Dumb Luck

by Wild_Heart

The Princess and the Knight

(Author's Note: Fair warning, this is NOT the chapter you're looking for! It's an old fic I wrote after learning that Lauren Faust stated Luna was possessed by something, rather than herself having been Nightmare Moon. This fic contains a song badly mangled by me to fit the situation and characters, and is sorta inspired by a picture The Weaver did. If you recognize the song, you get a cookie. Don't worry, I'm still working on revising Point of No Return, and the REAL next chapter of Dumb Luck will be out when I'm done. Cheers.

Oh yea. This contains very small amounts of TwiLestia. It's not canon to the rest of Dumb Luck. So nyah.)

~~~

Once upon a time, there was a princess. She was graceful and lovely, but shy and hesitant. She had not many friends, but she had one: A knight of auburn body and red hair. She was the opposite of the princess in many ways. Brash and overbearing, clumsy and quick tempered.

She protected her princess from any slight quite forcefully, real or imagined, and she had no friends herself because of this. But they needed no other friends. Both would stargaze night after night, the princess telling the knight things about those stars that she'd never considered. Even for such an impatient person, the knight was fascinated with it all. They were fast friends, and they were happy for a time.

Then, one day, there came a beast, a cruel and wicked monster who kidnapped the princess and laid waste to her armies, locking her away in his castle. The knight, who had been on a mission to another land, arrived back to find what had happened. Enraged, and filled with nothing but the desire to avenge and rescue her princess, the knight charged into battle with her sword and shield.

Facing the beast's entire army, she cut a path through them. Even when heavily wounded, and surrounded, she called on the power of those stars themselves she had loved so dearly to support her. And the beast watched with astonishment as a single knight destroyed his ranks utterly, and stood before his throne. The beast, however, was a match for an army himself and attacked, the knight unable to do anything but call on that night sky fully, knowing it would be her last wish.

The beast fled, vanquished, and the princess freed, but the latter gasped in horror at what her friend had done to herself....

Instead of her beautiful auburn, her body was a pitch black. Her eyes, once conveying love, were featureless orbs. Her hair, the brilliant yellow and red that symbolized her passion for justice and honor, was now turned cold, seemingly made from the night sky itself. The princess wept at her foolishness for allowing her friend to do such a thing, but the knight took her chin and spoke softly. Her last words that would convey emotion: "You have not failed me. I have failed myself. I beg of you, my princess, relieve me from my duty, for I am now but a shell, nothing of me remains."

The princess did as she asked, but not fully. She took the power of the night back to herself, but also her friend's mind, which remained there.

And so the knight and the princess became one. For better ... And for worse.

---

"Now get to bed, Dawn. You have school in the morning! I bet you can't wait to wake up and see what you learn." The little unicorn gave her mother a flat look, something that Twilight didn't notice in the slightest, as she was putting the book she'd been reading to her on the shelf.

"But mama, I don't like stories with sad endings. Can't you please read me another one?" Dawn wiggled out of the blankets to sit up. Twilight gave off a sigh and walked back to her daughter's side. She knew how to deal with the foal's resistence to sleep. When Dawn saw the brush, she squeaked and tried to dive under the sun-motifed covers of her bed, but she found herself caught in her mother's magic nonetheless, and raised up.

Twilight couldn't help but smile again at Dawn's mischief. As she ran a brush through the lavender highlights of the filly's mainly pink mane, she responded. "It did have a happy ending, Dawn. Doesn't Princess Luna seem very glad to be free and ruling again?"

"I guess," the white unicorn responded, feeling drowsy from the brushing. It got her every time. "But she still looks sad sometimes, when she thinks you aren't looking."

Twilight's own expression became sad at that, though Dawn couldn't see. It was true. It had been more than 60 years since that night, when the Elements of Harmony had destroyed Nightmare Moon. Was Luna still guilty about it? Twilight doubted it. She had resolved what she had done as Nightmare Moon with Equestria and herself. But there must be something that clearly was bothering the moon princess. "I'm sure she'll feel better soon, Dawn." Not hearing a response, the Element of Magic smiled gently and laid the little one down in her bed, covering her up. Kissing Dawn on the forehead, Twilight whispered, "Sweet dreams," and went for the door quietly. She wasn't feeling tired herself, so it was time to stargaze. And, perhaps, to speak to Luna about her woes. If she would.

