Once More Into The Night

by Undome Tinwe

Luna, Sunset, Burning Bright

"That cannot possibly be comfortable."

Sunset dropped the glowing rose she was holding, letting it fall unceremoniously onto the moist grass beneath her hooves as she turned to face the snow-covered intruder who had disturbed her reverie. "Princess Luna, I didn't expect to see you here."

The alicorn of the night shook herself a few times, sending the last remnants of the ice frosting her mane and coat flying away in the form of droplets of water, the frozen crystals having melted mid-flight in the oppressive heat. "This is the Night Garden, yes?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Am I to be forbidden from visiting mine own domain?"

"I guess not," Sunset muttered, picking the rose off the ground and continuing to pluck the petals from its flower one by one, taking a moment to watch each one fly off in the soft, artificial breeze. It was incredibly therapeutic, using her magic once again after being in the other world for so long, and being able to make the arcane energies in this land dance was like regaining the use of a limb after years of losing all feeling in it.

From the corner of her eye, she saw magnificent wings of blue fold back against Princess Luna's side as the mysterious princess trotted up to her.

"If I may inquire, what brings you to my garden at a time when most ponies slumber? And amidst this raging winter storm that would drive even the most resilient back to the warmth of their hearths?"

Sunset continued to look straight ahead at her flower as she replied. "I couldn't sleep," she said with a shrug. "Figured this would be a good place to brood."

"The Night Gardens are traditionally a place of contemplation, 'tis true." Princess Luna walked right up to Sunset's side, her imperious presence impossible to ignore. "They say misery enjoys the company of others. Mayhaps I could join in your musings?"

"Sure." Just enough politeness to not be rude, yet not enough to be considered inviting; Celestia had trained Sunset well before casting her aside.

It seemed Princess Luna was not so attuned to the subtleties of court language; the lunar princess plopped herself down next to Sunset, the bench they now shared not quite big enough for the both of them. Sunset couldn't help but feel a thrill as Princess Luna's foreleg occasionally brushed against Sunset's coat, sending shivers of pleasure down her spine despite the heat.

After a few seconds of quiet, Princess Luna spoke up. "I do not believe I have seen anypony sit in such a fashion before. As I said previously, I find it difficult to believe yourself comfortable in that pose."

Sunset finally turned to face Princess Luna, who was peering at her curiously. She suddenly became aware of the fact that she was sitting upright with her hind legs dangling over the side of the perfectly-cut granite slab that served as their current seat and her forelegs bracing herself to keep from losing her balance.

"Oh, this is how humans sit," Sunset replied, feeling a little self-conscious as Princess Luna looked her up and down like an insect under a microscope. "I've kinda gotten used to it, and sitting like a pony feels a bit weird to me."

"Ah, yes, I had forgotten that the Mirror altered the species of those who used it." A playful gleam twinkled in Princess Luna's eyes. "I have no quarrel with your habits – although, you may wish to know that it calls attention to your shapely flanks."

"Well, I wasn't expecting to have company."

"I do recall your desire to stew in your own unhappiness." Princess Luna's gaze returned to Sunset's face, a small smile on her face. "What dark thoughts trouble you this night? You seemed in high spirits when last we met, and I had heard from my sister that your reconciliation with her went swimmingly, and that all fences had been mended betwixt you and her. Was she mistaken?"

"Nah, our reunion went great. There was lots of hugging and crying and saying we were sorry to each other." Sunset idly kicked out one leg, allowing it to swing back and forth and occasionally brush lightly against the hard side of the bench. "We talked things out and decided to start over with a clean slate, and then we had tea together and caught up with each other's lives. It was like the perfect ending scene to a feel-good movie. Would've made the audience cry buckets at how beautiful it was." The words were all spoken in near-monotone, no inflection or emotion behind them.

"Somehow, I feel as though all was not as you have spoken." Princess Luna's dark blue-green eyes burned a hole in Sunset's mind, forcing the smaller pony to turn away. "Else would I not have found you here baking in this sweltering heat." She punctuated her statement by wiping off the sweat matting her brows with a delicate hoof.

"I think the climate spells are going a little overboard tonight because of the storm outside," Sunset said, trying to ignore the sticky feeling that her own sweaty coat was producing. "It's supposed to maintain a hot summer climate in here, but not like this. Probably a mistuning with the gradient reversal part of the spell."

