• Published 11th Sep 2012
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Cry for Eternity - asylum1388



After Celestia's death, Twilight must take on a role she is woefully underprepared for.

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Chapter 34

Author's Note:

So... this is it. Further notes will be at the end of the epilogue.

Aside from that, thanks everyone.


Pre-reader: PiquoPie.
Editor: f0xhole.
Additional input given by: TheLastBrunnenG

Twilight burst out onto Luna’s balcony, horrified at what she saw. A vortex of black magic hung over the Royal Gardens, turning the sky a dark, menacing shade of violet.

A feeling of panic rising in her chest, she spread her wings and took off, dreading what she would find below the center of the vortex. She made it a few meters before being battered by a sudden gust of wind. She fought against it, flapping harder and harder against the gale, but could feel herself losing against the force. She glanced over her shoulder to see the castle wall slowly getting larger behind her; if she didn’t do something, she’d be slammed against it.

Desperate, she turned her wings down and entered a dive. Building up speed at an alarming rate, she turned up at the last moment, using her speed to carry her against the wind. Almost as soon as she did, another blast of wind pressed against her back, forcing her down. She reacted with a spell, and was able to buffer her fall just before she hit the ground.

She broke into a gallop as soon as her hooves touched the ground, sprinting into the gardens. Evil magic was clinging to her coat like static, stinging her sides with every movement. She entered a row of hedges and took a left, her heart pounding against her ribs. She slowed as she reached the end of the path, her gaze clinging to the flowers on the corner as they crumbled to dust before her very eyes.

She squeaked and continued on. Turning another corner, she passed a gardener who seemed to be frozen in time, and came to an intersection she didn’t recognize.

“This... This isn’t right! This shouldn’t be here,” she whispered to herself. She turned her gaze to the sky, hoping to use the vortex itself to get her bearings, but her view was blocked by a dim red mist hovering just above the treetops. She grit her teeth and took a right, doing everything she could to suppress the terror growing within her.

Her desperation grew as she made more unfamiliar turns, the garden’s plants becoming twisted monstrosities as she went deeper into the trees. She forced herself not to look at them, but couldn’t force their image from her mind. As she stepped into an out-of-place clearing, she felt something wrap itself around her hind leg.

A vine had seized her and was pulling her towards a nearby bush. With a sharp tug, she pulled herself free and lept out of the way as four more vines crept after her. She readied a spell to blast them away, but froze as a dreadfully familiar laugh reached her ears. Trembling violently, she slowly turned around to face the voice.

“No...”

Nightmare Moon, in all her terrible glory, stood before her.

Twilight could feel herself backing away as the dark tyrant advanced on her, unable to think through her sheer terror. She squeaked as her rump pressed up against a tree; she was trapped.

Something hissed in her ear, and she lost what little composure she had left, scrambling past Nightmare Moon in a panic. She didn’t stop until she had made it clear across to the other side of the clearing, then spun around to see what had managed to sneak up on her and felt her mind go dumb.

Next to Nightmare Moon was a changeling queen; the very same monster that had nearly ruined her life many years before.

“B-b-but... No! This can’t be!” Twilight whined. Before she could do or say anything else, the queen took to the air and dove at Twilight. The Princess slipped between a pair of bushes to avoid her and heard the queen whiz overhead. She ran down the narrow gap between two hedgerows, hoping the cover of leaves would shade her from her enemy’s view. She heard the queen fly over again and slipped out in the opposite direction, quietly putting as much distance between her and the flying menace as possible.

It wasn’t enough. She heard an angry screech from behind her and the sound of insectoid wings approaching. She shot a spell over her shoulder and dipped around a nearby tree. Twilight had no idea if her spell had hit the changeling, but an angry hiss told her that she had at least shaken her attacker, however temporarily.

She dropped to her stomach and crawled away, silently as possible, until she came to another clearing. Relief flooded her as she realized where she was: the garden’s pond. She searched the skies quickly, before shifting her position. Jumping at every sound, she slowly crawled around the edge of the clearing, staring at the skies the entire time. She flinched at every shadow, no matter how small, until she had reached her destination under a large birch at the pond’s north end.

From here, she could see her real goal: the wooden bridge crossing the center of the pond. She scanned the skies one last time, then teleported, landing under one end of the bridge. She wedged herself against the bank and settled down into the mud to catch her breath.

None of this made any sense. How could Nightmare Moon be back? Luna would never-


”Hey, Twilight, can we talk?”

“I’m busy.”