---

"We heard thy call, Twilight," The princess's voice spake from the library's landing. Twilight sat under it with a telescope set up, an eye all but glued to the view-port. She didn't respond to Luna, and the goddess of the night smirked. "Thou are old, but not aging. We know thou hast heard mine voice, Twilight."

While Luna had been mistaken about her hearing the first statement, Twilight had heard the second, and the unicorn jumped a little. She looked frantically to a window, then up to Luna. "Please, princess, not so loud. Dawn is asleep." Luna nodded, and spread her wings, allowing herself to fall from the landing to glide down beside the smaller pony. Twilight rose with a smile and brushed her neck to Luna's, a gesture the princess returned only hesitantly.

"Why didst thou call? It is late, Twilight, and while we deeply appreciate thy love of our night, surely thou must be tired."

"Princess, something's bothering you, and I really want to help." Twilight was forced to step a bit to the side as Luna pulled back from her with a frown.

"There is nothing."

"Please, your highness, there's no need to hide it. I just want to help."

"We hath nothing to conceal, Twilight," the alicorn replied venomously, causing Twilight to shrink back a bit. "Remember that while thou mayst be immortal due to thine Element, thou art still a subject of Equestria, and we do not enjoy being questioned by our subjects."

Luna didn't like the sad, scolded look the unicorn wore now, and felt guilty at having been the one to put that expression on her face. But royalty must never back down from their words or decision. Twilight, for her part, knew Luna was simply protecting herself. Even if that was unnecessary. "Yes, your highness. Are you going tonight?"

The princess started, her eyes going wide. "G-Going where?"

"To the moon. I've seen you flying to it through my telescope, sometimes." Luna hesitated, then sighed heavily. She might have guessed Twilight had been paying attention. She always was, even if it didn't feel like it.

"Yes, we are going there tonight."

"Forgive me for saying this, but you spent a thousand years there. Why do you go every week?" Twilight was right to be confused. But there was a difference between being trapped there, and going there willingly. Luna loved her moon, even if there was not much there to see. Not much except ...

"It is peaceful, and hath a wonderful view of Equestria from its surface." Luna managed to keep a straight smile on her face, though she left out her true reasons. "Mayhaps, one day, we shall bring thee to it and allow thee to see for thyself."

"It would be pretty hard for me to breath up there, wouldn't it?"

"There are spells for that," Luna replied, not able to help but chuckle. "Now, get thee to sleep. Our sister wishes to see thee in the morning, and it will not do for thou to be nodding off when she visits." Twilight blushed and couldn't stop a flutter in her heart. It had taken almost 5 decades for all the backed up work to be finished, but thanks to the combined efforts of the royal sisters, both princesses had far more free time. That fact was something Twilight was thankful for. She looked up to Dawn's window with a peaceful smile. Very thankful for.

"Of course, Princess. Have a nice night, and try to stay warm up there." Twilight disassembled the telescope, packed it away, and trotted inside as Luna took wing, soaring up into the deep darkness of the night sky.

---

The moon's surface is very rolling, full of large craters, cliffs, and crevaces. As always, Luna was careful flying over it. Even as a goddess, she could be hurt badly, and being forced to spend months on the moon healing from broken bones was not her idea of fun. That wasn't to say such an accident was likely. Luna shaped the moon herself, and knew every inch of it by heart. It had just so happened that meteorites marred it's lovely surface now and then, and Luna was not always aware of all the changes. She was also not fond of the idea of one of those rocks finding her back or wingspan as she flew, regardless of how unlikely that occurence was. As soon as she was in walking distance of her destination, she was all too happy to land and walk.

It was slow going. Each step was more like a hop, and each step must be calculated, carefully made. Dust covered rocks, and sometimes ground was far more uneven than it seemed. On the positive side of things, this manner of movement was very graceful and fluid, something Luna was very proud of. She'd never quite been as much of either as her sister on Equestria, but here? Here she was more so. She could enjoy being better than her sister at one more thing, a pleasure she was not often allowed.

