the two-bit tour? Mind if I tag along?"
As we left the fighting deck, Luna fell back to walk next to my brother and asked him, "Is 'the Big Lady' a common nickname for my sister, or is it something personal between the two of you?"
Shining seemed flustered for a moment and then said, "It's sort of a thing within the Royal Guard, Your Highness. A term of affection, really. Uh... a very respectful affection. Nopony would ever dream of using it to her face, and I apologize for using it in front of you. I was so glad to see my sister, I didn't notice you there in the background."
"I see," Luna said. She walked on for several more paces before asking, "And is there such a term that is used for myself?"
"Uh..." I looked back over my shoulder and saw my sweet, noble brother take a deep breath, compose himself, and then fib to the Princess of the Night. "Not that I am aware of, Your Highness."
= = =
Compared to Solar Flare, the little cargo airship Gudgeon had acquired for me looked like a child's toy. It was an older style with the hull slung below the envelope, giving an open upper deck between the two. He assured me that she was sound and capable of traveling long distances, and the only reason she had been sent to the breaker's yard was that she was too slow to compete with the faster modern vessels.
"Hazina," I read her name off the little carved scrollwork on her stern. "That's odd. Do you know what it means, Gudgeon?"
"I'm afraid not, Your Highness," he replied. "She ran the trade route to Zebrica for a number of years. It may mean something in their language or it may just be a strange name. Some ponies have odd notions when it comes to names."
He kept a completely straight face as he said it, so I really couldn't be sure if he was making a little joke at his own expense or not.[1]
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[1] A gudgeon is the metal fitting attached to a ship's sternpost that acts as half of a hinge when joined with a pintle, which is the part attached to the ship's rudder. They are usually found in pairs or sets of three. To use the word as a name is a bit like calling a pony Window Latch.
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He assured me that, when Hazina was loaded with the supplies I had ordered, he would have a delivery crew take her to Dodge Junction and stay aboard until the rest of the fleet arrived. I thanked him and signed the paperwork for it all.
"I gotta get back to Solar Flare," Shining Armor said. "But maybe we can get together for dinner tonight? I know Cadance would love to see you."
"Cadance is in town, too?"
"Yeah. Been awhile since she visited, so she thought she'd come down for a few days. Do some shopping... you know... stuff like that."
"Right," I said. My brother was just about as bad a liar as Applejack, and I began to suspect something. "When did you guys arrive? Last night?"
"Yeah, we caught the night train down after Princess Celestia asked her... uh..." He faked a cough into an upraised hoof. "I mean, asked me to command Solar Flare's unicorn contingent."
"Sure. Dinner. Sounds good." I forced my teeth to unclench. "I'm busy later, but dinner sounds fine."
"Nothing fancy," he said. "Just a little family get-together at the palace."
"I was planning on spending the evening with Luna. You won't mind if she joins us, will you?"
Shining looked stricken for a second, and then said, "No! Of course not!" He gave a little bow in Luna's direction, and continued to her with a hopeful smile. "But wouldn't you rather dine with your sister, as usual?"
Luna turned and ran the tip of her wing gently along my jaw. "I prefer better company tonight," she said, looking only at me.
"Oh. Uh... Okay, then," Shining said.
"Good," I said, shortly. "That's settled. See you tonight at the palace."
It seemed that Celestia wanted my promised consultation with Cadance to take place sooner rather than later. I had assumed that I'd have a friendly chat with my sister-in-law sometime after I'd settled the mess in the Badlands, and having it forced on me so unexpectedly felt like an ambush.
Instead of going to the gate, I stomped to the edge of the cliff, cinching down my saddlebags and armor straps as I went. "Let's fly back," I said to Luna. "My legs are going to be sore from all the walking, so I might as well abuse my wings, too."
Luna said nothing, but she threw herself into the sky at my side. It wasn't until we were halfway around the curve of the Canterhorn to the castle that she spoke, breaking me out of my fuming circle of thoughts. "Twilight?"
I glanced in her direction, not much in the mood for a conversation right then, and saw the tip of her horn glowing. "Yes?"
"Block this," she said, and threw a pulse of magic at me.
I didn't block it. I was too surprised to even begin to pull up a shield spell and just let the little blade of light slap into my side. It stung a bit, even through the armor.