“But-”

“Enough, Luna! I said no!”


Twilight reeled as the voices faded from her mind. If whatever spell Nightmare Moon had used to bring the darkness upon Canterlot was causing her to hallucinate so vividly, then it was getting stronger.

Whatever spell Luna had cast.

Twilight’s heart skipped a beat at the thought. Luna had done this. In spite of all the regret, all the self-loathing, Luna had once again fallen into the darkness.

“I couldn’t have pushed her this far...” Twilight whispered to herself. “There’s no w-”


Twilight was huddled over a stack of paperwork on her desk, signing yet another set of forms. She wasn’t entirely sure what this particular piece of legislation was for; she just knew that it had passed almost unanimously and there would be consequences if she tried to delay it.

With a sigh, she affixed it with a sloppy, smudged signature and grabbed the next one. She had barely begun to read it when she heard her door open.

“What?”

“It’s me,” a voice replied softly. She glanced up without moving her head to see Luna enter slowly and close the door behind her. “We need to talk.”

“I’m busy, if you haven’t noticed,” Twilight grumbled, returning to her work.

“You’re always busy,” Luna replied, sitting down across from Twilight.

“Luna, if this is another demand for an apology-”

“I would still like one, yes, but that’s not what this is about,” Luna interrupted, staying calm in the face of Twilight’s raised voice. “Twilight, you are grieving, I am too, but this... funk you’ve been in is too much.”

“Luna, we’ve been over this-”

“I’m not telling you what you should be feeling!” Luna yelled, slamming her hooves on the desk as she finally lost her composure. “For whatever reason you have chosen to be miserable, and you are coping with it by making those around you miserable in turn.”

Luna backed down off of the desk, returning to her seat with a sob. “All I want is for you to let me in. If you’re going to insist on us both being unhappy, can we at least be unhappy together?”

“That’s enough, Luna! Get out!”


Twilight returned to the world with tears soaking her face and, more importantly, the sounds of her name and hoofbeats in her ears.

She held her breath as she realized that somepony — or something — was crossing the bridge, and suppressed a shiver as they stopped right above her. Motionless, she lay, wishing that her heartbeat wasn’t quite so loud, as a dangerously sweet voice rang down to her.

“Oh, Twilight, come on out! I won’t hurt you... much.”

After what seemed like hours, Nightmare Moon moved on, leaving Twilight alone and cold in the mud.

She stuck her head out to make sure the coast was clear, then climbed out of the water and bolted back into the bushes. That had been too close, and she couldn’t hide forever; it was safer to keep moving. She had to make it back to the castle. She had to find the Elements. Maybe she could finally get them to work again. If she couldn’t...

She shuddered, not wanting to even think about that.

The castle came into view as she emerged onto a path and she gave a sigh of relief that died in her chest.

What if the Elements didn’t work?

Even if her current relationship with them was strained — at best — she couldn’t see them just refusing to help her in a situation like this... But what if they couldn’t? What if they were so starved that they didn’t have the power to break Nightmare’s hold over Luna?

Then another thought occurred to her: Celestia had almost died when she used the Elements alone. Would the Elements demand that price from her?

Her gaze was drawn to the ground as the thought hit her.

It was a possibility she couldn’t ignore, especially considering the how much power they might need to draw away from her in the first place to work at all.

She glanced back up at the castle, clenching her jaw.

So be it.

The responsibility for this, all of this, lay squarely on her shoulders. If the only way to set things right was to pay with her life, then... so be it.

A new, if hesitant, determination burning in her chest, she tried take a step forward, only to stumble. Groaning far louder than she intended, she glanced downward to see what was holding her hooves to the ground and her fear returned in full force.

A pool of shadows lay on the ground, thick tendrils of it wrapped around her hooves. Far more worrying though, was the pair of glowing red eyes burning up at her.

“Sombra? B-but how?” she whined as the likeness of a pony began to rise from the darkness. “You’re dead, I watched you die! This is impossible!”

“Oh, Twilight, you should know by now that nothing is impossible.”

Twilight bristled at the sudden voice, whipping her head around to face its source. “Discord! This is all your doing isn’t it?”

“Bingo,” the draconequus cackled, swooping out of the treetops.

“I knew I couldn’t trust you!” she screeched, furiously tugging to free her hooves, if only to throttle him. “I should’ve taken care of you as soon as Fluttershy died!”

She tried to fire off a spell, but Sombra was quicker; a violet beam shot out of his eyes and Twilight felt her magic leave her as it connected with her horn.

