Chapter One
Flor d'Luna Noire
Chapter One:
The night had a crisp and somewhat spiteful air about it as Twilight walked slowly, yet deliberately, through the Ponyville town square. As always, the moon shown brightly next to the dazzling stars in Luna's sky. Tonight she had outdone herself, though she did not know it, as her beautiful painting of light illuminated the land in a most alluring fashion, reflecting off the newly fallen snow to cast a glimmering white aura that rose from the chilled earth and dissipated into the icy air. The scene was one that Twilight stopped to admire on more than one occasion. After the third stop, however, she shook her head violently so as to keep the task at hoof firmly in her mind.
Twilight giggled slightly due to the fact that her mane tossing had let a few stray hairs make their way into her mouth, however, she forced herself to begin walking through the freezing, yet gorgeous night. Her only respite from the cold was a light cloak covered in icing smudges (and being a garment borrowed from Pinkie Pie, Twilight expected nothing less to be adorning the simple raiment), and she was still attempting to blow the stray hairs away from her face when Twilight neared the edges of the small town. When she finally got her mane to cooperate, and it returned to a semi-ordered state, Twilight reverted her attention back to what lay in front of her. When she did, she stopped dead in her tracks and drew in a quick breath at the scene laid out before her eyes.
The slightly rolling hills between her and the Everfree Forest were covered in a gleaming blanket of shimmering, virgin snow. The few trees that rose up from the ground seemed to be the noble guardians of the evanescent spectacle, their arms raised in silent worship to the azure sky which was penetrated with the brilliance of uncountable stars. Twilight had galloped over those hills with her friends on innumerable occasions, but never had she seen them like this. The stoic grace of the land was instantaneously brought to light by this simple, yet incredible, transformation from the usual green landscape to this sparkling sea of white radiance, one that she was experiencing first, alone, and with no distractions.
Twilight couldn’t help but feel excited that it was she who was the one to lay eyes on the beautiful surroundings before anypony else had the chance. Every other time it had snowed in Ponyville, the beauty had been desecrated almost instantaneously by playful children, couples out on a winter walk, or just the hustle and bustle of everyday pony life, leaving a torn and hoof print covered shadow of the view that Twilight always seemed to miss by mere moments. Thankfully, the weather ponies had scheduled this winter snowing late enough that most other ponies were asleep and the biting chill of the winter air kept those that were awake in their warm houses. And though it was indeed a very cool night, Twilight would not exchange this moment for any warm interior.
Eventually being pulled away from the magical scene by her current errand, Twilight began to walk again, then stopped and thought for a moment. Deciding that she would leave the landscape the way it was instead of ruining the exquisite snow by trotting over it, she prepared herself to teleport to her destination at the edge of the forest. Twilight thus dipped into the well of magic inside her, focusing it with it her mind and causing it to flow through her. She then diverted it to the precise point at the tip of her horn where it could be concentrated and released to achieve the end result of her spell. The pleasant feeling of the magic coursing through the small mare was soon dispelled as a bright pink ball engulfed her and then vanished as quickly as it had formed, leaving only four hoof prints in the crisp white snow where she had been standing. Immediately, the sphere of light reappeared at the edge of the forest across the glittering expanse of white from where it had first been called into existence. It then vanished leaving Twilight standing with a small smile on her face as the magic recessed back into the depths of her being.
Twilight soon regained her focus and began to look around her at the borderline of the forest. She had teleported herself not far, or at least less that a quarter mile, from the path to Zecora’s house so she knew this region fairly well in a sense. And, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Twilight set about preparing to accomplish her task.
“Ok. Now where did I put that checklist?” Twilight asked herself as she levitated a book out from her saddlebag. “Ah here it is,” she replied to herself when she located a piece of parchment with her distinct writing style sealed away within the first few pages of the volume.
“Ok. Make it to the area in question outside Everfree Forest. Check!” she said excitedly while crossing off a box with her magically levitating quill. “Now then next is… Reread the entry on Winter’s Heart. Alright…” she mumbled as she continued on down the list. Twilight then brought the book she was holding in the air closer to her so as to better see the words on the pages.