"Your exile has not dulled your brilliance or your skills in magic, I see." Princess Luna's head tilted upwards as she studied the invisible barrier keeping the warm weather from being overwhelmed by the harsh cold outside. "Even I do not know of the mechanisms by which this garden flourishes even in the winter chill."

"It's a pretty simple spell, actually, and I've been here enough times that I was gonna pick it up eventually," Sunset said.

"Oh?" Sunset found Princess Luna's gaze on her once again. "I did not see you as one to regularly seek out a place for quiet meditation."

"Nah, this was just the one place that I knew Celestia wouldn't step foot inside." Sunset couldn't help the slight wince as she spoke her former mentor's name. "I used to come here a lot to avoid her, especially near the end when we were always angry at each other. It was just easier to hide away."

"As you now are doing?" Princess Luna asked.

"Hey!" Sunset protested, raising a hoof towards Princess Luna. "I'm not hiding! I just wanted to be alone for a bit. Totally different things."

"Quite," Princess Luna replied with an amused smirk. "Still, I have learned in my long life that a burden shared is often lessened. You could do well to learn from the wisdom of the ancients."

"Yeah, well, we have some new pithy sayings these days." Sunset's words came out with a little more force than she intended. "For example, 'three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.'"

"I once was worshipped as an undead Goddess of Death in times long past." Princess Luna pressed a hoof to her forehead, the polished metal of her shoes obscuring her face from Sunset. "As my sister's Sun was a symbol of life, they believed my Moon to be a symbol of death, and as such, that I must have been one who had returned from beyond the Mortal Veil."

A snort escaped from Sunset's nostrils as she failed to contain her laughter. "Seriously? Wow, that's pretty great."

"I have seen much in my many years of life," Princess Luna replied, lowering her hoof, "including the follies of my dear sister. I know very well that Celestia is not perfect, as much as some would like to believe." The words were like a bucket of ice to Sunset's good cheer.

"We're back to that, huh?" she asked with a sigh.

"It pains me to see one so bright as you brought low by sorrows of the heart," Princess Luna replied, leaning in closer to Sunset. "Tell me, what did my sister do? Do you not believe the words spoken in your reunion to be sincere? Or was she otherwise perverse in her intercourse with you?"

Sunset jerked away from Princess Luna, dropping the flower that she'd held since the start of their conversation. She stared at the ancient princess' innocent expression for signs of mirth. "So how are those modern language lessons going?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Splendidly," Princess Luna replied, her poker face beyond reproach. "We have been having a gay old time with our tutor."

A smile threatened Sunset's lips before being banished away. "Anyways, no, our meeting was a real heart-to-heart, at least as far as I know, and I don't think Celestia would lie like that."

"If not that, then what troubles you so?" Princess Luna's gaze was unrelenting, an aura of authority that was difficult to ignore. Sunset tried to resist for a few seconds before giving up.

"She served the chamomile tea. After we left the throne room, she had the servants bring the chamomile tea for us to drink while we had our chat. The nice one from Trottingham." Sunset watched the princess closely for her reaction.

Princess Luna's head tilted slightly as a thoughtful expression graced her features. "I confess, I've not had the pleasure of sampling that particular blend. That said, I would have expected one of the jasmine teas instead. Perhaps the one the Chineigh's ambassador sends her every year?"

"Exactly. It should have been the jasmine." A wave of relief washed over her as Sunset realized that the lunar princess understood the subtext of what had happened. Relief was quickly followed by anger, and she raised her forelegs in an aggressive gesture before realizing she needed at least one on the bench to keep her balance. Resting on her left foreleg, she waved her right animatedly as if trying to wipe away the source of her irritation. "The chamomile is what she used during our lessons. It's what she serves when she's meeting with her students, since it's supposed to be calming or something and she wanted us to be at ease with her."

"Mayhaps it was a mistake on her part?" Princess Luna suggested. "An unfortunate result of force of habit, as it were."

"It might be," Sunset admitted with a shrug. "But that doesn't exactly make it better, does it? Either she's deliberately trying to bring our relationship back to what it was before, or she's just doing it because that's how she sees us now, even after everything that's happened." Sunset let out a sigh. "I guess it doesn't really matter. I'll be gone tomorrow anyways, and it'll probably be a while before I see Celestia again. Why do I care how she sees me?"

"I believe you know the answer to that question, Sunset Shimmer." Princess Luna's gaze seemed to peer into Sunset's soul, those beautiful blue eyes sending a chill down the smaller pony's spine.