“Too little, too late,” Discord chucked, wrapping a claw around her throat. “Goodbye, Twilight. The pleasure has been entirely yours.”

Twilight’s airway constricted as Discord began to squeeze.


”Why are you here?” Twilight asked angrily.

“Because you need me here,” Rainbow replied, her nose buried in a newspaper.

“No I don’t! You’re the last pony I need right now!” Twilight bellowed at the pegasus.

“You’re a worse liar than AJ was,” Dash grunted.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Rainbow groaned and set her reading down so she could glare at Twilight. “Alright, listen up. You’re sad that our friends are gone, I get that, but for some stupid reason, you’re coping with it by yelling at everypony around you. Well, the rest of us are hoping that you’ll eventually snap out of it and when you do, you’ll need somepony to turn to, and you know it. You need me here because I’m the only one tough enough to handle all of your abuse right now!”


Twilight collapsed, feeling weaker than she ever had in her entire life. She took a deep breath, bewildered at the fact that she was even alive.

Slowly, she pulled a hoof towards her and felt her neck. Her unmarked neck. She stared up at the pair of villains towering over her as her mind processed what was happening.

“You’re... an illusion. You’re not really here. Neither of you! That means...” She blasted Sombra, and whatever curse had been hiding her own magic from her was lifted as he faded.

Reveling in the sudden return of the magic that had never really left her, she rolled over onto her chest and blew the fake Discord away.

“So they’re just hallucinations, like the visions I had before. That means that Nightmare Moon isn’t back, and that Luna’s out here somewhere casting this spell,” Twilight muttered, allowing the sound of her own voice to soothe her. She stood up, wavering slightly, and turned back towards the center of the gardens. “All of my worst fears, coming to life... I have to stop this before it gets worse.”

She galloped back into the maze of hedgerows, eyes peeled for any sign of one of her other opponents. She burst back into the clearing holding the pond and heard the telltale hiss of the the changeling queen and turned to face her foe.

The queen arced over the treetops and shot right towards Twilight. The Princess was ready; she shot several spells in rapid succession, but the queen twisted out of the way at the last moment, careening off course and crashing through the bushes at the edge of the clearing.

For the briefest moment, Twilight considered chasing after her, but decided against charging into a possible ambush. Illusion or not, these phantoms had proven themselves to be dangerous, and she didn’t want to find out what other bad memories they had in store for her.

Still, she couldn’t afford to waste any time, so rather than waiting for her foe to return she turned around and ran in the other direction. The evil magic in the air may have scrambled all of the pathways, but these were still her gardens, and seeing the pond had given her her bearings. The center of the vortex had been hovering somewhere over the very center of the gardens, so that’s where she had to go.

An idea struck her. She turned to the hedge next to her and examined it. Charging a spell, she carefully cut through the branches, creating an opening just bigger than her head. She stuck a leg through the hole, and pulled herself though.

Grinning to herself, she abandoned the paths completely, pushing and cutting her way through the garden until she reached the next clearing, only to find Nightmare Moon there waiting for her.

“There you are, Twilight. I knew I’d find you eventually,” Nightmare said with a grin.

“I’m not afraid of you, Nightmare Moon! You’re not even real!” Twilight bellowed.

“Oh, I’m as real as I need to be,” Nightmare murmured dangerously.

“Be quiet! I’m going to take care of you, then I’m going to find Luna and set all this right,” Twilight retorted.

“Precious Luna is dead, and you’re next,” Nightmare growled. With one last smirk, she faded into a cloud of blue smoke and rushed at Twilight. The Princess was ready for her, and Twilight hit the cloud with one of her most powerful spells, forcing it to dissipate into nothing.

Twilight gave a satisfied nod and continued on towards the vortex. Three illusions down, one to-

“Going somewhere?”

Twilight froze on the spot with a gasp before turning around to find Nightmare Moon standing there with a smug expression.

Twilight’s first reaction was to scream, but she suppressed it. She knew that if she showed any weakness, Nightmare Moon would exploit it.

“The others were a distraction. They were illusions, but you’re really here,” Twilight said softly, realizing the truth even as she said it. Nightmare didn’t reply, but her grin told Twilight everything she needed to know. “For some reason, you don’t have a body and can’t hurt me directly, so you brought the rest of them to life to try and hurt me mentally.”

“Oh dear, she figured it all out! Whatever am I going to do?” Nightmare replied sarcastically. She laughed and affixed a taunting grin on Twilight. “So, you can’t hurt me, and I can’t hurt you. What do you do now?”

