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Chapter 1: Eclipse6,164 words
Chapter 2: Cleansing Blade6,182 words
Chapter 3: A New Day for the Blade6,781 words
Chapter 4: Through the Night4,192 words

Chapter 4: Through the Night

Chapter 4: Through the Night

A sea of stars, powerful and beautiful.

Warm arms’ embrace, gentle moonlight guiding my path and calming my heart.

The fleeting kiss of the cool night’s air upon my cheek.

“Nightblade…” it beckoned, its voice as comforting as the bed of lunar roses that caressed my skin.

I responded by reaching my arms forth, welcoming it into my embrace. Never again will it be cast aside, and never again would the majesty go unloved.

The dark beauty falls within my arms, its eyes twinkling with trillions of stars. I hold it firmly, in the way only a lover could. A lover of the night ‒ a lover of true beauty.

The night takes shape in my own image, allowing me to hold it close, whispering into its nonexistent ear that it never need be alone again. That I love it...that I need it.

“Mmm…oh…” it pleads to me softly, the need for words being lost in newfound pleasure.

I oblige and answer the unspoken pleading with a stronger hold, running my hands along the glittering stars in the skin. Kneading, groping, conveying love the way only actions can.

A sharp gasp is awarded to me, followed by…

...a pinch to my throat, driving my mind to wake from the dream, my hand still kneading the soft, firm pillow I held within it. The warmth of the blanket I was wrapped in soothed me to near-sleep again.

Until a soft, pleading moan woke me faster than a pitcher of iced water.

My eyes shot open with a start, and I turned my head to gaze at the sleeping form next to me. I was met with the contorted face of Luna, her breathing coming in short pants as she writhed against me. One by one my senses returned to me, and I realized my right hand was still kneading the pillow…a pillow which just so happened to be the rump of the night princess, a place more private and guarded than the royal treasury.

By the stars, sun, and moon, what am I doing?

Taking care to keep the awkward situation directed only at myself, I gently removed my hand and used a small burst of magic to levitate Luna off of my arm. I then extracted myself from her weak grasp and gingerly set her upon her bed again, covering her with the discarded duvet. I stood from the bed, not even sparing a glance back at the sleeping night princess as I quickly left the room.

I slammed the door to my room shut and barred it, worried that any who saw me would see the sheer amount of shame present in the expression I held on my face. I rushed to the washroom and turned the cold tap on full as I splashed the icy water upon my face multiple times, hoping to wash away the embarrassment of what I had done to Luna. An unknowing action of course, but one I committed all the same.

I wiped the water away from my face and looked at myself in the mirror. Celeste-colored eyes stared back at me, the arcing black energy running around the iris speaking of the storm within me. I closed my eyes for a moment and took a few deep breaths to calm myself.

“In,” I muttered with an inhale, “out.”

After a few moments, I noticed my racing heart had slowed, and the faint buzzing of electricity that accompanied my roiling magic had become mute. I opened my eyes to see the normal color restored, and heaved a long-suffering sigh as I dropped my head low.

“Calm thyself Nightblade.” I spoke aloud to myself, my stress causing me to be somewhat unable to stop parts of ancient speech styles from coming forth. “You dreamt a rather intimate dream. It has not been the first time, and it will most certainly not be the last. Luna happened to be there during the fact, and thy body reacted instinctively. It means nothing.” I then raised my gaze to my reflection and narrowed my eyes. “Stars-willing, she will have no idea what happened, which means the situation and memory will only reside with thyself.”

‘The feel of that lusciously firm flesh yielding to my touch...the primal whimpers of pleasure issuing forth...’

“RRRAHH!” I roared in frustration, and brought my fist to the mirror in front of me. Spiderweb cracks shot out from the impact, and I brought my hands to the countertop, bracing myself as I slumped my forehead against the glass, growling. “Stop it…” Again I took several deep breaths before pushing myself to stand up straight again, preparing to set about cleaning and grooming myself before catching sight of a rather odd mark on the side of my throat. I squinted my eyes as I ran my finger over it, only to wince in pain from the contact. I eyed the mark warily for a few moments before I recognized what the mark looked like it was caused by:

Teeth.

Again the unwanted sensations and recent memories flooded back to me when I realized where the mark had come from, and I resolved to either freeze or steam away the thoughts with either a very cold or very hot shower; whichever worked better.

Hoping to have my day occupied, I sought out Quickwrite to see if there was any important events scheduled for me to attend to. Unfortunately for me, there was no such luck. Mother confirmed to me that because of the lack of schedule for me today, she had personally given Quickwrite the day off. During that same explanation, she also scolded me for missing my own birthday celebration, small as it was. She forgave me of course, but I still felt bad about forgetting.