"Yeah, I do." Sunset bowed her head low, unable to meet the princess' piercing eyes. "When I went over to the other world, I told myself I wasn't going to come back until I could look Celestia in the eye as either an equal or as somepony better than her. I was an idiot, of course, and I learned the hard way how terrible of a person I was, but even after everything I've been through, some part of me still wants that respect from her."

"Tis only natural to desire such," Princess Luna said. "However, I would advise patience with my sister; she can take some time to realize that ponies have changed."

"I definitely know what you mean." An old memory brought a smile to Sunset's face. "Did you know that when I first moved into the palace at sixteen she tried to set my bedtime at ten o'clock? I had to sneak out almost every night until I became a legal adult."

"Hah! Celestia attempted to banish one of my suitors from Equestria when I was half again the age of majority." Princess Luna gave a hearty chuckle as she spoke, the sound loud and boisterous. Sunset found her heart racing slightly at the pure, unfiltered humor in her tone. "Oh, it is good to be able to speak fondly of my sister's flaws," she said as her laughter died down. "There is perhaps only one other I would allow this privilege, and she would be mortified to even think an ill thought of her."

Sunset chuckled in agreement. "Yeah, Twilight's a little obsessed with her ex-teacher, isn't she?" Across the clearing from where they sat, she watched a pale-yellow hummingbird sipping nectar from a dusky flower. "Still, I'm glad they have each other."

"Yes, and though my sister seems to enjoy Twilight's adoration more than is seemly, it gladdens my heart to see their bond grow stronger." A mischievous smile played on her companion's lips. "I hope to one day join in celebrating their union. What a joyous occasion that will be."

It was a good thing Sunset was used to sitting in her current posture, or else she would have tipped over in shock. "No way! Twilight and Celestia?"

Princess Luna raised a hoof to steady her before pulling it back awkwardly as Sunset stayed upright on her own accord. "Peace, Miss Shimmer. 'Twas but a jest I spoke. By mine own sister's admission and my assumptions about Twilight Sparkle's nature, they are both of them as pure as the driven snow, and likely to remain so until the end of eternity, despite my regular attempts to convince my sister of the joys of carnal pleasure."

"Yeah, I can see that. And call me Sunset, please." Sunset's irritation at the interruption of her brooding had faded at some point, and she found herself actually enjoying Luna's company.

"Very well, Sunset. And We would also be honored if you would call Us Luna." The hopeful look in Luna's eyes sent the warmth trapped in Sunset's coat right into her heart.

"Alright, Luna." For a few seconds, the pair remained silent, basking in the comfortable companionship between two ponies who had found each other in the quiet hours of the night. Sunset let her gaze drift across the subtle colors of the flowers in the moonlight. A slight nagging feeling formed in her mind as she took in the wondrous sight, but she filed it away for later as she returned to the conversation. "Thanks for listening to me vent."

"It was my sincerest pleasure, Sunset. Conversing with a pony who is both brilliant and beautiful is never a chore." Luna shot her a playful wink. "And do not fret – in time my sister shall see what a fine mare you've grown into."

"Thanks." Sunset wasn't sure if the heat in her cheeks came from the hot weather or the praise. "I just wish I didn't need to have the patience of an alicorn to wait her out."

"I believe you mean to say the patience of my sister," Luna said, frowning. "I, unfortunately, have been frustrated at every turn in my attempts to rejoin this world. So much has changed in my absence, and while adaptation comes more naturally to me than Celestia, it is still difficult when so much is foreign to me."

"Believe me, I know exactly how you feel," Sunset said. The feeling of something being off intensified, but Sunset couldn't put a hoof on it. The garden, from what she could see, looked like it had every other time she'd been here.

"I suspected you might." A faraway look crossed Luna's face she stared off at something on the other side of the clearing. "I think you may be the one pony who could truly understand my struggles to live in a land so different from what I have known." Luna's gaze returned to Sunset, dark and intense. "I count myself blessed to have a sister who knows of the time I hail from and is willing to guide me in this strange future. How did you survive alone on the other side of the mirror?"

"Let's just say a lot more dumb luck was involved than I'd like to admit." Despite the heat, Sunset felt herself go cold as all the ways things could and probably should have gone wrong flashed through her brain. "It's a damn miracle that I didn't go down until the Fall Formal, and that everything turned out fine for me after that."

"Perhaps it was luck, perhaps it was fate. After all, Harmony's reach knows no bounds."

The cool, wise tone the princess used put a wry smile on Sunset's face. "You're starting to sound like Celestia," she said as she let her eyes roam around the clearing to take in the familiar blend of colors arranged in neat patches around the larger trees. "Have you thought of taking a student under your wing yet so that you can drive them crazy with advice disguised as riddles?"