"Ow! What the hay?"
"Try again," Luna said, ignoring my indignation.
I didn't manage to raise a shield for the next one, either. I slewed around in the air in an instinctive and completely ungraceful attempt to dodge, and the bolt of magic glanced off my croupiere.
"Again," was all Luna said.
I popped up a shield around myself and the third blast dissipated harmlessly against it.
"Good," Luna said. "Now drop the shield and try again."
"If I drop my shield, you're going to sting me again! No thanks!"
"That's the whole point, Twilight. You can't fire through a shield and it takes energy to maintain. If you can reflexively cast a shield at just the moment you need it, you use less energy and are less restricted for offense."
Oh. A lesson. I liked lessons.
We flew on, passing the castle by as Luna continued to toss low-powered shafts of magic from different distances at staggered intervals. I got stung a few more times, but I soon caught on to the necessary timing and began blocking Luna's magic with ease.
"Excellent, Twilight!" Luna complimented me. "You are a very quick—" She fired another blast before she had even finished the sentence. It snapped against my criniere and I caught a whiff of scorched hair.
"Don't let your guard down!" she chided me.
"That was cheating!"
"That was winning, Twilight. Deception is more than half of warcraft. If you don't believe me, just ask my sister. She's an expert. Once around the Canterhorn, shall we? No pausing, no quarter. Are you ready?"
"Ready," I replied. "On three! One—" I popped off a little blast straight at her shoulder.
Luna twisted in the air and my shot passed over her back and right through her ethereal mane. She laughed joyfully and immediately fired a return shot.
Soon we were soaring and diving and dancing all over the sky while we flung little flashes of magic at each other like two pegasus fillies having a cloudball fight. I soon got the rhythm of it and we added dodges and feints into the game as well as good-natured insults.
"Hah!" Luna cried out after I'd done a very neat wingover to avoid one of her shots. "Do you call that flying? I have seen more agile albatrosses!"
"It's better than my aim!" I called back. "I don't know how I keep missing such a big, slow target!"
"Have I grown fat?" she gasped in mock distress. "'Tis the fault of your luxurious lunch! I perceive your scheming now, you devious villain. Have at you!"
By the time we dropped out of the sky, we were giddy and stumbling with happiness and exhaustion. There was a familiar tightness and twingeing in my wings; I was really going to feel it the next day, but it had been so worth it.
"Ahhh... I'm going to get out of this armor and take a long, hot bath before dinner," I said.
"Mm." Luna glanced at the sky. "I will need to raise the moon in a little while, but until then, I think I should aid in your relaxation. A massage while one bathes is considered a sovereign remedy for the stresses of battle."
"And who better to apply such a remedy than an actual sovereign?" I grinned back at her, trying to sound cool and flippant while striving to conceal the shivers of excitement that ran through me at her words.
Even as brief as they were, the bath and massage was amazing.
Just as Luna was leaving, I remembered something important. That morning I had signed my note with my honest feelings, but I hadn't actually spoken the word out loud to Luna. It was past time that I did. After our farewell kiss, I let my wingtip linger on her cheek and I said, "I love you, Luna."
It seemed our brief parting required a few more heart-felt kisses.
= = =
Dinner was disastrous.
It was clear that both Shining Armor and Cadance were very uncomfortable when they entered the private dining hall in the palace. Shining wore a brittle, worried smile, and Cadance wasn't smiling at all. Her neutral expression was a soft, gentle upturn of her lips that ponies often mistook for a smile, but I knew her better than that.
We made purely mechanical small talk until the appetizer had been served and the attendants had departed. I had warned Luna about what I thought was going to be sprung on us at dinner and, after she had calmed down, we decided the best way to approach the situation. I was still nervous.
While the rest of us fidgeted and fussed with the food, Luna forked a couple of the stuffed peppers into her mouth and pronounced them delicious. I looked up at her, grateful that at least one of us was relaxed, and that's when she slowed her next bite to a crawl and waggled one eyebrow at me.
My joyful laugh seemed to drain all the tension out of my body, and my brother and sister-in-law's bewildered expressions only made it better. That's right, I thought, you two just don't have any idea what we share!