As she flipped through it to find the pages on the subject, the small unicorn silently thanked Zecora for allowing her to borrow the green bound encyclopedia. The copy of The Intricacies of Natural Horticulture had been a goddess-send in helping her develop herbal remedies that let her use less magic for everyday health and more for her development of magical control and practice routines. This particular plant, however, was not going to be used for a simple remedy, but for something else entirely. Twilight smiled softly at the thought of how she would put the Winter’s Heart to use as she finally found the correct page in her book.
“Winter’s Heart,” Twilight began, her eyes squinting slightly so as to better focus on the words, “A flower of rare beauty that blooms only on the first night of winter snow each year. It can be recognized easily by the long lily-like petals it possesses that are royal blue in color on the interior but that fade out to a dark purple on the outer edge. This flower is usually found close to a large gathering of trees around the outside of the group, near to or along the tree line.” There was a small black and white sketch of the flower immediately under the words that she had just finished reading that Twilight studied carefully for a moment before moving on. “The various uses of the flower include…” she continued, before fading off into her mind. Twilight knew the flower’s uses in a practical sense after reading the entry a myriad of times, yet she was interested in none of them at the moment.
Twilight shut the book and carefully levitated it back into her saddlebag while unconsciously checking off the second box on her list. She knew what the third was without a glance at her parchment and immediately set off along the edge of the forest looking for a small blue and purple flower. She searched as far as the path to Zecora’s house, easily taking her about an hour. Twilight then doubled back and searched the other way. After thirty minutes or so, the cold began to take its toll as the mare shivered violently in the icy weather. She was just about to double back again when she saw the smallest hint of a midnight colored petal sticking out of the serenely glinting snow.
Twilight galloped over to the flower, a soft cheer escaping her lips as she went. She was nearly overcome with joy and cold at the same time and she kicked herself mentally for forgetting her magic in her determination to find the precious plant. The unicorn leaned over to the flower while simultaneously casting a heating spell that instantly warmed her body leaving a glowing and happy Twilight in its wake. The spell seemed a bit harder to cast than it should have though, and it took her a minute to figure out why.
“Duh, Twilight!” she thought to herself, as she nuzzled the snow away from the beautiful flower. “You forgot to put your quill and checklist up!” She smiled as she mentally scolded herself for her forgetfulness. She checked off “Find the Winter’s Heart flower” on her list and then replaced it and the quill in her bag.
Twilight then bent back down to take in the breathtaking beauty of the delicate flower before her. The leaves were silky smooth and glinted as if coated with a slightly reflective layer that shown with the soft light of the moon and stars. Twilight looked up for a moment to once again admire the night sky and all the fathoms and depths it had to offer in its infinite elegance. She once again caught herself musing over her reason for finding the enchanting flower.
The unicorn smiled again to herself as she reached for a pair of floral shears with her magic and brought them over to the stem of the Winter’s Heart. She snipped with absolute precision at the base and then proceeded to weave together a very complex Everlife spell on the flower so it would not lose any of its natural radiance, for a very long time at least. Sustaining life was a very difficult procedure and could not be done indefinitely, but Twilight had been practicing for months now and by doing some intensive calculations had determined the spell would leave the flower intact for at least three years.
When she finally let the threads of her magic recede back to the pool from which they had been drawn, she felt exhausted yet content. The amount of magic required to accomplish the Everlife spell was immense for Twilight and the complexity was not only taxing mentally, but physically as well. But she would not complain. She had completed her task and could only smile wider at her accomplishment.
Twilight levitated the flower into a vase that was protruding slightly from the corner of her saddlebag and prepared to leave. She turned and looked at the moon again and the light it refracted off the snow and couldn’t help but sit for another moment to relax just a bit longer as she gazed upwards in admiration. Twilight had spent many a night such as this mapping the stars in the sky, noting each constellation and reproducing it with precise measurements on especially large rolls of parchment. She smiled as she thought of the stars on her flank and how each star in the sky was infinitely more complex than the simple shapes of those on her cutie mark. They were radiant and beautiful, and ever since Luna’s return, they shone brighter and were more dazzling than Celestia could ever make them.