It is not to be surmised that Luna did not love her sister. Of course she did. She had ruled for thousands of years with her sister, and she would rule with her not for all eternity. That created bonds of love that most creatures could not even begin to fathom in their miniscule lifetimes. Her sister made her happy in so many ways, and that there were now six more ponies to join them in eternity made Luna even more happy.

But Celestia was the older sister, and that always brings resentment to any pair of siblings. Celestia was more graceful, more socially able, more powerful. More beautiful, too, or so Luna believed. It was easy to be jealous of her.

Far too easy, as Luna realized with a shudder. She pulled her mind away from those thoughts. They did not nearly have the power or backing they once had, and she was glad of that. And yet, still, such thoughts always made her flinch from herself in fear, the fear that she may have a relapse. That was impossible, but it didn't stop the irrational parts of her mind from screaming those warnings when they could.

Luna had no more time to think about that, anyway. The moon princess had arrived. There was a small house there, fashioned from the dust and rock that made up the surface of the moon. Magic had shaped it, but not her own magic. She took a deep breath, though there was no air there to fill her lungs. She had prepared herself for this. A new rhyme, one that the occupant was not prepared for. It was simple, short, but profound, she wished to believe. The goddess of the night was sure that this time, she could get through to her. When she sang, it was driven by magic, as no sound could carry here without it.

"Thou knowst my love thee will beget,

As fair as love can be.

My only pain has been regret,

And still here thou will see.

I will turn into a Nightingale,

My song will warm thy heart."

Luna faltered as she was cut off by a response from inside the home, cold and arrogant.

"Then I'll turn into a threshing machine,

And tear thy bird apart."

The princess could not help but be shocked. Somehow, her quarry had already improvised. She had never done that before. No one had ever accused the pony of being bright. However, Luna couldn't falter. She would not fail this time. A few slow leaping steps brought her to the door of the cottage, though her hoof hesitated before it pushed open the entrance. She tried to calm herself by coming up with a response. It was weak, but it was something.

"I will turn into a vampire,

And kiss thee on the neck."

The response was almost immediate, and now had an amused quality to it.

"Well, I'll turn into a silver cross,

And send you back to heck."

Was she mocking her? Luna felt a slight surge of anger, and pushed the door open. In the middle of the cottage stood a pony with her back to the princess. A tall, black unicorn, her mane mere wisps of deep blue, lights sparkling within it as they appeared and disappeared. On her flanks were the mark of a sword set behind a yellow shield shaped like a five pointed star. The sight of her took away that anger, replacing it with different emotions.

Pain.

Sadness.

Fear.

Love.

She would not let her adversary get the best of her. Never again. Before the moon princess could continue, however, another line came from from the mouth of the black pony.

"Then I'll turn into a fairelight bomb,

And atomize the air."

The anger returned to Luna's mind, and she forgot her original intentions, singing herself:

"Then I'll turn into a cockroach,

Thou shall see if I care!"

She hadn't thought that one through. Luna thought she would soon be mocked for the oversight, but the response that came was far more stinging, far more vicious, and the sheer joy it was delivered with only made it hurt all the more.

"I'll just turn into a supernova,

And burn up everything."

It was no longer about pleading with the pony in front of her. The moon princess stormed up as close to the star-filled tail as she dared, and practically screamed:

"Then I shall turn into a small black hole,

And thou shall become string!"

Only silence came after. Had her opponent failed? Luna slowly smirked in triumph as time passed, but that thrill didn't last. It couldn't. The adrenaline from her anger wore off, and the goddess of the night was left with shock at herself. She bowed her head, and tried to hold back tears, fighting with her mind to formulate something that could make up for her aggressiveness.

"I will turn to Diana herself,

And thou shall come to me."

Once again, silence reigned, and Luna slipped her front-right hoof back to begin a slow retreat when the response came. It was no longer haughty, but it was still so cold it sent a chill down the alicorn's spine.

"Well, I will not listen to her,

And then where will you be?"