"We had the most wonderful time today," I said, inspired by my own thought. "Luna and I practiced snap-shield defense magic all afternoon."
"I know," my brother said. "You gave the Royal Guard a bit of a scare until they figured out what you two were doing."
I waved away his implied criticism. "I think I've gotten fairly good at it. In fact, I came up with an interesting variation on the technique. Want to see?"
"In here?" Shining blinked in disbelief. "I don't think—"
I ignored him. "Low power, but as fast as you can," I said to Luna.
She didn't even nod; just snapped off a bright little pulse straight at me. I popped a little shield into existence right into its path. The shield was no larger than a salad plate and took far less time and energy to cast than one big enough to enclose my entire body, but it was all that was needed to deflect Luna's shot. The little streak of energy bounced harmlessly off my shield and spattered against the ceiling.
"See? The deflection throws some momentum feedback instead of dissipating in heat and light, and the resulting path of the reflection is a bit problematic, but I'm working on a way to guide that energy somehow."
"But you've got to be quick and pretty accurate with that cast," Shining said, suddenly showing an excited interest in the subject. "If your enemy is close, you won't have much time to throw it."
"True, close range shots are still pretty difficult for me to block, but it only took me an afternoon to drill the response into a reflex. All I really need is more practice. As soon as I feel the inceptive pulse, I start my own spell. I don't wait until it forms into an energy strike to react. I'll get quicker and quicker the more I do it."
"I've got to try that small shield idea. Maybe I can get some of my guards drilling on it. Most of them can only cast static shields, but—"
He was interrupted by Cadance very pointedly clearing her throat. Shining started and his worried look immediately returned.
"Twilight," Cadance began.
Oh no, I was not going to sit through the same dreary litany I'd gotten from Celestia. Time for a reflexive defense!
"I know why this meeting was arranged, Cadance." I took a deep breath and launched into my prepared speech. "I'm sure Celestia has filled in all the details for you, and I am fully aware that there are dozens of excellent reasons why our relationship is a bad idea, but the fact remains that we love each other and we make each other happy. I understand that we are royalty and therefore owe service and even sacrifice to the kingdom, but to give up something that means so much to both of us because of a slight possibility of something bad happening a long, long time from now is foolish. Love can't be turned off by flipping a switch, and even if we were to bow to Celestia's wishes and break it off, we would still feel what we feel. What quality of service would we render to the ponies of Equestria when we were both miserable and very likely resentful? Don't we deserve some happiness?"
She stared at me in surprise for an instant and then her expression softened. "Of course you do! And you're right about all the rest of it, too, Twilight. Except..." Cadance paused, and then went on, more softly. "There are some things that pass for love that can be turned on and off."
I gasped in surprise and then said, through clenched teeth, "Cadance, I love you as much as I could possibly love any sister, but I need you to tell me exactly what you meant by that."
Shining lost his polite smile and began to look a bit panicky.
"Please believe me, Twilight," Cadance went on, not quite looking at me. "I want you both to be happy. The thought of you in love is exciting and wonderful, but the suddenness of it has surprised everypony. We knew that you had become close friends with Luna over the last year or so, but that is something very different from romantic love. You are the most logical-minded pony I know. What would you suspect if this had happened to Celestia?" Trust Cadance to use my own pride in my intellect against me.
"Luna may have gone about wooing me in the wrong way, but she did not do something as despicable as what you're suggesting!"
"I am not accusing her, Twilight! I just want to be certain that your feelings are genuine, and there are any number of reasons why they may not be," Cadance said, looking absolutely miserable. "May I...?" She motioned with her head.
"You want to..." My mane stirred and lifted, a few sparks of magic snapping against the table and chair.
"Please, Twilight," Luna interrupted, stroking down my mane and grounding away the energy I had raised in my fury. "Let her make her test. I have no fear for my honor in this. Thou wilt deny her and my dear sister at least one doubt about us."
"No!" My anger-fueled denial was automatic. "This isn't fair!"
Cadance looked at me with concern. "It will put your mind at ease. It will put everypony's mind at ease. Then we can all be happy for—"
I slammed a hoof down on the table. I didn't want to meekly cooperate after being ambushed, though I could see that Cadance had a very good point. But that didn't mean I had to like it. I turned to Luna. "If I let her do this, will you swear to me that you won't think it means that I don't trust you?"