Twilight blushed slightly for thinking a borderline inferior thought of her mentor. But she thought that even Celestia could not deny this fact, and she probably felt nothing but joy for her sister at the thought of it. Twilight smiled again as she pictured her instructor viewing the same stars and reaching the same conclusion with a warm smile. In fact, Twilight hoped Celestia was looking. She beamed at the thought of her teacher whom she hadn’t seen in quite some time. She missed her terribly but the thought of Celestia looking up at the same sky was enough of a connection at the moment to placate her.
Twilight traced a constellation she recognized while musing over her relationship with Celestia and frowned slightly. She hadn’t done any star charts since Luna’s return. And on a night such as this, she had no right not to, she thought with a smile. She drew out a fresh piece of parchment and her quill from her saddlebag and began to draw the constellations in the sky before her. She didn’t have her instruments with her tonight though, so she would have to rely on eyeballing it. The mare chuckled slightly as she realized she was relying on a side of herself she rarely got to experience, and as her artistic side came out, soon she was no longer relying on the stars that were actually hanging overhead.
Twilight moved with grace, dotting the parchment here and there with her own stars and naming them as she went along. She giggled like a school filly when she let her playful self out and named one of her new constellations Twilightlicious. She couldn’t help but endorse the silly name for the cluster of twinkling stars in the shape of her cutie mark that she could picture vividly in the sky next to the brightest of all of the sparkling pinpricks, Aurora Lucens: The Shining Dawn, in honor of Celestia herself.
Twilight sat back and looked at her rendition of the night sky. She sighed with contentment at the drawing, which she believed was one of the best she had done, measurements and false stars aside. Now she was happy just to gaze deeply into the night.
“Beautiful, is it not?” a rich and flowing voice asked innocently from behind the purple mare, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin.
“WHOINTHENAMEOFCELESTIA?!?” she screamed as she jerked around to see who it was that had scared her half to death. She was met with the hurt look of a serene midnight blue alicorn with a mane that flowed with the vastness of the night sky.
“A thousand apologies my dear Twilight! It was not my intention to frighten you… And this was definitely not the good kind of scaring was it..?” the alicorn asked helplessly, slightly lowering her head in shame as she did.
“Oh, Luna…” Twilight sympathetically replied. “I just wasn’t expecting it was all. It’s all right, really!” Twilight’s heart was still racing far faster than it’s normal pace and her breathing was more rapid as well, but there was no harm done. She looked at the Princess and aimed a half fake, half sincere, smile in her direction.
Luna looked up from the icy ground and meekly responded, “Do you speak the truth, Twilight Sparkle?”
“Of course I do Luna!” Twilight stated emphatically to the overly worrying princess. “At least you didn’t use your royal Canterlot voice. Otherwise I probably would have died of fright!” she added with a giggle.
“TWILIGHT SPARKLE! DOEST THOU MOCK THE ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE?” Luna bellowed, forcing Twilight back a few steps and causing her heart to beat faster yet again. Luna ended this fearsome display with a soft laugh and a coy, sarcastic smile directed at the purple unicorn.
“Princess..! You’ll wake up… all the other ponies… in Ponyville!” Twilight managed to wheeze out between fits of gasping from the sudden, frightening roar and laughter at Luna’s playful joke.
“Let them wake Twilight. Then they will be able to marvel at the winter night just like us,” Luna stated sagely with a truly sincere smile as she looked out across the stunning frozen landscape. Twilight of course could not figure out whether the ‘us’ in the Princess’ statement was addressing both of the mares or just the regal alicorn, but she chuckled to herself as she assumed it was most likely the former. Twilight also could not help but marvel at all the strength that her Princess possessed in her petite frame, but she frowned as she also thought of all the uncertainty and doubt harbored there.