More important matters were on my mind though. I knew that with the Eclipse coming forth soon, all of the world would know who and what I truly was. I was still rather reluctant to have things so open, but mother still insisted. I trusted her judgement, and so would trust her when she advised me all would be well.

Sadly, the most powerful thoughts within my mind were of Luna.

An eternal being though I was, I still had mortal whims, as we all did. I wished one day to find a beautiful soul to love, male or female, and make that person as happy as I could for as long as they lived. What I did not expect, however, was for my mind to suddenly wish to put Luna in that place. The whole idea frustrated me for quite a few reasons, the most prominent of which being that I was quite sure mother would not approve. I knew in the back of my mind that I was far older than both of the princesses of Equestria. My mind and emotions, however, were that of a growing man, still coming into his own. Mother’s approval meant everything to me, and I strove to do her proud for all she had done for me.

Another reason why the whole situation with Luna unnerved me was because until recently, she could not even bear to look at me, and made said disdain quite clear on many occasions. Our bond was the polar opposite of what it had started as, but powerful as it was becoming, it was still a fragile fledgeling. I was quite sure that if Luna knew I had molested her while she slept, it would not matter if I had no conscious choice of it. I was fairly certain she would cast me away, and I did not know if I would survive her scorn again.

The most disturbing thought, however, was the dream itself when combined with my physical reactions while I slept. The voice within my dream called to me, pleaded to me. The voice within the dream ‒ the voice of the night ‒ was not Luna’s voice, and so I originally cast aside the very notion that the night princess would ever call to me in such a way, considering what I had done to her. However, I also knew from experience that one’s perception of the waking world while dreaming ‒ sounds and sensations, for example ‒ was muddled at best, and our perception could not be considered accurate. Though Luna shepherded the dreams of our people, even she did not completely understand how dreams worked, or what (if anything) certain dreams meant. So the question was: had that merely been a dream, or was I hearing Luna while in my dream? Had she truly called to me as a lover, or was my mind merely projecting words to match my abstract wish for a partner in life?

This, in turn, only caused more issues to arise.

No matter what, things were going to be very awkward for me around the lunar diarch. Whether my new thoughts and feelings on the matter were real or merely the product of a random dream mattered not. I knew that regardless, Luna’s presence would feel strange to me until or unless the mental images (and primal urges, unfortunately) withered and died. In this way, the only thing that would matter to me would be whether Luna had spoken the words, or whether they had merely been a construct of my subconscious. Unfortunately, I was not willing to bring such a thing to light. Ever. I wouldn’t, couldn’t risk the tenuous bond I was forming with Luna. It wasn’t worth the torture I would feel should she turn her back on me again.

‘But what if she felt the same way?’

I shook the thought away as I continued trudging through the halls of my home. It was impossible, not to mention practically inscestuous. I pushed all the thoughts to the back of my mind and locked them away, vowing to let them fade. They were foolish thoughts, and I was no fool.

Instead, I busied myself with inspecting the guards and the safety measures within the palace. As the only living member of the royal family that had regular contact with conflict, it was my place to make sure our kingdom’s security was running smoothly. True that my subordinates were the ones that actually enacted the changes or orders I asked of them, but it was my job to spot any weaknesses or issues and bring them to their attention.

Much to my annoyance, the guards were strong and alert, and all security policies were efficient and in effect. None of the magical wards around the palace were in danger of failing, nor was there any evidence of an attempt to infiltrate the palace. All this meant that I was going to be unable to find a meaningful distraction from my disturbances.

“You alright over there, prince?” called a familiar draconic voice.

I released a sigh of relief as I turned to Spike. “I do not think I have ever been happier that you are here.” I then raised my eyebrow and asked, “Speaking of, why are you here? I thought you were leaving for Ponyville.”

The young drake-blood shrugged as he strode over to me. “Pinkie Pie told me that you needed me, though I’m not really sure what she meant. So, I got Twi to send me here using the portal glyph she has in the basement.” He then eyed me with concern and said, “Come to think of it, you do seem pretty out of sorts.”

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at him. “Who is this ‘Pinkie Pie’ and how could she possibly know what happens within the private halls of the palace?”

Spike shrugged. “Pinkie Pie’s a good friend of mine. As to how she knew, that’s a little more difficult to explain.” He rolled his hands in the air, gesturing to nothing in particular. “She has this special ability she calls her ‘Pinkie Sense’ that allows her to just know things. I don’t know how it works and neither does Twi; all we know is that it’s too accurate to be coincidence. She gets these weird ticks or thing that happen with her body, and supposedly each one means something different. The one she got this morning apparently told her that my best friend needed my help.” He shrugged again. “I’m good friends with all of them, but you are my best friend. It kinda narrowed things down after that, and I trust Pinkie’s sense. So spill it.”