"Truly, Twilight," Luna said, stroking my mane with her magic again, "I will not think the less of thee for it. 'Tis not thee who is mistrustful of me." She shot a pointed glance at Cadance.
"Hey!" Shining Armor leaped to his wife's defense. "Celestia asked her to come here!"
Luna shrugged. "Let first suspicion be cast upon the mare who walks the night. 'Tis not a thing I am unused to." She tilted her head at Shining in a show of curiosity. "How strange that Celestia accepted all the oddities of your courtship without question."
"That…" Shining sputtered, going a bit red in the face. "That was different!"
"Yes," Luna said, drawing the word out into a long sigh. "That monster now walks our streets openly. A creature known for her manipulations of the heart and the devouring of love... And yet, first you come to me. How very curious."
I was squirming in my seat by then, desperately trying to come up with a way to defuse the situation. Unfortunately, I was too late.
"It's not like Celestia doesn't have a good reason to doubt you," Shining Armor growled between clenched teeth.
We all froze. You could have heard a gnat thinking about dropping a pin.
"Prithee, Prince Consort," Luna asked in a soft, exceedingly dangerous tone of voice. "What is this reason of which thou speakest?"
My brother's face closed down like a shutter over a shop window. He suddenly became "professionally neutral" as they called it in the guard. "My apologies, Your Divine Highness. I misspoke."
"I think you did not. Again, I ask you for this reason." Luna slowly rose from her place at the table. She didn't raise her voice, and her expression was relaxed and neutral, but she exuded menace.
Cadance stood up abruptly. "I'm sorry, Twilight. I can see this was a mistake. We should go."
"It seems that if there are secrets here, 'tis not I who holds them," Luna said.
I stood as well. I stepped to Luna's side and put a wing over her back. I wasn't quite sure if it was a gesture of support or restraint at that point. I looked at my brother. "Shiny?"
He wouldn't meet my eyes. He just shook his head. "I'm sorry, Twily. Let's just forget it, okay?"
I felt Luna's horn light up with power and her eyes went dark and red. "Prince Shining Armor," she said, and alicorn magic laced her words. "For the third time, I ask—"
Cadance and my brother winked out in a swirl of golden magic.
I felt Luna slump under my wing. "Ahh, I see," she said on a long exhalation. "I suppose I must thank my sister. To lay a geas upon a guest would have been a thing ill-done."
There was another burst of golden magic and Celestia stood before us. "Indeed, it would have been, Luna. And to no purpose." She lowered her gaze for a moment, sighed, and then spoke again. "I hope that both of you can forgive me for arranging this meeting. I certainly did not mean for it to take the turn it did. The last thing I want is for there to be ill-feelings among your family, Twilight."
"I'm not angry," I told her, avoiding her gaze. "I'm hurt. I'm hurt that you think there's something wrong with me because I'm in love with Luna."
"Oh, Twilight! It's not that at all! I just want to make sure..." She trailed off, and I heard her hooves shuffle uncertainly on the tiles. Celestia at a loss for words was a novelty for me.
"I'm sure," I told her, meeting her eyes at last.
Luna said nothing but held her head in a high, stiff posture. She gazed upon her sister, unsmiling.
"Then I will trouble you no more on the matter," Celestia said, a bit stiffly. "Again, you both have my apology for this debacle. I did not mean to accuse you of any wrongdoing, Luna. Please do not blame Cadance or Shining Armor for what I put in motion."
Luna relaxed a bit. "Aye, and I will make my apologies to the Prince and Princess when next we meet."
It certainly wasn't a sharing-a-hug moment. Things weren't magically fixed and the tension between us didn't instantly disappear. But it was a start.
Celestia vanished as abruptly as she had appeared, and Luna and I left the castle. It didn't feel right to remain there. We wandered the evening streets of Canterlot, moving as far from the upper city as possible. We surprised quite a number of ponies, including the owner of a "Korn Fritter Onna Stick" cart where we got our belated dinner. The food was greasy and half-burnt and completely wonderful because we were sharing it together. Luna had five of them.
"I guess an Eternal One doesn't need to worry about fattening foods," I grinned at her, pointedly staring at her narrow, tight waistline.