“Are you not at ease, Twilight?” Luna asked, a touch of concern lining her soft query as she noticed the slight frown on the unicorn.
“Oh, of course Princess,” Twilight replied, looking up into the mare’s shining blue eyes. “I was just thinking about some… ah… some stuff.” Twilight kicked herself mentally for her less than eloquent response but continued on anyway. “Also, no offence intended, but uh, why are you out here?” she asked quizzically, being very confused as to the sudden appearance of one of the great rulers of Equestria.
“Well first, I thought I told you to just call me Luna…” the Princess of the Night began, bending down as she said it, a slight smile that both chastised in a friendly manner and told of her feelings for the phrase. Clearly Luna was uncomfortable with the epithet and Twilight made a mental note to respond in kind.
“I’m sorry Luna,” she started, looking over to the mare who had since turned away to look out across the snowy expanse. “It’s just been so long. I simply forgot.”
“It’s quite alright Twilight,” Luna responded, turning to face her companion again. “It’s just that being my only friend, I wish that you would avoid the formalities of my station.” Luna said this last sentence in a tone that seemed almost too regal to be taken seriously by Twilight. She then turned around yet again to face the snowy terrain.
“What do you mean I’m your only friend Luna? Don’t you remember Nightmare Night?” Twilight asked, attempting to make Luna recall the friends she made on that dark and "stormy" night, no thanks to Rainbow Dash.
“Yes Twilight. I do remember,” Luna said, sounding resigned and borderline exhausted. “I remember your friends running from me and only agreeing to help because of your determination. I remember the children screaming in terror as I frightened them, first unintentionally, then of my own accord. I remember the townsfolk accepting that I was there, but still being afraid to approach their Princess. While you may believe hopefully that I made friends that night, my dear Twilight, I simply concede to the fact that I was a presence, either for good or discomfort.”
“Well when you put it that way… Jeez…” Twilight mumbled under her breath, a scowl forming on her face at the somber thoughts. She looked over once again at the Princess of the Night. Luna had her head bowed and was looking across the snowy expanse before her in the direction of Ponyville. Twilight noticed an irregular gleam in the alicorn’s eyes that she couldn’t quite place, but it lasted only seconds before Luna turned back to her.
“Twilight, I appreciate your attempts at earning me the friendship of others, but I have been alone for a thousand years. A few more will not harm my spirits. What I truly am seeking is respect as the Goddess of the Night and Stars. And I seem to have gained that for better or worse, friends or no,” Luna stated with a small sigh, earning a concerned glance from Twilight. Twilight opened her mouth to begin her rebuttal, but Luna continued on while also shooting Twilight a sharp but not unfriendly look that made her re-seal her lips into a frown.
“Regardless, it seems I have not answered your question. I have been sent on a missive from my sister. And seeing as you were not to be found at the library, I simply followed your hoofprints here,” Luna began, causing Twilight to elicit a very befuddled facial expression.
“Why was she trying to find me?” she asked, then subconsciously adding, almost accusingly, “And from Celestia? Why couldn’t she come herself? It’s not like I haven’t seen her since the wedding or anything…”
With her mood thus soured, Twilight looked up at Luna questioningly with a look that not only conveyed her everlasting curiosity but her need to know. And when it came to Celestia, Luna expected no less.
“Celestia would like for me to pass this letter on to you personally, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said while turning around to look deep into Twilight’s eyes as if she was searching desperately for something within their purple depths. She had taken to a more steely tone than the friendly one that she had previously been employing, one that was resolute but somber and reserved. Twilight suddenly felt very chilled again, though she knew it had nothing to do with the winter cold. She turned away from Luna’s gaze and found a sealed envelope floating directly in front of her muzzle when she did, one levitated in a dark purple, near blue, aura, complete with the Royal Equestrian Seal and addressed in the writing of her teacher that she knew so well.
“Do not open it until you are back in the safety of your own room,” Luna ordered as a grave expression overtook her usual regal and stunning features.
Twilight could stand being left in the dark no longer.
