• Published 15th Aug 2012
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Twilight's Birthday - Gallifrey



Twilight's birthday is coming up and Luna is eager to show her a good time in Canterlot's bars.

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In the Dead of Night

Twilight's Birthday

by Gallifrey

Chapter Six
In the Dead of Night

"This pizza really is delicious."

A long, hot string of cheese hung between Twilight's muzzle and the hapless pizza she was devouring.

"Ah yeah," sighed Rainbow after her first bite, "drunk pizza is best pizza, right AJ?"

"Yes mam!" agreed the farm pony, tucking into hers.

They were sitting in the surprisingly small and cosy living room of Canterlot Castle. Twilight had teleported them there from the pizza takeaway.

Well, thought Twilight. Near as good as.

Twilight had tried to teleport them to the great oak doors that were the entrance to the Castle. What had actually happened was that they'd all ended up in the Gardens in a pile, except Fluttershy who was stuck in a tree, and Twilight who materialised in an icy fountain. She promised them all to never try magic when drunk again.

On the plus side, mused the lavender unicorn, chewing slowly at least I don't smell any more.

She looked around at her best friends, all looking decidedly worse for wear, with ruffled manes and tired faces across the board.

"This pizza really is delicious," said Twilight for the third time.

"Yes, Twi," said Applejack patiently, "we're eating it too, remember?"

"Oh yeah," she said, comprehension dawning on her face, along with a happy grin.

Rainbow looked at Twilight, to ask her a question, but thought better of it; she addressed Luna instead.

"Uh, Luna, where exactly are we staying tonight?"

"Celly took the liberty of preparing Twilight's old bedroom for you, is that alright?"

"More than alright, I think, I've never actually seen her old room but it can't be that bad."

Applejack yawned widely.

"Sorry y'all, ah'm just plum tuckered out, ah think ah'll hit the hay."

"Hay?" asked Luna, "No Applejack, the beds are of fine goose down and- wait a minute, is this another one of those funny modern expressions?"

The farmpony shrugged as they all got up.

"Not sure, it means going to bed anywho."

"Going to bed..." she mused in reply, "I'll remember that one."

They trooped upstairs together and parted on a narrow corridor.

"Goodnight!" said Twilight and Luna simultaneously to the other five.

"Night," they replied. Rainbow gave Twilight a subtle wink and a grin, and the unicorn's cheeks became tinted with pink.

"Come," said Luna, leading the way through winding corridors to her room. They approached the doors emblazoned with the celestial symbol and stumbled in giggling.
Twilight's mind was a little clearer than it had been; she was now floating in the realms of comfortable drunkenness without a care in the world. Her face split into a grin as she sauntered towards the large bed, snuggling under the covers from the bottom and working her way up to the top. She felt somepony lying next to her, and with a flash of sudden confidence, leaned over and whispered, in as sultry a voice as she could muster:

"So, what do you want to do?"

"Twilight?!"

"What?" said a confused Twilight.

There was a moment of chaos: Twilight felt the blankets being wrenched to the side of the bed, heard something large hit the floor, and the unicorn was dragged along by the duvet. She fell off and landed on something warm and firm. She looked up to see Luna rolling on the floor laughing.

But... thought Twilight, trying to piece together what had just happened, if Luna is there, then who...

She looked down, and was mortified to see that she had landed on Princess Celestia's hindquarters. The alicorn raised her head to look at Twilight, a pink nightcap swinging as she did so.

"Twilight? What is the meaning of this?" There was no hint of anger or annoyance in her voice, in fact, there was a glimmer of amusement, but Twilight still quailed out of sheer embarrassment.

"I- ah- we- um-" she stammered, hopping off. All she could think about was that she had not only got into bed with her mentor, but had whispered sweet nothings into her ear! The poor, purple pony looked down at her hooves in shame. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Luna came to the rescue.

"Forgive us, sister. We appear to have come into the wrong bedroom."

"Oh my, girls, how much have you had to drink?"

She sniffed the air, and the potent scent of alcohol and 'club' rushed into her nose.

"Never mind," she said, "perhaps it's best I didn't know. Now Luna, your room is first left, straight ahead, and right; can you remember that?"

"Of course."

Celestia looked slightly dubious but nodded.

"Very well, take this delightful young mare with you," said the alabaster mare as she got back into bed. She gave Twilight a warm smile, which the unicorn returned as best she could.

"Goodnight, my faithful student, and goodnight, my dear sister."

"Goodnight," said the two ponies, somewhat sheepishly.