She grinned at me and casually stepped forward, raising one foreleg and arching her back. I went light-headed for a moment when I realized she was showing off for me.
"If you prefer a softer physique," she said in a low, velvety purr. "I am accomplished at shapeshifting magic, and can..." She trailed off and a look of puzzlement crossed her face. "But where did you hear that name, Twilight? It fell out of use long before my banishment."
I was already blushing, and having to tell Luna the details of the muffin dream would undoubtedly have caused me to collapse into a heap of embarrassed, stammering incoherence, so I simply said, "The Nightmare used it in one of my dreams."
"Does she still trouble your sleep, Twilight? Has she asked anything of you? Remember—"
"No, it's all right. I know better than to trust her. I think she's just... teasing me for her own amusement."
Luna looked like she wanted to press me for more details, but after a moment, she just nodded and continued walking. The nice little flirty moment had been lost: another crime to lay at the hooves of the wicked Mare of Darkness.
We talked of lots of little things as we walked. I told Luna about Private Flicker, and she agreed to take him into her service if it was his wish. We spoke of our own tastes in art and music and dance.
Luna sighed wistfully. "I have not danced in more than a thousand years, Twilight. I remember it was to the music of a grand celebration in the great hall of the old castle. I danced alone in the courtyard outside, lest I frighten the revelers with my presence. The stars were very beautiful that night."
She said it as a mere statement of fact, but it made my heart hurt for her. "You..." I paused and cleared my throat. "I'd love to see you dance, sometime."
She chuckled. "'Twill take some time to accomplish, I fear. The music of this age is ill fit to the steps I know, and modern dance seems to me more like the convulsions of one struck hard upon the head than graceful exercise."
I laughed at that. Then I had an idea. "Let's go down to the river garden! There's plenty of room on the big lawn there. You can show me your favorite dance!"
It took a bit of convincing, but Luna finally agreed, and we made our way back across the High Street and down winding Grassmarket Lane to the park. Luna set some cattails along the shore to thumping out the rhythm against the trunk of an oak, and I called up the Music of the Reeds spell. When Luna had crafted the tune to her liking, she began to dance.
It was a slow and stately dance, a pavanne Luna called it, but it was also full of joy and grace. After the first few measures, she made me join her. The steps were complex, but they were precise and arranged in a pattern that made a lot of sense to me. After a few run-throughs, I felt more comfortable with it than I'd ever been with the sort of freestyle dancing I usually attempted at parties. I never knew what I ought to be doing with my hocks and head there, but this dance had rules. We danced through the whole tune twice and then finished with a full, sweeping bow to each other.
We were surprised by the soft rumble of hooves against the lawn, as the small audience we hadn't known we had acquired applauded us.
Luna smiled at them, her eyes sparkling in the lantern light, and gave them a small bow of thanks. "'Tis an age of wonders, indeed, Twilight," she said softly to me as the little crowd broke up.
We went and stood on the high battlements of the city walls near the head of the falls and watched the fireflies wink in and out among the trees. I told Luna how, as a filly, I had thought they were actually teleporting, and had said to my mother that if a 'dumb bug' could do it, I was certainly going to learn to. My mother didn't correct me, and bought me a book on high energy vortex theory the next day.
Luna kissed me, and I melted into her embrace again. The fear was still there, but I had gotten out of the habit of letting fear stop me from doing what needed to be done.
"I love you," I whispered to Luna, my lips still in contact with hers. "I need you."
She kissed me again, and her magic swept through my mane and down my neck, tingling and caressing as it went. I moaned quietly and pressed myself against her. No more timid school-filly reluctance, no more fear of the unknown or my own ignorance. I kissed Luna, slowly and tenderly and when I was finished I looked up into her eyes and whispered, "I want you."
Her smile gleamed in the darkness and she softly replied, "Thou shalt have all that thou desirest, my love. All that I am... all that I can give… all are thine, now and forever more." She glanced up at the palace and frowned. "But where...?"
I agreed with her about that. I wanted my first time to be perfect, and I doubted that I could be comfortable in Canterlot Castle that night.
