Luna's Masquerade

by Someguy458

2 ~ Dream of an Absolution

When they arrived in the dining hall, Celestia was already halfway done with her pancakes.

"Good evening, Lu—" she stopped when she saw Cosmic with her. "Who's this?"

"This is Cosmic Masquerade," Luna introduced.

He moved next to her seat and bowed deeply. "It's an honor to meet you, Celestia. Luna's told me much about you."

Celestia chuckled. "My goodness, he's such a gentle-colt. Luna, wherever did you two meet?"

"That's just it," she admitted. "It seems that we met while I was banished to the Moon, although I can't remember it."

The Princess of the Sun blinked, then turned to face Luna, her face suddenly serious. "Are you serious?"

"Like I said, I can't remember us having met before," she repeated. "But I can tell for certain that he is not of this world."

Celestia shook her head, "Well, I can see that."

Both Luna and Cosmic did a double-take. "You can?"

She nodded. "After the Changeling invasion a couple years back, I trained myself to read a pony's magical aura and see if they're pony or not. It's not flawless, but I can certainly tell that he reeks of lunar magic."

For some reason, he blushed a little. This didn't go unnoticed by Luna, but she refrained from commenting.

"Tell me," Celestia continued, "how did you find yourself here?"

"I used my magic to shoot myself here," he replied. "It took a while to build up enough energy, but since I wasn't being imprisoned there, I managed."

Celestia looked to Luna for confirmation, and Luna shrugged. "He came crashing into my balcony while glowing, so I'd guess he's telling the truth."

Celestia nodded. "And you say you have no recollection of meeting him?"

Luna shook her head. "Just vague feelings in my chest whenever I look at him."

Celestia raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. Instead, she used her magic to summon a scroll, an inkwell, and a quill. She wrote a quick message, then sent it on its way.

Cosmic watched confusedly. "What'd you write?"

Celestia replied stoically, "A letter to my student, Twilight Sparkle. She once told me that she knew how to cast memory spells, so I asked her to come as soon as possible and see if she can't help. Now, come and sit."

He nodded, quietly sitting on Luna's end of the table. Luna sat down at her spot, and Celestia rang a little bell. Soon enough, the servers came out and placed several plates of breakfast food in front of Luna, who gave some of those plates to Cosmic. They both watched as he hesitantly touched the food with a hoof, then used his magic to break off a piece of pancake and levitate it into his mouth.

Almost as soon as he tasted it, he stuffed his face into the pile and began muching away eagerly, all manners forgotten.

Luna chuckled. "I see you like the pancakes."

He grinned around his full mouth, before swallowing. "You bet! Back on the Moon, all we really had were frigoris berries, and they don't have much taste other than 'cold'."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Isn't Frigoris the name of one of the seas on the moon?"

"Yeah," he also laughed. "You actually gave the berries that name when you bit into one and your tongue nearly froze."

She blinked. "I thought my tongue felt a little numb when I returned..." Cosmic laughed, and Luna managed a chuckle.

Celestia cleared her throat. "Cosmic, was it? How can there be berries on the Moon when I've never been able to observe plants there?"

He waved a hoof, "The bushes are the same color as the ground."

"Ah."

Luna then got his attention again. "What kind of infrastructure is there on the Moon?"

He frowned. "Not a lot, actually. There's a few underground houses for the other Moon Spirits, and a few berry farms, but that's about it."

He then gestured around with his hooves. "Not like this place! From what I saw on the balcony, this place is so much more than I'd ever imagined! It's so green here! And this castle is so magnificent!"

"I know, right?" Luna agreed. "I was a little sad to see that the Castle had moved while I was gone, but this place has warmed up to me."

"Why thank you," Celestia smiled. "I was actually good friends with the architects, so I—"

"What's it like living here every day?" Cosmic asked Luna, neither of them paying attention to Celestia.

Celestia huffed a little.

---

So they spent the rest of the meal talking, discussing the in's and out's of both life on Equus and the Moon. Occasionally, they'd let Celestia in on the conversation, but that became rarer the longer they talked.

Meanwhile, little glimpses of Luna's memories would occasionally show themselves in the form of knowing the names of certain things before Cosmic could say them — such as the 'Moon Demons', the Moon Spirits' natural predators. As they talked, Luna felt more and more like she knew him, and she began warming up to him incredibly quickly.

Eventually, the sound of doors opening down the hallway, accompanied by the hurried clopping of hooves and feet, alerted them that Twilight had arrived. Celestia moved to the door, opening it and sticking her head out to get Twilight's attention. After a moment, she moved back, and in rushed the purple princess, followed by her trusty companion Spike.

Cosmic began to stare at the latter. "Woah, what are you?"

He caught his breath and replied, "I'm Spike. I'm a dragon."

Cosmic turned back to Luna. "You never told me there were more than just ponies in Equestria!"

Luna raised an eyebrow, "I didn't? Well, I suppose we've only recently begun seriously building good relations with the other nations. It must've slipped my mind."

Cosmic took a moment to study Spike, then he did something unexpected: he momentarily shifted back into his normal form, before shifting into that of a dragon.

Twilight and Spike both jumped, Twilight lighting her horn in defense and Spike hiding behind her back. "It's the Tantabus! Get down!"

But before she could fire, Celestia stepped in the way. "Twilight, stop!"

The younger Princess froze, giving Luna time to explain: "He's not the Tantabus, he's from the Moon. I think he must've subconsciously been my inspiration for the Tantabus's form."

At that, Twilight calmed down, letting the spell she was charging dissipate.

"What's the Tantabus?" Cosmic asked, turning back to his pony form.

"Yes, Luna, what is this 'Tantabus'?" Celestia concurred, eyebrow raised.

Luna sighed. "A creature I once made to punish myself for what I did as Nightmare Moon. It used to create nightmares for me so I wouldn't forget what happened."

Celestia began to move towards her sister, but Cosmic beat her to it. He didn't say anything at first; he just hugged her tightly. Even Luna was taken aback by this, but she soon closed her eyes and relaxed into the hug.

When he broke off the hug, he held her hoof. "You only did those things because you felt unappreciated. And I already forgave you centuries ago; after all, if you hadn't been sent to the Moon, I never would've met you."

For some reason that she wasn't fully aware of yet, that sentiment really touched Luna's heart.

However, that reasoning soon became clear, as he continued: "Before I met you, I was in a really rough spot. My mother had just died, and I was struggling to find a reason to go on with my life. Then you arrived, and, although it took a few years to gather the courage to come out and talk to you, you gave me a reason. That's why I spent the last few years trying to get here; because without you, I don't have a purpose."

He capped off his little speech by hugging her closer than ever, as everyone stared at him in shock and sympathy.

Then, as he pulled away, he gave a light peck of his lips on her cheek. Luna's eyes widened in shock, and everyone else froze.

The room was silent as he returned to his chair. "So, Twilight Sparkle, was it?"

She seemed to realize that she was being talked to, for she snapped out of her state of shock and turned to face him. "Er— yes, that's me."

"Celestia told us that you know some memory spells, right?"

Twilight nodded. "I learned them back when I was still a Unicorn."

Luna managed to come out of her frozen state, but was still blushing furiously. "I seem to have forgotten... *ahem* a LOT of things from my time on the Moon. If, um... if you would be so kind?"

She nodded, "Oh, of course!"

Twilight walked around the table and lit her horn, beginning to weave her spell. It only took a few moments, but that was all it took for Luna to grow nervous. What was she about to find out?

Twilight touched her horn to Luna's forehead, and everything became clear.