"Oh, and have fun!" said Celestia mischievously as they exited the door. Both ponies winced in embarrassment.

The alicorn shook her head in amusement.

Every time Luna gets drunk, she thought to herself.

----------

"Did y'all hear that?"

There was a muffled banging outside, followed by a bout of giggling.

"I think it may be Twilight and Luna," said Rarity rolling her eyes, "really, how much did they drink?"

"Not enough, they're still concious," said Pinkie knowledgeably.

"Pinkie, hedonism may be all well and good for you, but a Princess should really behave as such, and Twilight, well, she should know better."

They were all in Twilight's old room, two extra double beds had been added by Celestia; Rainbow and Applejack shared one, Pinkie and Rarity shared another, and Fluttershy had Twilight's old bed. And all were enjoying a warm, alcoholic fuzz.

"So, how long 'til those two get it on?" asked Rainbow. "I'll give 'em seven weeks."

"Rainbow Dash! What a vulgar question!" exclaimed Rarity. "...Five weeks."

"Eleven," said Applejack.

"Ten," said Fluttershy.

"Tonight," said Pinkie, "my Pinkie sense tells me."

Four jaws dropped simultaneously.

"What?!"

"Just kidding you guys! Yeeesh, you need to lighten up!"

They started laughing in relief.

"But seriously, they'd be great together," said Rainbow, shifting her position and inching ever so slightly closer to Applejack.

"They look so beautiful when they're with each other," agreed Fluttershy.

"But the more pressing question," said Rarity, "is when are you two going to start going out?"

Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked up to see Rarity looking at them. Rainbow felt her face grow hot, Applejack's remained neutral.

"What do you mean?" asked Rainbow, trying to play it cool and failing miserably.

"Oh darling, don't be so silly, I've been watching you two for a while now and it's plain as day."

"It is kind of obvious," said Fluttershy meekly.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," said Rainbow.

Rarity looked skeptical but dropped the subject. Rainbow chanced a glance at Applejack, the farm pony appeared to be deep in thought, simply staring at the wall opposite. Rainbow felt her heart sink. Yes, of course she had a bit of a crush on Applejack. How could she not?

We share so much in common, she thought, watching the others babble on about something unawesome and therefore unimportant. We both are competitive, that much is certain, we both love each other's company, she's gorgeous to boot. And I guess she doesn't feel the same way. The Pegasus felt a painful lump form in her throat.
Every bucking time, she thought bitterly. Every time I like some pony, they are never interested in return.

"Goodnight girls," said Fluttershy yawning widely.

"Goodness, is it that time already? I need my beauty sleep, goodnight everyone."

Pinkie Pie was already asleep, having managed to party herself out. Applejack blew out the candles and got into bed, her sides rubbing against Rainbow's, in a tortuously tantalising motion.

"Hey," came the quietest whisper from Applejack.

"Yeah?"

"Ya don't think ah forgot about you now, did ya?"

She extended a hoof , and after poking Rainbow in the tummy, she found a hoof and linked it with hers. Rainbow's smile could not have been wider.

--------

Luna and Twilight eventually made it to the right room, the alicorn carefully checking that there was indeed a glowing crescent Moon on the doors.

"Yes, definitely mine," she said, turning the handle. The door stayed shut. She pushed the door, but it stayed resolutely still. "I think the door is locked," she said glumly.

"You have the key, right?"

Luna sighed.

"I put it on the throne before we left, I hoped I would remember where it was, alas."

"So, what do we do now?"

"Isn't it obvious? We have to break in."

"Break in?" said Twilight weakly. "Forgive me, but I can tell there's extremely powerful magic on these doors..."

"I know, that's why we're going to use the windows."

"But aren't the windows fortified too?"

"My dear Twilight, indeed they are, but nothing I cannot undo, I raise the entire Moon after all."

She knelt down, inviting Twilight to hop on. Once she had, they flew outside to one of Luna's large windows, hovering for a moment while the alicorn considered how to break the spells. Twilight's breath rose in a mist before her. She looked up to see the majesty of her companion's night sky, twinkling masses of stars faling into the great band of the galaxy, which Twilight had never seen so bright before. Luna turned her head to see the depths of the heavens sunk into the unicorn's bright eyes as she gazed, the stars reflecting for eternity. It was clear to Luna that the lavender mare had a great passion for the night skies.

"Twilight," she whispered, and she looked down to lock eyes with Luna, "I broke the spell."

She fluttered into her bedroom, and landed softly on the floor. Twilight wiggled off and fell onto the bed with a soft 'flump'. Ah, how nice it was to finally cuddle up after a long, busy day. She looked up, to see Luna walking to a small, white door.