"All in due time. 'Twould be grand to have somepony under our tutelage once again, but I am still learning to rule this new nation." Luna's ears perked up as she spoke. "I shall be holding court for the first time since my return within the fortnight. 'Twill be enlightening to see how the nobility of today behave as supplicants."

"Wait, you haven't held court since you came back?" Sunset turned away from admiring the flowers she hadn't seen since before even Luna's return to focus on the Night Princess. "It's been years!"

"Celestia has advised a slow reintegration into the rulership of Equestria," Luna explained.

"Of course she did!" This time, Sunset managed to hold her balance even when gesturing wildly. "Didn't we just establish that Celestia moves only slightly faster than a snail when it comes to letting ponies be independent? There's a reason why I had to sneak out every night for two years. You're a Princess of Equestria – if you say you want to move at a faster pace, she can't stop you. It's not like you let her banish your coltfriend all those years ago, right?"

"'Tis not so simple as that." A hint of annoyance bled into Luna's voice. "It is a delicate matter, ruling a nation, and one fraught with much peril. I will take up my old duties gradually when we two agree that it is time."

"Uh huh, and how many of your duties do you have right now?" Sunset asked flatly. "Have you vetoed any bills yet? Taken part in any debates in parliament? Presided as a judge in any legal cases?" Luna's uncomfortable silence was all the response she needed. "Are you just going to let Celestia smother you in a blanket for the next thousand years?"

"My sister and I have both decreed that this is for the best." Most ponies would have wilted at Luna's imperious tone, but Sunset was no stranger to standing up against royalty.

"Sounds more like Celestia decreed it and you're just doing whatever she tells you to." Suddenly, it all made sense. As realization flooded her senses, Sunset leapt from the bench, landing on all fours with an ease that belied the return of her muscle memory. "You know, something's been bugging me about this garden, and I finally figured out what."

Sunset trotted over towards one edge of the clearing, keeping Luna in the corner of her eye. The Princess looked angry, those dark blue eyes glaring at her with a smoldering fire, but she was holding back for now. "You know how I said I used to spend a lot of time here?" Sunset asked conversationally, knowing that she toed a fine line between being honest and blunt and actually pissing off royalty big time. Still, she had to prove her point. "I never really liked it here. Didn't like looking at the flowers or anything like that, and just between you and me, it's way too hot and humid in here. I only hung out here since it was the only place in the whole palace where I knew Celestia wouldn't look for me, even though I didn't know why at the time."

It was getting oppressively hot in the garden as the climate spells created fluctuations in the temperature to better simulate the dog days of summer, but Sunset kept her voice cool and collected, ignoring the sweat matting her coat as she casually pointed at a bunch of dark purple flowers with shiny black berries clumped around their center. "I remember the first time I was here, I tried to eat one of those berries. Turns out that's a really bad idea."

She saw Luna's sharp anger fade to impatient confusion at the apparent non-sequitur. Ignoring her for the moment, she switched her attention to a tree with vines wrapped around it dotted with pale-blue flowers. "This is the tree I bucked after the first time Celestia told me she wouldn't teach me the spell to become an alicorn. You can still see the dent I left in it that the gardeners tried to cover up with these vines." She brushed apart the soft plant matter to reveal a small recess that was vaguely hoof-shaped.

"And these black dahlias aren't actually supposed to be glowing, but I had a bit of an accident once trying out some spells during my Illusion phase." Sunset had cantered over to the other side of the clearing and was now standing next to a set of plants that gave off an unnatural cyan light.

"Is there a purpose to your prattling?"

Sunset finally turned to face Luna, refusing to be cowed before the irritated princess. "Yeah, the thing that's weird about this garden is that it's exactly the same as when I was Celestia's student. Every single thing. The same plants in the same places. This is supposed to be the Night Garden, but I don't see your influence on it anywhere. You just let it continue to be Celestia's garden, just like you're letting her run your life. It's, like, a metaphor. Or a symptom."

"I have far more important matters to attend to than a simple garden, Miss Shimmer." Luna's haughty tone could have frozen Sunset in her tracks despite the artificial heat enveloping them.

"Like sitting around and waiting for Celestia to tell you that it's okay to landscape your own garden?" Sunset knew she was playing with fire now, but she couldn't resist sticking her hoof right up to the flames. "Or hiding away from the world because you're too scared to face the unknown?"