“But WHY?!?” she yelled, turning on the princess as she snatched the letter from Luna’s magic with her own, a sudden and evanescent connection forming between the two that was snapped just as quickly as it had begun.
Her heart raced. Questions were pounding in her head. What did she mean in the “safety” of my own room? Why wasn’t dragon fire good enough to send the message? Why was Luna looking for her specifically? It didn’t add up.
Twilight’s breathing was now ragged due to the frigid air entering and exiting her lungs so quickly, and Twilight was sure she looked like nothing more than a stressed out mess, and in front of one of the ruler’s of Equestria no less. But right now, she didn’t care. All she wanted was the truth. Answers. Luna was beating around the bush about something now, but Twilight couldn’t tell what was waiting in the wings.
“Be calm Twilight. All will be answered when you read-“ Luna was cut off by a snort from the smaller unicorn mare.
“No Luna! I hate being left in the dark! And whatever is going on here is obviously affecting you! You went from being happy and friendly to reserved and somber in ten seconds flat, pardon my expression, and I want to know what’s happening!” Twilight nearly screamed. She couldn’t help it. If something could make Luna feel this way, then it was no small matter. She was upset and concerned for Luna, and Twilight had never been good at controlling her emotions. She felt terrible yelling at her princess and friend, but she didn’t know what else to do. Her feelings just got the best of her.
Luna drew in a very long, very deep breath at Twilight’s outburst. A slight wave of pain crossed her face causing Twilight to wince in regret. The blue alicorn turned and walked a few paces away with her head bowed slightly and her eyes closed while Twilight looked on expectantly. Twilight was still watching her closely, slapping herself over and over mentally for harming her friend in such a way, when Luna suddenly collapsed and simply lay on the snow covered ground, looking up at the sky after opening her eyes. Twilight let out a sharp cry as she instantly started to rush over to Luna. It was in this moment that she recognized the gleam in Luna’s eyes that she had seen previously. Luna was crying.
When Twilight reached her, the princess was shaking uncontrollably and breathing heavier than Twilight had ever seen anypony do so before. Any shred of composure that Luna had possessed prior to this moment was shed and Twilight could not even begin to formulate a hypothesis as to why Luna was breaking down in such a fashion. All she could do was run to Luna and hug her friend tight as she whispered those words that would shake her world forever.
“Twilight… My Sister… Celestia… She’s dying…”
________________________________________________________________________________
A/N: Thanks so much for reading! This is the first chapter of my first fanfic and any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I've never really written anything in a creative style before but I thought I'd give it a shot.
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i like
here have a pony
cdn.derpiboo.ru/thumbs/1200/700/2012/09/18/03_35_38_605_100782__UNOPT__safe_princess_luna_vector_artist_mihaaaa
dun dun dun?
this is...interesting, i'll see where it goes.
"A crisp and spiteful air" was enough to sell me on this story.
What I can say?.... It's deep, it's so detailed, and had such a sad atmosphere...
You captured my emotions, and the cliffhanger on the end was nice to keep your readers coming back.
It really is your first attempt?
Congratulations!
Have a thumb up and favorited!
Wow guys. I didn't expect this kind of reception! I'm working on chapter 2 right now and hopefully it won't disappoint!
1299954 Yes it really is my first attempt. After reading stories such as Within and Without and Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying, I was inspired to write my own story. I've never really done creative stuff so I was surprised to see that you all liked it so much. And thank you!
1299262 Thank you. She is beautiful! '
'
I applaud you sir, to an excellent beginning to what I'm sure will be an amazing story. Keep up the good writing!
1302969 Thanks a lot! I think the direction I'm taking should be interesting. So I'm hoping everyone enjoys it. It is my goal not to disappoint!
1303104
so far so good!
1303110 Well thank you again. So far chapter 2 is up to 3,000 words and I'm hoping to have it up to 10,000 by the end of the week. Then weekend editing and posting. I would love to hear what you have to say about that part too when it gets uploaded if you wouldn't mind offering your thoughts.