“Actually, I can hurt you, and I will!” Twilight snarled, charging up another spell. “I’m going to destroy you and fix everything you’ve done today!” A violet shield appeared around Nightmare Moon and Twilight grinned as she lifted the dark spirit into the air. With another spell, the sphere shrank rapidly, disappearing altogether.

Twilight let out a triumphant cheer that was cut off as a soft laugh rang out.

“Everything I’ve done?” Nightmare whispered as she rose from Twilight’s shadow. “I’ve done nothing. What could you be talking about?” Nightmare gave Twilight an innocent smile. “Oh, I see, you think that I caused all this! Well you couldn’t be more wrong. I didn’t take control of Luna, nor did I push her into this. In fact, I didn’t have anything to do with this. She did it all on her own. Or rather, she did this with your help.”

Twilight’s heart sank as Nightmare’s words washed over her. “You... you were hiding in me. All the anger, all the pain. It was you all along!”

Nightmare only laughed. “Closer, Twilight, much closer; but still off the mark. Really I’m surprised it’s taking this long. You’ve really fallen quite a bit over the past fifty years, I really can’t imagine see what Celestia saw in you.”

Rage welled up in Twilight. She seized the shadow with her magic, pouring her strength into the spell. Nightmare screamed as her form twisted and deformed, boiling under Twilight’s power. Then, she laughed, bursting from Twilight’s grip and disappearing.

“Where are you?” Twilight shouted into the sky. “Get back here so I can destroy you!”

“Don’t you understand, Twilight? I can’t be destroyed by you,” Nightmare whispered into Twilight’s ear.

The Princess wheeled around with a scream. Instead of finding Nightmare Moon as she expected, she found something far worse: her own dark shadow.

“I am you,” the Nightmare Twilight whispered. “I am not Nightmare Moon and never was, but just as Luna created her, you created me. I am your demons given form, not hers.“

“So you admit it! You’re the one who was making me act like a... a... a tyrant!”

“Me? No,” the Nightmare replied. “That was aaaaall you. I just fed off of it. Every time you lashed out at an innocent pony, every time you pushed your friends away instead of embracing them, you made me stronger.”

She advanced on Twilight, slowly and worry-free. Somehow, her casual tone only made her more menacing. “I was merely biding my time, nothing more than a spiteful thought in the back of your mind. In fact, I can’t even say I truly existed before today; after all, what am I but a manifestation of your darkness?”

Twilight knew what Nightmare was doing. The evil creature was trying to shake her, to get in her head and weaken her resolve.

It was working. It was working and Twilight felt powerless to stop it.

“I knew I’d get out eventually,” Nightmare cooed with a shrug. “I figured you’d eventually snap and let me take control for whatever reason. Maybe somepony would anger you in just the right way, or too many little things would go wrong all at once and you’d lose it... The end result would’ve been the same. I would be in control, and the world would be mine.”

“Well that didn’t happen!” Twilight croaked with much more courage than she felt.

“No, no it didn’t. Dusk saved the day again,” Nightmare said with a twisted smirk. Tendrils of shadow shot out of Nightmare’s body, attempting to wrap themselves around Twilight, but the Princess was too quick. Nightmare laughed as Twilight danced out of her reach. “But then Luna cast this wonderful spell. So much dark magic in the air... It reached out to me, giving me life. At long last, I was able to take form. And now, I will take what is rightfully mine.”

“I won’t let you,” Twilight snarled, sinking down into a defensive posture.

“How? We’ve already established that you can’t destroy me,” Nightmare giggled. Twilight shot a spell that passed right through Nightmare and the giggle intensified into a cackle. “Yes, that’s it Twilight! Want it; want to make me hurt!”

Twilight grit her teeth and shielded as Nightmare shot five more tendrils at her. The third one cracked through her spell and she teleported backwards, shooting the remaining two out of the air before firing another retaliatory spell towards Nightmare.

“I can feel it Twilight, how much you hate me; hate yourself. I am your hate. You’re only making me stronger and you know it.”

Nightmare was right, and Twilight knew it. There was only one option: run.

Run, find Luna, and end the spell that was allowing this new Nightmare to take form.

In that order.

She waited for Nightmare to launch another attack, then teleported behind the evil shadow, bursting into a run. Just as she made it to the edge of the clearing, the hedges on each side of the path shot out in front of her, cutting off her escape.