"You insolent harpy!" Sunset felt the full force of Luna's fury, her words spoken so loudly that she could feel her ears ringing. "You dare to cast aspersions on our character to our face? You shall respect the Crown or face the consequences of our wrath! As it is, We ought to restore your banishment for your audacity, as is our right as Princess of Equestria!"

It took every ounce of willpower for Sunset not to drop to her belly and beg for mercy. In that moment, Princess Luna was awe-inspiring, her poise radiating danger and regality in every motion. A warm breeze picked up her mane somehow, making it ripple as if the aether itself was writhing in the tableau of stars and galaxies. Excitement welled up beside fear, and Sunset slowly walked closer to the dark princess, basking in the presence of her power and magnificence.

"There we go!" She proclaimed, standing proud against the Goddess of the Night as the breeze grew into a strong gust that whipped her mane back and forth. "This is the mare I was expecting to see! In all the stories and the poems written about you, you were always the passionate one! The one who embraced emotion, who was 'inconstant as the moon itself, that nightly changes in her circled orb!' This Luna wouldn't be afraid to stand up to Celestia, wouldn't have done nothing for years after her return!" Sunset met Luna's glare with her own, her heart racing with a heady cocktail of primal instincts that were screaming at her to fight or flee.

"You play a dangerous game, Sunset Shimmer," Luna intoned, her voice echoing despite the openness of the garden. Sunset could still feel her anger radiating from her magnificent form, but it was calmer now, leashed behind that mask of restraint once again. The fire in her eyes ebbed, cooling into embers. "Do not goad Us into wrath, or the whole realm shall suffer."

"I just want you to return to your true self," Sunset said. "You can't possibly be happy containing yourself like this, and Equestria is worse off for it." The winds had stilled, and the temperature had fallen back into an uncomfortable heat, but Sunset's heart still burned with determination to force the lunar princess out of her shell.

Princess Luna seemed to deflate at the words. "This is how it must be," she said sadly, her whole body seeming to shrink in on herself as she sat back down on the bench, a tired look in her eyes. "We have learned through great hardship the necessity of Temperance."

"So what, you're going to spend the rest of eternity trying to be like Celestia?" Sunset stamped a hoof at the ground, annoyed at losing her progress with Luna.

"You do not know what We are capable of," Luna said, frustration coloring her voice, "the darkness We fight within ourselves each morn."

"Okay, one, way to sound like all the emo kids at school." Sunset held up a hoof in a counting gesture before realizing that didn't work as a pony and lowering it while trying to act natural. "Two, would it really be that bad if you let yourself go a little? I mean, darkness is kinda your thing, right?"

There was a moment of silence while both ponies stared at one another, neither willing to back down. Sweat continued to pour down Sunset's body, but she ignored the discomfort in her mental battle against the princess. Finally, Luna broke the stalemate, her eyes cutting away from Sunset's face and her head gently lowering until it faced the ground. "You still do not understand," the princess said with a sigh. "I should have known better than to expect one so young as you to comprehend the magnitude of what I speak of."

"No, you don't get to write me off like that," Sunset said, gritting her teeth. "What don't I understand?"

A complicated series of emotions flashed across Luna's face as she continued to stare at the ground.

"Potestas Luminis - Locus Lunaris."

"Huh?" Sunset's head tilted slightly in confusion at the strange words spoken in sad resignation by Luna.

"Depectio Astrorum Majora."

Luna continued to speak, looking as if she was concentrating on something in the distance, her words sounding more recited than spontaneous. It took a second before Sunset realized that Luna had stated the names of two old spells, but by then she had already moved on.

"Mundus Dormiens. Requirens Regnum."

Sunset's eyes widened as she pieced together what Luna was saying. "Is that –?"

"Somnium Insinuans. Tantibus Aeternus."

The last spell was spoken with the finality and gravity of a descending guillotine. Luna lifted her head and met Sunset's surprised gaze with a somber one of her own. "I see you finally understand what I speak of. How can I trust myself to walk the path of darkness when I still harbor thoughts of conquest?" Silenced reigned once again as Luna turned from Sunset and began to trot away, each hoofstep slow and heavy.

"What, just because you came up with a plan for world domination you think you aren't worthy of trust?" Sunset's dismissive tone brought Luna to a halt, and the former villain took the opportunity to press the advantage. "Trotter's Spell of Relic Reconstruction."