1303122
10,000 words?! That's awesome, now i have something to look forward to! you'll definitely be getting some feedback from me on chapter 2!
me Gusta...
1304757 I'm glad you are enjoying it
This story goes to TwiLuna ship, right?
Just, adding to the group TwiLuna, in a folder "Adventures" without addition in "Romance" confused me.
1304875 Oh I'm sorry. I hope the next chapter will clear up why I put it in the adventure folder. It is going to be a long adventure fic with a romance undertone. I'm still a little new to all this stuff and my friend referred me to the group and said I should add it there. I'm sorry if I did something wrong
Can you add it to both?
Wow! I did not know what to expect coming into this story... but dang man, you got something good here!
The scenes are very descriptive. I found myself easily picturing the snow filled field that Twilight came across. Also, that cliffhanger at the end... No spoilers, but that caught me a bit off guard!
Very much looking forward to more!
1305182 Thanks Morden! I was really trying to be as descriptive as possible so that you guys can see what I see in my head. Glad to know it's working!
Very good! i fully expect that Twilight fans, Luna fans and especially Twiluna fans all across the internet will be on the edge of their seats
The feels in the story remind me of Apotheosis a couple chapters in after Luna understands Twilight is not going to just up and banish her to the moon again.
1306420 Actually Apotheosis is one of my major inspirations as you will soon see by content. :rarity wink: Needless to say that isn't a very big hint at what's to come at all, but I expect it will take on a similar feel for a part then move drastically away.
Oh that sounds goos I loved apothesis cannot wait for more I'm a twiluna fan and twilight is my favourite character so you sir get a like and a favourite definitely watching keep up the excellent descriptions second chapters gonna be good
Just so you know , I'm studying french and the french in the title should be spelt Fleur-de-Luna if you're referencing Fleur-de-lis. Just a tip is all
Unless you meant to spell it wrong...
1307287 Its actually based on the Santana song Flor d'Luna which is a Spanish offshoot for Moonflower but I decided to mix the French word for black as opposed to the Spanish 'negra' based on a mixture of cultures and a thing my friends and I used to say. So it says Black Moonflower in a mixture of Spanish and French.
1307264 Thank you so much! I'm glad you have faith in me!
Err, just a pet peeve of mine, but could you use two lines to seperate the paragraphs, please? It makes it easier on the eyes.
1307464 Oh sure. I'll edit that in when I get back from class at 9. Sorry about that!
1307472
Thanks, and it's okay.
The Picture drew me in along with a promise of TwiLuna and Adventure which tend to be my favorite Stories. Seeing as you mentioned Within and Without and Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying which are my Number 1 and 2 Favorite TwiLuna Stories overall you have a really solid Start here and of course it had to end in an Cliffhanger
tracked and watched
This was a welcome and unexpected find. Good job my friend
j
Well now, you have my attention.
I'm done with Chapter one, where is Chapter two? Seriously though, I enjoyed reading this and can't wait to see what happens in the next chapter.
1317461 Chapter 2 should be out by wednesday or thursday of this week. I just got hit friday with over the weekend papers and haven't had time to work on it =( But Thursday by the latest!
1319127 Yay for possible new chapter!
1320009 Oh it's more than possible. Trust me I'm not going on hiatus or anything! I'm already 5,000 words in to chapter 2 and not stopping now!
I felt it deserved mustache Spike.
When can we expect the next chapter?
I'm eager for more.
1339817 That depends on when my professors decide to stop throwing loads of work on me. I was hoping to have it out by Thursday but I may require another weekend if this keeps up...
Well......................BUCK
Now my story will seem like I'm ripping off of yours.
Thought I'd re-read this and leave you a comment.
This story has definitely intrigued me, and the writing is solid for the most part, especially for your first fic. I do have one small problem with the writing, however: you have a bit of a 'purple prose' problem, in that the language was overly florid. It's generally better to stick with simpler words. The phrasing is a bit clunky at times, too.
Still, I'll get arounbd to reading the rest soon.
Just a few quick notes as I re-read this:
shears
lose
haven't