The dark-blue coated pony couldn't help but let her tears fall. Right now, she just wanted to run, to fly away. To never come back. But she couldn't bring herself to. Luna was as much a prisoner as this pony was, just a prisoner of heart and mind instead of body. She choked out a reply as best she could, though it became more of a plea.

"For thou, I'd part the sky and sea,

Would that forgiveness bring?"

"I'd only scoff and shake my head,

That wouldn't prove a thing."

Luna's tears stang her eyes, soaked her cheeks. It took her far too long to speak again. "Starshield, why? Why must thou do this thing?" Luna didn't notice the unicorn's smile, nor the ethereal mass of mane and tail slipping behind her. "I hath loved thee before, and thou hath loved me. I know, it is mine own fault our love was destroyed, mine own fault that I did not fufill thy dying wish!" She shuddered, barely able to continue through choked sobs. "But I am so deeply sorry, can thou simply not forgive me? Can it not be as it was?"

She gasped as she was suddenly scooped up by the starry-wall formed behind her, and the unicorn turned, deep black eyes gazing down at the princess. For a moment, Luna was terrified, truly believing that she would be possessed again, and this time against her will. The alicorn demanded from herself an answer to why she hadn't listened to her older sister, why had she come here, but was cut off as she felt her head pressed up to the other mare's chest.

"Your mind is dull, this isn't right.

Use your ears, they're still true.

See, you're the princess, I'm the knight.

It's my task to woo you."

Tears were wiped from the moon princess's eyes with that mane, and for a while, all she could do was cry into Starshield's chest. Silence once again reigned, for a while, and the two found themselves on the floor, laying beside each other. Luna's neck laid against the black unicorn's chest, and Starshield's own over the princesses. It seemed like hours they simply laid there in silence. Luna could barely believe what had been said, what had happened. Eventually, however, she regained her senses enough. "Thou made a mistake." Starshield cocked her head to one side curiously, a brow raised. "The first and third lines are not to rhyme."

"Just shut up and kiss me."

---

Some stories don't have a happy ending. Some are sad, some are bitter-sweet. But stories of princesses should always end with the words 'happily ever after', and this one will not be an exception.

And so, they all lived happily ever after.

Comments

[saruSAM]

well that was just dandy.

[Professor Donger]

they is immortal!

[Grog18]

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

[Tailslover13]

Quite a cute little story. Kinda different, but so adorable! Funny ending, too.

[Super_Big_Mac]

Daaaaammmmmmiiiiiiit! I know the song.... I'm sure of it! Now I REALLY won't be able to sleep! Gotta remember... Gotta remember... Gotta remember...!!!!!

[Stat_Booster]

Not bad for an earler work, you have definitly improved.

P.S. have no idea what the song is.

[Dreamer of Dragons]

The End

[Dutchy]

:(

why is it so short? i dont like it being done in 1 chapter

58849
Posting like this because I can't be bothered to log in.

This is a series about several ships all contained in one universe. The majority of them are going to be one shot. I'm sorry if you don't like that. The ZecoraBloom chapter is going to be one shot. The BigMare is going to be one shot. Gildashy got a pass because it was a complicated concept that I wanted to expand.

I don't want you to take this as your opinions not mattering to me, but I am not going to be subject to the whims of the readers. If you enjoyed it, enjoy it for what it is, not for what it could be, what you want it to be.

[Bubbleshy]

Okay, I am going to your page and adding your other stories to my tracking list. No author before you has pushed me to that, but your work is beautiful!

[Wild_Heart]

71121
What's there not to get? It's not the only pairing here. If you're only looking for that, then you might want to look elsewhere. From the description: This is a collection of short stories, all shipping, and all with some element of luck involved in the pairings. All the stories take place in the same continuity, and all pairings are final!

So, you will see hints of Twilight and Dash's relationship throughout the fic, but they will not be the focus again.

[TheAussieBlue]

WHAT SONG IS THIS!?

[Knightmare Neko]

I only read the author's note here and I would like to say
Luna was possessed by her raging hormones as she PMS'd all over the sky
AND THATS HOW EQUESTRIA WAS MADE!