I was still unwilling to accept the fact that a normal person could seemingly predict the future or know things without being able to observe those involved, but I trusted Spike, and that was good enough for me.

I sighed and slumped against the wall next to me. “I was...I was privy to a rather disturbing event this morning.”

Spike smirked and asked, “Did you catch Celestia naked or something?”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “No, although if I had, it wouldn’t have been the first time. Mother hates wearing clothes, and wears minimal amounts whenever she can. Honestly, I do not know how her personal guard keeps from leering at her every moment of the day.”

“Yeah,” Spike muttered dreamily, “I can understand that. I mean that toga she normally wears is see-through, and sometimes she doesn’t even wear anything underneath. And with how short it is…” He started drooling a bit.

I snapped my fingers in front of his face in annoyance, bringing him out of his daydream. “Spike, I know that she is seen as a symbol of beauty and fertility, but I would appreciate it if you didn’t speak such things in my presence. She is still my mother, after all. It would be akin to me speaking of Twilight Sparkle the same way.”

He looked up at me and grimaced a bit. “Right. Point taken, Night. Sorry about that.” I nodded curtly before pushing off of the wall and continuing to walk down the corridor, toward the dining hall. Hopefully the promise of a good meal would lead to Spike forgetting- “So are you going to tell me exactly what happened or am I going to have to bug you until you crack? And keep in mind, dragons are very patient creatures.”

I grumbled to myself as he took his place at my side. I quickly shot him a glare as I said, “What I speak to you is not to be spoken to another soul, do you understand?”

Never before had I given a command to Spike. I considered him my best friend as well, and best friends did not order one another. So I knew that such a strong statement would catch his attention.

His eyes widened a bit as he nodded. “Y-yeah. Sure thing, prince.”

I eyed him warily for a few moments before turning my gaze to the corridor again and motioning to the door ahead ‒ my bedroom door. Spike understood and walked ahead, opening it to allow us to enter and then closing it behind us. I strode to and sat down on my bed, falling back onto the soft mattress.

“So…” Spike voiced as he paced toward me.

I released a stale breath of air and prepared to regale my tale of shame. “Luna and I are connected from our time together. It is as if my possession of her left an imprint of each of us on the other, and it is through this connection that I find the issue.” I sighed and closed my eyes. “I cannot be far from Luna, not anymore. Once she forgave me and chose to let me into her life, our bond quickly progressed beyond what I could have hoped for. I need her, though I never realized how much. Even now, I feel hollow just being away from her.”

“So why do it?” Spike asked in confusion.

I kept silent for a moment, organizing my thoughts. “The past two nights, I have spent the night with her.” I then turned my head to see Spike raising his brow at me, and scowled. “Not in that way, Spike.” I frowned for a bit before turning my gaze to the ceiling, letting out another wistful sigh. “Have you ever met someone you wish to spend every second of every day with; someone that when you are apart, you cannot think of anything but them?”

“I have.” Spike confirmed, his voice full of emotion. “Rarity. She’s one of Twilight’s friends, and one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met. Not to mention she’s drop-dead gorgeous.”

I felt a chuckle rumble through my chest, which lightened my burden just a bit. “Ah yes, the beautiful seamstress in Ponyville. I believe mother has mentioned her once or twice. She supplies mother’s clothing during the months following the lunar eclipse.”

Spike rounded me and flopped himself down onto the bed, next to me. “Yeah, she told me. When she got the letter from Princess Celestia, she passed out straight away.” I felt him shift next to me before he prodded my shoulder. “So are you going to tell me why you’re avoiding the princess now?”

My jovial mood quickly subdued again, and I took a couple breaths through my nose before continuing. “Luna and I have been sharing her bed. There is no intimate contact involved in it ‒ we just enjoy being close to one another. It feels right somehow.” I grunted in frustration. “It is difficult to explain.” I cleared my throat and added, “We speak of anything and everything. She laughs with me, and smiles in a way I have only ever noticed when I am around. She feels as complete around me as I do around her.”

“I don’t see…” Spike voiced with confusion.

I sighed and said, “Last night, I dreamt of the night. Of stars, the moon, and the beauty of the night sky.” I then shifted a bit uneasily. “The night was sapient, and made its way to be held in my waiting arms. I kissed, caressed, and showed my love for the night.”

“Okay,” Spike said, confusion still clear in his tone, “I’ve had dreams weirder than that before. So what’s the problem?”