My own castle? No, it was as much my friends' place as it was mine. I wanted it to be someplace intimate and cozy, someplace I felt relaxed and safe. If my loft above the library still existed... but part of it still did. It was a long ways from Canterlot, but I was filled with a desperate energy and determination. "Come with me," I said to Luna, and stepped over the cliff edge.
I dropped alongside the falling water and saw the flow come to a standstill beside me as our relative speeds matched. Then, a slight twist of my wings and I was flashing out above the plains and the long meanders of the River Canter, headed for Ponyville.
Luna sped past and looped up and over me in a graceful barrel roll. I laughed and swerved, weaving in and out of her flight path like a filly playing at being a Wonderbolt. The night flight was exhilarating but it was only the prelude to what I was, by then, aching for. As soon as we got near enough, I summoned up my magic and teleported us the rest of the way.
We tumbled into my stateroom aboard Evenstar. We landed roughly and we'd completely missed the bed, which was saying something as it took up half the cabin. We scrambled up onto the blankets as we frantically used our mouths and magic on each other. Luna rolled me over and the look of unbridled desire in her eyes as she pressed down on top of me made me go absolutely molten with mindless need. I threw my head back and to the side and pressed my muzzle against the oak paneling, salvaged from my lost home. I breathed in the old scents of books, friends, and magic, and surrendered myself to the Night.
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Do I see Want it, Need it spell there?
The Nightmare is going to have some very interesting comments tonight ...
For a sec there I thought this was going to turn into clop
Awesome
This part killed me.
They are cute together.
I hope they can all work this out. It's not nice for families to fight, especially over something as silly as love. (Not that love is silly! It's just silly to fight about it, is all.) This group of ponies is rather central to the kingdom, and they need to stand united together, not get caught up in disagreements.
4580112
Fear not, I tag my stories accurately. The muffin dream is as close as I'm going to get to explicit in this story.
4580167
"The course of true love never did run smooth..."
4580092
thing. But...
Well, her eyes didn't do the creepy
*reads line*
Hm...
*Leaves room, comes back 5 minutes later with shotgun*
Might have to go smack a filly, iisaw.
4580353
I regret nothing!!!
4580378 And there's your second mistake.
4580094
Not if they're up all night
Celestia needs a kick to the face. :\
You vindictive, treasonous, lying, manipulative daughter of a whore! A whore that smelled of elderberries, yew, and schemes, and bedded with an alcoholic fish, that admittedly sang rather well, but was still an ugly, slimy thing! Like you, wretched whore- and fish-daughter that you are!
(No, I'm not going to tell you which alicorn sister I'm talking about.)
(Nor will I explain what schemes smell like, or how a drunk fish can hold a tune)
4580611 4580849
Hold your horses, guys! Glad you're passionate about this, but there are more revelations to come.
4580092
That's an interesting point. However, note that Twilight stated her need for Luna before the spell, so the Want it, Need It spell would only enhance her need, not create it. Luna could have used the spell to help Twilight get past her nervousness and simply enjoy the experience. Or it's just the magical equivalent of running one's fingers through the hair of your lover. Without more detail, either are just as valid.
I'm really liking how iisaw is writing this story. So many of Luna's actions can be interpreted in different ways. If you're on Celestia's side, you may read her actions as manipulation. If you're on Twilight's side, it's simply love and affection. And if you're on Luna's side? Well, we'll just have to see how things work out. Personally, I see both sides as having truth in them. I feel that Luna truly wants Twilight's affections, and she will stop at nothing to encourage Twilight to return those affections. Does Luna cross the line and end up outright manipulating Twilight into having feelings she normally wouldn't have? That's up to the reader to decide.
4580997
That, right there, is some of the highest praise I think I've gotten on this story. Thank you!
THIS BITE SHALL LAST -
Luna, that was terrible.
I can't help but imagine this tour of the shipyard and explanation of the Solar Flare's features is preparation for its eventual destruction in combat later on in the story. I kept waiting for Gudgeon to describe it as unsinkable.
I also can't help but notice that Cadance didn't get to run her test. I don't really think that Luna has Twilight literally under her spell, but I wouldn't put it past the Nightmare to have "helped" the relationship along as part of a plan to screw with the royal family. Either way, after that failure of a dinner it's going to be an awkward trip if Shining is still going to be coming along as one of the guard commanders.