"Forgive me Twilight, but I won't be able to sleep until I've had a shower."

"No worries," she said sleepily, getting under Luna's many blankets and warming up. She would have joined her, but she had been washed clean in the fountain earlier.

Twilight closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

Today has been a good day, she thought. Everypony has been so nice to me! And Luna... Well, a lot of things have become clear tonight.

She lay there for a few minutes, lost in thought, her active imagination bursting with all manner of possibilities.
She was teetering on the edges of the waking world and dreams when Luna emerged from her bathroom, squeaky clean and slightly damp. Her mane was not flowing, but instead hung down in luscious blue curls. She gently nuzzled Twilight, who jerked back into full conciousness.

"Oh, hey Luna- wow, I like your mane!"

"Really?"

"Mmhmm, you look even more attractive than usual."

"Thank you Twilight," said a flattered Luna, getting under the covers with her. "And thank you for warming it up under here."

She placed a tentative hoof over Twilight, and after hearing no objections, drew her into a hug.

"Twilight," the alicorn began, "there's something I want- have to tell you."

Twilight remained silent, and was unnaturally still.

"I'm not quite sure where to begin, but I guess the best place to start is the beginning... A long time ago, a few thousand years ago now I should think, when I was the equivalent age of a late teenager, I knew a stallion called Silver Foot... He was a very brave pony, and saved my life when I foolishly went mountaineering in a blizzard. Celly was very angry about that, but that's not the point, he was a great pony, and, as is natural, I fell in love with him. We were happy for a time, but something strange happened, it might have been the death of his father, he started drinking after that, but he became cold, and distant, and eventually abusive. I told Celly what had been going on; her reaction scared me, I've rarely ever seen her so angry. In her rage, she banished him from Equestria to live in exile, I never heard from him again...
"I was distraught, not because of my sister's decision, because somepony I trusted so much could change so fast. I didn't think I would ever trust anyone again. I spiralled down into a depression, becoming increasingly isolated and lonely. The days and nights got progressively worse and my self induced isolation resulted in my not thinking in my right mind. I grew jealous of Celestia, and loathed the ponies who preferred her day over my night, until one night, which we all sadly know of, it boiled to a point and I confronted my sister in my insanity... I deserved my punishment for trying to overthrow her, and even kill her... it was the worst thing I ever did.
"I sometimes fear I have too much power Twilight, all that heartbreak and misery caused by a stupid stallion! And worst of all, my sister was dragged into it, and perhaps bore the brunt of it..."

She paused in her monologue to look at Twilight, who was watching avidly, and with sympathy. The alicorn's eyes were shimmering in the emotional outpouring, Twilight wondered how long it had been since she had told this tale.

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Twilight softly.

"Twilight, I know your heart is pure as purest gold, I know there is not a malicious bone in your body, and I know for a fact you are a wonderful mare, and you could never treat me like he did."

"You really think so?" she said, eyes bright and wide.

"Yes, you are a truly beautiful mare, and Twilight? Who broke the curse that lay on me and brought me to my senses?"

"M-me," she said in a small voice.

"And who has helped me integrate into modern society?"

"Me..."

"And who has helped me make lots of new friends?"

"Me, but you made some yourself."

"And who has always been there for me when I needed advice or somepony to talk to?"

"I have."

"Who has cared about me and is always happy to spend time in my company?"

"Me."

"So who, do you suppose, have I developed feelings for over the last year or so?"

"Me..." Twilight whispered, a small smile gently curling her mouth.

"Yes, Twilight, you. You've shown me kindness, you've shown me generosity, you've shown me laugher, you've shown me honesty and you've shown me loyalty.

The poor unicorn's heart started racing, as Luna leaned closer to her.

"And now," whispered Luna, "I'll show you magic."

Her soft lips brushed against Luna's as they shared their first kiss. Twilight's mind exploded at the new and alien sensations. It felt as though her heart had roared into flame and the fire was burning pleasurably through her veins. Luna was in the same boat, sharing your first intimate moment with somepony for over three thousand years tended to have that effect on you.
The kiss increased in its passion, and Luna hugged Twilight close to her, running a hoof through her soft mane, eliciting a sigh from the unicorn.
They eventually broke apart, and purple eyes locked with blue.

"Luna... this is all so..."

Words failed even her, and she just grinned widely.

"Happiest of birthdays, Twilight Sparkle," said Luna drawing her into a tight embrace. And there they lay, in each other's hooves, until they were both swept into the magic world of dreams.