Luna's head turned slightly towards Sunset until the other mare could see the curiosity in her eye. "Enigma's Essence Exchange," Sunset continued, the recitation coming just as natural to her as it had to Luna.

"The Sirens' Shattered Stones. Acoustic's Audio Amplification." With each spell named, Luna turned a little more, until she was facing Sunset again, wearing a troubled expression on her face. "Yeah, you're not the only one who spent a lot of time trying to figure out how you'd get it right on the second try. I know you don't think I understand what you're going through, but I've been right beside you for a long time, just in a different world."

"You say you understand, and yet you still counsel recklessness?" There was a dangerous edge in Luna's voice, a warning and a judgment all wrapped into one.

Sunset was undeterred. "Yeah, I do. Because we're not like Twilight or Celestia, and that's okay." She took one step forward towards Luna, heat rolling off of her coat in waves. "Those two, they don't have the same drive that we do. They don't have that burning ambition, that need to rise out of the shadows and be acknowledged as we deserve."

Another step, closing the gap a little more. Sunset's eyes blazed with fierce determination, captivating Luna. "They don't need to hold themselves back, because there's nothing to hold back. But us? We'll always be fighting our darker sides. The wildness inside us that just wants to break free and act on pure instinct and lust for pleasure and power. But that doesn't mean we lock it away completely and try to pretend it doesn't exist.

"Because it's a part of us, an important part, and denying your true self is a dangerous game. It's not healthy, trying to keep everything bottled up; you learned that from the incident with the Tantabus." Luna flinched at the mention of her past mistake, but Sunset soldiered on, taking yet another step towards the deep-blue alicorn.

"If you keep going like this, you might think you're becoming a better person, but all that'll happen is that you'll start feeling resentful again. You'll wonder why you have to be a budget version of your sister, why you'll never be as good as her. And that voice in your head won't go away – it'll just get louder, telling you that you can take what's rightfully yours." Luna started backing away, but Sunset kept walking towards her, every sentence she spoke punctuated by another step forwards. "And then one day, it'll be too much, and you'll snap. And none of us will be able to stop you."

"Your words are as empty as the void between worlds." Luna stopped backing up as her flank hit the trunk of a tree. However, despite the turmoil in her expression, her poise remained that of a Princess of Equestria. "You cannot know what events shall come to pass."

"No, I don't." The admission came without hesitation, as did the follow-up. "But I know that's one way it could go."

Sunset let a small smile show on her face as she continued to speak. "There's another way it could go too. You could embrace that wildness, that ambition, that drive to do better, and use it to do what your sister and the Princess of Friendship could never do.

"I read a lot about you when I was a student here. The poets wrote beautiful things about your beauty, your passion, and your mercurial nature. You were the adaptable one, the one who brought about change. Equestria's been in a good place for the past thousand years, but we never had the explosions of culture and discovery that we did when you ruled together with your sister. You inspired the ponies and gave them a freedom to explore that Celestia never did."

Sunset took one final step forward, and the pair found themselves inches apart from each other. "I always associated the day time with order, routine, and constancy – everything that Celestia is. Night was the time for freedom, to roam the gardens and get lost in my own thoughts. Yeah, it's when I decided I was going to become an alicorn and when I started sneaking into the Forbidden Archives, but it's also where I found inspiration, where I could figure out how to cast the spell to solve the problem I had on a homework assignment or a research paper."

Sunset could feel the heat radiating from the alicorn's sleek body. This close, she could see the sweat on her coat as well, making her look adorably disheveled. "The two of you were always meant to rule together. Night and Day. Light and Dark. Order and Freedom. Trust Celestia to rein in your darkest side, but trust yourself to break free of her hold for the good of Equestria. And for your own happiness." During her speech, Sunset and Luna had leaned in towards one another, until their muzzles were separated by mere inches. Sunset held her breath as she waited for Luna to respond.

A few seconds that felt like an eternity later, a smile graced Luna's lips. "You are wise for one so young, Sunset Shimmer." There was a solemnity in the princess' tone, and the words were spoken like a decree. "There is much to be feared in taking the less-trodden path, but never was I craven to it when I ruled as equal to my sister. Perhaps 'tis time to break my Lethean repose and make ponies remember what it meant to be ruled by the fickle Princess of the Night."

Luna smiled a mischievous smile, like a sibling about to give their younger sister a surprise gift. Her eyes closed, and her horn blazed with a deep blue fire as brilliant as the mare wielding it. A moment later a beam of pure magic shot straight up into the air, striking an invisible barrier and flowing down its surface like a cascade of water along the surface of a glass dome.