I'm also curious what Shining meant. Maybe he's just angry on behalf of Flash as a fellow member of the guard and as one of his commanders? I was somewhat expecting him to reveal that the dude had a nervous breakdown as a result of Luna’s nightmare intervention and is in therapy or something along those lines.
Anyway, I think I'm even going to go with that as my theory for what's going on. The Nightmare has Twilight under her influence, and they just missed the best opportunity yet to discover how deep that influence goes.
ii, I drop whatever I'm doing whenever I see TLC update,. Wonderfully done as usual. I'm on Twilight and Luna's side here; as dj mentioned, I wouldn't put it past Nightmare to be subtly influencing Twilight, but I think what they have together is entirely theirs.
I put this on during the dance scene; I'm not sure how accurate it is, but it's good music and seemed reasonably appropriate.
4581670
That's lovely, and very much in the spirit of her dance.
Believe it of not, I actually did have a piece of music in mind, and this is the performance that comes closest to how it might have sounded: Belle Qui Tiens Ma Vie
I really should have put that in the blog post... heck, I think I'll go add it now! Thanks for bringing it up!
4580276
"Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
More
4582140
That's nice too, and possibly easier to have played by river reeds.
You're welcome. :)
4582287
Very good advice: Twilight, take heed!
4580112
I thought so too... I was like 'wait... Isn't this teen rated?'
Ok, that last bit was very Steamy.
Just... Wow!
Thanks for the very good read.
Ooh, and this is good, too.
...Though something in my head just assigned it not to the dancing but to the Twiluna, ahem, bedroom scene...
4583069
That's awesome! I love hurdy gurdies!
4583304
I like them too... when I think of them at all... which isn't often, to be honest, but still, they're cool and have a nice sound. :)
The wait. It hurts!
And sorry, but one thing. You want a double helping of dessert, not desert (mnemonic to remember that the course after a meal is spelled with two 's'es). I don't often notice mistakes but for some reason that one always catches my eye.
4583802 This one's easy: "Dessert is for sweet & sour, while desert is for sand." Or something like that - someone once said it like a rhyme to me, and it sort of stuck with me, even I can't remember the exact words.
4583802 4584415
)
Ah, thanks for the catch! Fix'd. (I do know better, but my fingers have habits.
Maybe it's just me but this seems like a straight up shipping story with a background adventure plot. Not what I was expecting. Personally I like seeing the development of a relationship rather than 3,2,1 "now we are madly in love" but im guessing that's all part of the plot later on.
Wow!! This is best chapter!
So beautiful!
I think what I like most about your stories are the footnotes. I might suggest more liberal use as in the Discworld novels.
Admittedly, I do not know what to say to a TwiLuna story in the context of the prequel, but I am a big fan of TwiLuna so I am more or less fine with letting it pass unchallenged. It has been a while since I read The Celestia Code, so I could be missing some important hints and foreshadowing. Overall, the romance was surprisingly fresh from the usual TwiLuna ship and I love that Luna is actively using her abilities to get what she wants instead of moping about. Not quite sure what Cadance was going to do. She was hesitating a bit too much for it to seem benign to me but I could be reading into it too much. However, Twilight does seem a bit more...playful...than usual. Perhaps the Nightmare is having some sort of subconscious influence. Also, I like that for once a shipping story has all the wooing in the past (possibly with more revelations) and is getting on with the actual shipping. Not that wooing isn't also enjoyable to read. At the same time, I could see some people finding it a bit abrupt if they are not crew members of the TwiLuna ship. Anyways...
Thestral rejuvenation. Interesting. Also interesting that Twilight hasn't pounced on that research project as a fix-all medical treatment for pegasi. I mean seriously. If it can regrow entire wings (and anything else as implied), it could probably be repurposed into just about any medical application. Possibly on non-pegasi as well. I suppose social/cultural/medical revolution is not really all that important in a romance story...but just think of the sheer magnitude of utility that research would generate! Someone needs to get on that.
"As soon as I feel the the inceptive pulse [...]" One too many thes (in this chapter).
A very minor note. Dashes are used for stuttering. En dashes and em dashes are not (although on this site em dashes are outrageously long, so the use of just en dashes is acceptable). This is about as far as my level one grammar nazi powers go.