“It called to me, Spike.” I answered nervously. “By name. In my dream, the night called to me.” I turned my head to look at him before continuing. “I woke to find that I wasn’t simply fondling the night within my dream, I was fondling Luna as she slept beside me. Thankfully, she did not wake, but I knew what I did. After waking, I quickly made my way back here and have been trying to purge the memory from my mind ever since.”

For a long few moments, Spike was silent. Then, with the utmost tone of nonchalance, he spoke, “Why?”

I shot my own look of confusion at him. “Why what?”

“Why are you trying to forget about it?” he clarified.

“Are you serious?” I asked with a small amount of contempt. “Luna has just begun to trust me, and I violated that trust in one of the worst ways imaginable.”

Spike rolled his eyes before turning onto his side, facing me. “Okay, look at it like this: you caught the eye of Princess Luna, one of the most beautiful and intelligent people in the world. She wants to spend every waking minute with you, and doesn’t even want to sleep apart from you. Now I don’t know about you, but if Rarity ever felt that way about me, I’d be doing everything I could to make sure she was happy and loved.”

I sighed and shook my head. “Spike, you do not understand-”

“No,” he interrupted, baring his fangs at me, “you don’t understand. You always whined to me about how much it hurt that Princess Luna always treated you like dirt, and now you’re whining because you felt her up in her sleep and kinda had a sex dream about her. Dude, I’ve had a sex dream about Twilight for Celestia’s sake. You have no idea how traumatizing it is for a young guy to have a dream like that about someone who’s basically his older sister.” He then poked me in the chest with his finger. “You on the other hand dreamt about one of the hottest and most desirable women in the world, and guess what? She’s not related to you. I don’t care how you try to spin it, the fact of the matter is that the two of you are not family. You’re older than her by like a bazillion years, and the two of you didn’t even know of each other until the two of you became Nightmare Moon.” He chuckled dryly as he continued. “I mean, she lets you sleep in her bed with her for Celestia’s sake! You can’t get more comfortable with one another than that without rutting!” As I was about to retort, he held up his hand to silence me. “And don’t say anything about incest or anything. Like I said, you two aren’t related, and after this next eclipse, everyone’s going to know you’re not really Princess Celestia’s son...or completely a man, for that matter.” Before I could even begin to speak, he cut me off again. “Or here’s a novel idea: why not just talk to her about it? If the two of you are really as close as you say, then why not-”

“I CAN’T!” I shouted in frustration. I held Spike’s gaze for a few moments before averting my eyes shamefully. “I can not. If she were to shun me for this, I could not survive it...not again. I would rather let the memory and corrupting feelings die than risk losing her. It is not worth the risk.”

Spike regarded me coolly for a moment before stating, “Y’know, for a skilled and experienced warman, you can be a real coward sometimes. You can slaughter an entire legion on your own, but throw Luna into your emotional storm and suddenly you lock up tighter than a griffon’s meatlocker.”

I glared at my decidedly annoying (but honest) friend. “You do not understand. I can not lose her again. I will be a coward if it means she will stand by my side.”

Spike glared right back at me as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. “With how much you want her to stay near you, I’d usually say you love her. However, I know that with the way you’re denying everything else even hinting in that direction, you’d deny that as well. So instead, I’ll say you should just ignore it, like so many other people in the world do.” He pushed off of the bed and stood, walking away. Before leaving, he stopped in front of the door, and without turning around said, “Rarity ignores it too, you know. I once heard her telling Twilight that we’re just too far apart in age, and it would never work. She said she will forever see the little dragon that hung on her every word, and delighted in helping her any way he could.” Spike then turned to look at me, and I could see the glistening of unshed tears in his eyes. “You don’t know how much it hurts to know that someone would rather use a bullshit excuse as to why they can’t be with you, rather than face the fears they have and explore the unknown. If Luna cares about you even a fraction of what I do Rarity, I hope she never has to find out that you’d rather make excuses than take a risk for her.” A single tear dropped from his eye. “Luna is worth the risk, Nightblade. I wish one of my friends would tell Rarity that I was.” With his last piece said, Spike left the room and shut the door behind him.

I stared at the door for a few moments, letting Spike’s parting words wash over me. His argument was convincing, but I still could not take such a risk without any proof that I felt that way ‒ about my adoptive aunt, no less. That was completely before the fact that I was quite positive Luna would hate me for what I had done, and what I was even thinking about. No, in this case, it just was not worth the risk of losing her. I feared so little in life, but losing Luna was one of my only and greatest fears. I would not put stress on a new friendship with her, just as I would not try and run with a newly-mended leg. ‘twould be foolish, as the negatives far outweighed the positives.

No...this too would pass.

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