Moments later, an icy blast rushed past both ponies, bringing along a flurry of snow that pelted their coats and manes. Luna didn't react to it at all, but it surprised Sunset enough to make her yelp and try to hug herself with her forelegs before remembering that she needed them to stand just in time to avoid falling.

"As you said, this garden is not mine. My sister tried her best to create something in my loving memory, finding the rarest and most beautiful flowers in all the realm and weaving them together to create a masterpiece of art, but one in her own image. She created a perfect ideal of the subtle colors of a warm summer night, and while I am appreciative of her tastes, mine run much colder."

As the temperature in the garden equalized, the winds died down a little, but the storm continued to rage around them, an outpouring of snow from the heavens slowly blanketing the ground in patches of white, spreading across the grassy floor like a jagged cloud.

"I have always detested summer," Luna said, opening her eyes to show off the ethereal glow around their whites. "Far too hot does the sun shine, and for far too long. And beauty can be found at every corner, from the flowers that dot every patch of dirt to be found to the surfeit of animals that revel in the endless days."

Luna's smile turned softer as she raised her muzzle to capture a few snowflakes on the tip of her muzzle like an adorable puppy. "There is a reason my feast day is known as the Winter Moon Festival. Where Celestia presides over the fiery days of summer, my domain has always been the dark, moonlit nights of snow and ice. The refreshing chill, the peaceful solitude, and the subtle beauty of the few who are strong enough to bear the cold."

"T-That's great, Luna." Sunset's attempts to express her joy at seeing Luna come out of her shell was slightly marred by her constant shivering. "I-I'm so happy for you." Another wave of frosty air blew her mane around her face, obscuring her sight until she brushed it away.

The Princess of the Night stopped admiring her surroundings as she glanced towards the shaking unicorn. "A thousand pardons, Sunset. I had forgotten that not all ponies enjoy the cold as I do."

"N-no, it's fine." Sunset forced her teeth to stop chattering so that she could speak normally. "It's just the sudden shift in temperature. I'll be fine as soon as I get used to it."

"Perhaps this will help." Luna walked over to Sunset and draped a wing around her, enveloping the smaller pony in a warm layer of feathers.

"Thanks," Sunset said, her cheeks blushing slightly at the intimate contact. Luna's wing was as soft as any pillow she'd ever slept on, and being wrapped around the larger alicorn gave her an immense sense of comfort as she snuggled up by her side, basking in the heat of her body and trying not to think too hard about how attractive said body was. "Winter's my favorite season too. There's just something about walking down the streets at night during a blizzard, watching everything fighting to survive or even thrive in the desolation."

"Few sights are as grand as an evergreen standing strong in a field of ice, 'tis true." For a few seconds, the pair sat in tranquil silence within the frozen tempest, enjoying the sight of snow piling up on the ground, surrounding the blended colors of the garden in frames of white. On the ground, the rose Sunset had been toying with lay half covered in the white snow, slowly being consumed by the grasp of winter. "It has been far too long since I have had someone to share in admiring the winter night."

"Same." Sunset hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "So, uhh, not to kill the moment, because it's great that you're finally spreading your wings or whatever, but there's kind of a lot of really rare plants in here, and most of them aren't going to survive this winter. I don't particularly care, but I'm kind of on an empathy kick lately and I'm feeling really bad for the gardeners who put a lot of work into this."

Luna sighed. "You are correct, Sunset Shimmer. This is selfish of me." She closed her eyes once again with a small frown, her horn lighting up with another spell that shot up to the sky and restored the shield, plunging the garden back into a humid heat. "That is ever the danger of impulse – the risk of harming others from lack of thought."

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't hold yourself back all the time," Sunset said.

"I know." Luna shot Sunset a comforting smile. "I am not so delicate as to be stymied by a single misstep."

"Oh good," Sunset said, returning that smile with one of her own. "Well, I guess you could try doing something else spontaneous?"

"A fine suggestion." Luna leaned in closer to Sunset, until she could see every detail of her beautiful face. "In fact, there is something I have wished to do since I first laid eyes upon thee here."

Sunset divined Luna's intentions a split-second before the lunar princess' lips descended onto hers. She barely managed to meet the kiss with her own, her brain nearly shutting down at the prospect of experiencing something that most ponies could only dream of. As their tongues danced against each other Sunset found herself finally understanding what drove poets to such ridiculous descriptions when they wrote about the Princess of the Night.