She didn’t hesitate; she couldn’t. She launched herself into the air, taking flight. She climbed, but just as she reached the treetops, a hiss made her blood run cold.

The changeling queen burst from the foliage, horn pointed at Twilight’s heart, and ran her through.


”You’re the worst Princess Equestria could ask for!”


She landed on something soft; something alive. Realizing what was happening, she writhed, trying to break free from the liquid shadows Nightmare had placed beneath her.

“Goodbye, Twilight.”

Twilight tried to scream, but only let out a muffled groan as Nightmare’s darkness consumed her.


Twilight floated in the darkness, helpless. She had failed.

Alone.

Is this how Luna had felt?

There was nothing here for her.

Was this it? No sensations, nothing at all? Just... darkness?

How long has she been here? How long would she be here?

Even pain would be preferable to this.

Death would be preferable to this... prison of her own mind.

Then, she felt it. A faint presence reaching out to her.

She reached for it, trying to make contact with everything she had.

Hello? Is anypony there? Can you hear me?

...

Oh, hi. I was expecting... actually, I don’t know who I was expecting.

She felt herself calm as she was enveloped by the sun's gentle rays. Somehow, the vast black void seemed a little less dark now that she wasn't alone.

...

I know. I really messed up. Luna’s gone, there’s a new Nightmare, and it’s all my fault.

...

Yes it is! I was so distracted by how miserable I was that I didn’t notice how much I was hurting everypony else! And now I’ve pushed Luna into... whatever she’s doing.

...

Well what would you have me do? I can’t beat her, she’s too strong.

... ... ...

Really? You will?

...

I don’t know what to say... Thank you.


Twilight twitched as her heart burst into flame. The raw, scorching power of the solar fire was overwhelming, but painless. She drew on it, letting it flow through the meridians of her body. Her limbs shook as it spread, returning strength to her exhausted muscles.

Then she felt it. Like a switch to be pushed, the power was ready to be unleashed, waiting only for her command.

She smiled for the first time in ages, and released the force of the sun from her body. The darkness lifted and agonized screams filled the air as Nightmare poured off of Twilight like flaming tar. Twilight stood up and stepped out of Nightmare’s grasp without any trouble. She took three steps and glanced back at her dark counterpart.

Nightmare had abandoned any semblance of a form and now existed as a thrashing undulating blob, her screams filling the garden air.

Twilight felt no rage towards her. No hate, no antagonistic feelings at all; just pity. What Nightmare had done, or rather, tried to do, wasn’t personal. Nightmare was anger incarnate, she never really had a choice. Never had a chance to become something... more.

She reached out to the form and touched it. The blob make a shrieking, unreal sound like a chalkboard being scratched by a hundred hooves. It tried to get away but Twilight was stronger, she pulled it toward herself. Twilight opened her mouth and whispered an apology even as flames spread from her lips to consume the Nightmare.

She began walking, letting her hooves guide her. When she reached a wall of hedges, they shuffled out of her way. They didn’t shrink and wither away from her the way they had after Rainbow died; no, this time it was as if they were bowing to her respectfully, making room for her to pass.

A screech tore through the air and Twilight turned her head towards its source as her hooves continued on. The changeling queen streaked through the sky, turning in the air to dive at Twilight. Twilight turned away from the illusion before it incinerated on the the solar rays being emitted from her body.

Twilight shook her head as she passed through one final row of shrubs, finding herself standing across a clearing from Celestia’s headstone. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the crumpled shape at the bottom and she cried out.

“Luna, no!”

She rushed over to the grave and swooped down on Luna, afraid to touch her. The Night Princess sat with her eyes closed, resting her back against the headstone with each side of her neck sliced cleanly open, her life's blood poured out across her chest and a dagger lying by her hoof. “No! No no no no no, Luna, please no!”

Twilight gently lay her hooves on Luna’s and leaned in close, searching for any sign of life. “Luna, you can’t be- Not like this! Anything but this!”

She lay her head against Luna’s muzzle, desperate. A few seconds passed before she felt it: the smallest hint of breath kissing her cheek.

“Oh, thank heavens! It’s going to be okay Luna, hold on,” she whispered. Gently, she touched her horn to Luna’s and took a deep breath, allowing the solar energies to flow.

She waited, hoping against hope that it would be enough. Slowly, the wounds began to seal, and Twilight’s despair began to lift as the gash stitched itself, leaving Luna’s neck unblemished. Luna’s body shook as she took in a rattling gasp, her breathing growing labored and more rapid as color returned to her cheeks.