Wow , I love you writing !
How often do you update this/post a new chapter ?
Are you going for a more action-y ending like the Celestia Code or something different ?
I'm really excited for the next battle
4598069
Thank you! I try to post a new chapter every week. So far, I've pretty much kept on schedule. (New chapter this Saturday.) There will be plenty more action!
4597085
Thanks for the great comment! I'm glad you like the story. One of my pre-readers beats me up about inappropriate footnote use,[1] but I try to get in as many as possible.
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[1] Ghod, I love them so much! There is a shrine to Pratchett in my library!
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I purposely skipped the whole wooing phase because it has been done so many times. I'd rather explore what happens afterwards rather than spend twenty chapters or so leading up to the first kiss. I enjoy reading those stories, but I felt I didn't have much new to add. Figuring out the fallout of such a romance (particularly when there's something not quite right about it) got me motivated enough to begin the story. And since love is a force of nature in Equestria, I quickly realized that things can get interesting.
There will be more on the thestral transformation situation.
Thanks for the typo correction and the advice on ellipses vs. em-dashes.[2] I'm definitely using ellipses for pauses and stuttering, though I use repeated words to make the latter more obvious.
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[2] The difference between the two is more mysterious to me than semicolon usage!
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Hmm, first time posting a comment on a fan fiction ever, and its MLP. The internet does strange things to people. I'm a sucker for good literature in whatever form.
While I was originally off put by the difference between Twilight as written in TCC, and how she is portrayed here, I realized that you are a competent writer and are no doubt doing this for some purpose. Things don't add up right now because they don't add up in the story, not because it was written poorly. An important distinction. Based on the quality of the last story, I'm willing to trust that you have a solid idea of what you're doing, and will wait eagerly for how all this is explained.
A thought: Twilight absorbed the dark battery of a giant, wish granting magical device in the last story. A device that we know responds to not only verbal stimuli, but the mental states of ponies around it. With that in mind, how do we know that Luna's desire to be with Twilight has not had some sort of bleeding effect with the residue of dark, wish granting energy absorbed by her? It would explain why she was suddenly gay (only for Luna though), as well as a few other details. The kicker, if this is true? Luna is unknowingly mind-controlling Twilight. /end WMGing
4608318
Thank you for the comment! I'm glad you've put so much thought into it, and I can assure you that there will be an explanation for all the strangeness. (I'm pretty sure I've lost a couple of readers who weren't willing to trust me on this)
I continue to remain suspicious of the incredibly helpful nature of Nightmare's meddling (previous chapter) in Twilight's relationship. Luna seems to genuinely like Twilight, and simply accepts that she's getting what she wants quicker than is reasonable, without question. Twilight's blood chemistry, emotions, and desires are definitely being toyed with, but I really don't think it's Luna who is doing it.
There was a line in The Celestia Code, where Luna, in a dream, mentioned that dreams are more the realm of desire than of fear. And Nightmare has been in her dreams, nudging her toward Luna.
I don't know if I'm right, or if this is where the story is going, but I can see poor Luna's heart breaking when Twilight comes out of the spell, feeling appalled and violated, unable to ever eat blueberries again.
This chapter... I like it. ANOTHER!!!
Every complaint I've ever had about this story GONE!
Wow, Luna dances on a very old French song.
Clearly a grand dame .
4580092
Yeah, I can't see that phrasing not being on purpose. I get the feeling Shiny sticking his hoof in his mouth was the only thing that stopped Cadence from finding something really nasty -- and that neither Twilight nor Luna were aware of.
I'm glad.that I reserved judgment on how I felt about the romance thus far. You're doing an excellent job of toeing the line between unbelievable as a plot effect and unbelievable as poor writing (toeing the line is probably the wrong phrase; it's pretty clear at this point that everything you're doing is quite deliberate).
Another solid chapter, well done.
I really, really want to know what Celestia had said to Cadence and Shining Armour. She must be incredibly worried if she even implied that Luna had used some kind of mind-control or at least mind-clouding spell on Twilight.
one her
This doesn't make sense of me. Did you mean "the number of cells" instead of "the volume of each cell?"
she, not the
as they were.
Perhaps administer would be a better word?
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