Luna tasted of mint and winter breeze and the wildness of snow-capped mountains. Her coat felt finer than any fabric as Sunset ran her hooves down her barrel, savoring the sensation of her taut muscles flexing beneath her ministrations. Luna, in turn, wrapped her forelegs and wings around Sunset, pulling them closer together until their bodies were pressed against each other.

As they kissed, Sunset reveled in the battle for dominance between them. Neither princess nor former student were content to yield power to the other, and the battle of wills between them only heightened their passion.

Finally, they broke for air, calling a silent truce while they caught their breaths. "I would ask if I had overstepped my bounds," Luna panted, her breathing uneven and her face flushed, "but your fervor speaks louder than any words you could say."

"I like a mare who can take initiative." Sunset allowed herself a satisfied smirk at the thought that she'd just been kissed by royalty. "Well, I think this little chat has been worth coming back to Canterlot for. I'm definitely not thinking about Celestia anymore."

"Mayhaps I could offer you something more for your travels?" Luna wore a sultry smile on her face, her eyes burning with desire. She leaned over to whisper in Sunset's ear, her voice flowing like molten silk. "My Night has only just begun, after all."

Sunset shuddered, her legs suddenly feeling weak. "W-What are you offering?" Heat suffused her body as she stammered the words.

Luna nipped lightly at Sunset's ear, drawing a small yelp from the unicorn. "Tell me, have you ever studied the Ways of the Nyx?"

Humid air filled her lungs as Sunset sucked in a shocked gasp. "There weren't any books on them in the library," she said. "Not even in the forbidden sections of the archives. I checked."

"Of course not." Luna's smile was subtle, her eyes twinkling with knowledge. "The Nyx keep no written records, and amongst all Equestrians I alone know their secrets. I would share them with you, if you so desire."

"Oh, I definitely desire." Thoughts of learning to wield the secret powers even Celestia was not privy to filled Sunset's mind, and her body flushed with pleasure at the thought of doing it alongside the breathtakingly beautiful Princess of the Night.

Luna grabbed Sunset with her magic and gently placed her on the larger pony's back. "Then hold tight, my dear lady of light and dark, and let me show you the true power of the Night!" With a loud cheer, the pair departed the gardens for the Inner Sanctum of the Lunar Princess.

Summer turned to winter as two mares took to the skies to celebrate the freedom of the night in intimate secrecy, their united strength heralding the dawn of a new age for Equestria.

Comments

[Bronyxy]

Brilliant!
Well thought through and beautifully written.
Instant favorite!

[Corejo]

So i know this was an entry for Oro's contest and therefore it was more or less mandatory because of that, but the shipping feels sudden and wholly unnecessary here. There were bits of flirtation sprinkled throughout, but I can't help but feel it didn't do enough to prepare me for the ending, I guess would be a way to put it.

That said, this is a damn good back and forth between Sunset and Luna. The story itself is engaging and the pacing spot on. A simple setup for a powerful story. You've got one hell of a grasp on dialogue, something I've always struggled with.

Good luck in the contest!

[Undome Tinwe]

8408347
Yeah, my first draft had more flirtation throughout the story, but it felt unnatural and tacked-on, so I changed it into what it is now, which wasn't the optimal solution but I was running out of time for the contest and couldn't properly fix it. Novel's already pointed out that I need to better telegraph/build up my endings - I'll figure it out one of these days.

Also, thanks for the comment on dialogue, because after reading Compati, I really wish I could write narration like you. You've got Luna's language pegged far better than I do.

And good luck on the contest as well!

[Midknight Defender]

I doth christen this ship "Moonset." May its voyages be long, joyful, and ever discoverous.

Okay, that's it. Out of the three stories you have posted, two are great, and the third is good and needs expanding.

Don't ever stop. It's sad when the good writers stop. And you're just starting.

[PresentPerfect]

"We have been having a gay old time with our tutor."

The exchange leading up to this absolutely wrecked me. XD

[Yubella]

Luna's smile turned softer as she raised her muzzle to capture a few snowflakes on the tip of her muzzle like an adorable puppy. "There is a reason my feast day is known as the Winter Moon Festival. Where Celestia presides over the fiery days of summer, my domain has always been the dark, moonlit nights of snow and ice. The refreshing chill, the peaceful solitude, and the subtle beauty of the few who are strong enough to bear the cold."

Uh, the moon doesn't have a celebration.

[Yubella]

I love fics that show Celestia and Twilight aren't perfect. Or that she's always right. I may not explain it the best way but sunset does.