Finally, the darkness in the sky broke, revealing the sun, and her eyes shot open. She glanced around wildly before her gaze settled on Twilight.

“T-twilight? What’s happen-” she cut herself off as she realized where she was. “What have you done?”

“What have I-? Luna, I saved you!” Twilight retorted. “What was all this? The dark magic, the dagger? The bl- the blood? What were you doing out here?’

“I... I was bringing Celestia back,” Luna replied softly, hanging her head.

“You... How? Why?”

“This ritual. It was developed by a race long extinct, and upon my... expiration, my soul would have traded places with Celestia’s, wherever it is. Then it would’ve mended my body and she would’ve existed in it. But you interrupted it,” Luna explained, not meeting Twilight’s gaze.

“B-but why?”

“I... I couldn’t take it anymore,” Luna blurted out after a moment’s hesitation.

“Everything’s been so bad lately, I just didn’t know what else to do,” Luna simpered. “I just thought that she might be able to fix everything. I thought... I thought you might be happier if you had her back. I thought you might start smiling again and start acting like the pony you used to be.”

“Oh, Luna,” Twilight whimpered, collapsing into Luna’s hooves. “I do want Celestia back, but not like this! Not if it means losing you!”

“Twilight...”

“Luna, I love you. I know I haven’t acted like I do lately; in fact, I’ve been terrible to you!” Twilight gibbered. “I’m so sorry! I don’t know what came over me, but I had no right to-”

Luna cut her off by pulling her in for a long kiss.

“L-luna?”

“It’s okay, Twilight. You don’t need to say more,” Luna replied with a smile.

“J-just like that? B-b-but how?” Twilight whined, shaking her head. “How can you just forgive me after all the awful things I’ve said? After how abusive I’ve been?”

Luna sat up, scooting back into the headstone to seat Twilight on her lap more comfortably and took Twilight’s hoof in hers. “Because I still love you. And because I know all too well what it’s like to feel as you do now. I was there myself, not so long ago.”

Twilight tried to speak, but all that came out was a sob. She buried her face into Luna’s chest with a wail and cried.

She let let it all out. All of the anger, sorrow, and resentment she had built up over the years, she took it all and poured it out, leaving them as nothing more than tears in Luna’s fur. She cried until it hurt, and she was nothing more than a limp, quivering body lying against her marefriend.

“Better?” Luna murmured, stroking Twilight’s mane.

“No...” Twilight moaned. “It’s n-*hic*-not better. I can’t accept this. You can’t just *hic* say everything’s okay and have it go back to normal!”

“That is exactly what I am doing,” Luna asserted. When Twilight didn’t respond, she seized Twilight’s shoulders and turned the younger mare so they were eye-to-eye. “Listen to me, Twilight. It was your love, your friendship, that enabled me to forgive myself for my crimes, which I remind you were far worse than anything you have done. If you are truly intent on making amends, then please, allow me to return the favor.”

Twilight whimpered, wavering on the verge of crying again, but Luna wouldn’t have it. She moved in for another kiss, “Give me my old Twilight back.”

Luna could feel Twilight let out a silent sob as she pressed their lips together, so she pulled Twilight’s head back into her chest, cradling her tenderly and resuming stroking her mane. She smiled to herself as the tension left Twilight’s body, simply enjoying the long-overdue intimacy.

“There is... one request I have for you, Twilight,” she breathed.

“Name it,” Twilight replied, sitting up to stare into Luna’s eyes. “Anything you want, just tell me.”

“Not so fast. Before I ask, I want you to make me a promise,” Luna replied gravely. “I want you to seriously think it over, and if there is any doubt in your mind, any desire to say no, any hesitation at all, I want you to refuse my request. Understand?”

“But-”

“Promise me, Twilight!”

Twilight was taken aback by the severity of Luna’s response but nodded. “Okay, Luna. I promise.”

“Very well. Twilight...”


One month later, they stood face-to-face in the same clearing, surrounded by a small gathering of family and friends. The sun hung low in a cloudless evening sky as the moon looked on from the east.

Cadance spoke for them, speaking words of family and companionship; of happiness and sorrow.

But most of all, she spoke of love.

Neither Twilight nor Luna took in much of what she said; each was too absorbed in her own thoughts. Each was trying to stay calm and reasoned in spite of their excitement.

Then, just as each of them believed that they couldn’t hold back any longer, Cadance said the words they had been waiting for.

“I now pronounce you mare and mare.”

They leaned forward, and kissed.