Entry for Third TwiDash Group Contest. Twilight and Rainbow are married and Luna had promised them an unforgettable honeymoon. But neither the place nor what the couple will undergo there are close to what they had expected.
Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash have tied the knot. After their grand wedding, they packed for their honeymoon, excited for what Princess Luna has planned for them. But, when they find out Luna had taken “honeymoon” literally, they realize their vacation place will be anything like they expected, and that they’re in for a fun and adventurous ride.Twilight and Rainbow will experience the most unique honeymoon a couple could have: on the moon!
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Some infos for new readers: thestrals = batpony + This fic is partly based on the IDW comics, namely the Nightmare Moon return arc. Since not all members of the bronydom are reading them I have linked a couple pictures for better understanding how some characters in the fic looks like: Larry, Jerone and Buffy Here besides Fluttershy we see Larry and Jerome with their new baby, Miss Buffy or for short Buffy. They were shadow creatures under Nightmare Moon's order and had done terrible things (for a kids show) which will explained further in the fic. Here a closer look on the beautiful Buffy: Buffy in all her beauty You take the words out of my mouth, Fluttershy.^^ And cause all good things are three, a fanart drawn by Opallene: The first offical gay family in MLP
"Rainbow! Did you get the towels?" Twilight shouted as she packed the cases for their vacation.
"Geez, Twi! I'm sure wherever we go, they’ve got towels, there!" came the slightly irritated reply from the bathroom.
"But how can you know that for sure? Better twice prepared than once caught unprepared." Twilight stood firm in her resolute conviction to make this the best vacation she and Dash had ever had. For this was quite important to them, it was their very first vacation as a married couple:
Their honeymoon.
In the bathroom, Rainbow rolled her eyes and put two towels into the bag she had put the various shampoo and hygenie articles into; as well as pretty much everything else Twi believed they would need to take wherever they wen. I bet she wants to pack some toilet paper, too. And just then she heard Twi ask if she had packed some rolls of toilet paper, too. The rainbow-maned pegasus facehoofed and fell to the floor. She flew down two flights of stairs, engulfed in the purple light of her newly-wed wife's magic.
"Really, Twilight? Toilet paper?" she complained as she flew back up the stairs before the door to Twilight's bedroom; though now she really should call it “their” bedroom. "I'm sure Luna won't send us to the Pampa. She said, she would give us the best honeymoon ever and I trust her on that. Do you really think she would forget toilet paper?" She pushed the door open and saw her wife standing in the middle of half a dozen cases, several clothes hanging in the air, three blackbords covered in writing, probably about the dangers and what-ifs of vacation. And then there was a really long scroll filling out half the room in which the princess of friendship and magic scribbled down words on words on words, mumbling and showing the tip of her tongue. She was so highly concentrated that she hadn't heard a word from her just the day before married wife had told her.
Rainbow raised an eyebrow, slightly impressed. After all, it had been only five minutes since she had left this room, and there had been only two cases and one paper list. Where does she keep all that stuff hidden? Rainbow briefly wondered as she pushed her way through the floating clothes and landed next to her wife.with a quiet sigh on her lips. When had the coolest pegasus on Equestria fallen for the nerdiest egghead of Equestria? A long time ago; and I regret nothing. WIth a sly smile on her face she moved closer to the enchanted mare, deep in her thoughts and placed a wing on her back. Surprised, Twilight yelped and turned around and in that moment Rainbow moved her muzzle forward to meet the luscious lips of the pony she loved. Twilight’s eyes widened for a second before they closed in bliss, and she returned the kiss by prying Dash's lips open and allowing her tonuge into her mouth.
Rainbow enjoyed the kiss as much as the alicorn did, years ago she had dreamed day and night what it would be like to kiss Twilight Sparkle, and yet each time she kissed her she felt her stomach doing flip-flops, her heart was fluttering like mad, and the rest of her organs had turned into butterflies while her brain was blank like a white piece of paper. A paper which Twilight's face had been drawn on everytime she kissed her. And each time the image couldn't hold a dime to the original when she opened her eyes and faced her. Same for this time. Twilight giggled as both mares muzzles moved apart.
"What's so funny, Twi?" Rainbow asked with a smile; she felt her wings twitch and spread apart to show the burning happiness inside her.
"I just remembered our first kiss. Where you tried to kiss me out of nowhere and I almost poked your eye out with my horn," Twilight grinned with rose-tinted cheeks. The usually cheeky pegasus blushed and scratched her head as she remembered one of her less awesome moments. Twilight had been saying sorry for like twenty minutes after that faux pas while Rainbow just wanted her to kiss her again. A faux pas which Rainbow had told at their wedding party yesterday and which resulted in much delightful laugther amongst the guests, and an ashamed purple princess in a white bridal gown trying to hide behind the huge cake.
"Heh, yeah. I doubt we’ll ever forget our first kiss, if you could call it one. Anyway, I wanted to ask you if we really need to pack toilet paper for our honeymoon, Twilight."
Twilight Sparkle blinked twice before her mouth formed a little “o” and looked through her seventy-hoof-long list. Then, on one of the chalkbords covered in fancy mathematics; again on the list, and then into a book which she summoned out of nowhere. Then, with a big smile she turned to Rainbow; who had prepared herself for some argumentation she wouldn't understand, for the most part.
"Yes. In Wary Hooves' Guide to a Succesful Vacation and Ivory Scrolls’ 1111 Possible Dangers When Going on Vacations- toilet paper is listed among the top ten items you need in many cases of something missing or going wrong. The case of the staff forgetting to put toilet paper on use is only one of them. Did you know that-"
"And I’m going to interrupt you here if you don't mind, love." Twilight blushed madly at Rainbow's interruption, an adorable sight which Rainbow loved to see whenever she called her “love”. Here she intended to get the overprepared mare to use her common sense. The cute blush was a bonus.
"Don't you think that Luna will make sure we will have the honeymoon of our lives? And that she or somepony among her helpers will think of the toilet paper? Geez, she even said she would surpass Celestia's honeymoon gift to Pinkie and Big Mac's wedding, and they were sent on a luxurious tour around the world! Shouldn't that ease your mind a bit?"
Twilight took a deep breath in and out. Her head hung in shame, and Rainbow wondered if she had taken it a bit too hard on her wife.
"You're right, Rainbow. I'm overthinking this, again. I even made a list of what medicines we should take for seasickness, mountain sickness; antidotes against venomous snakes and spiders. Maybe I should have relaxed, and taken this a bit more practically. But I really wanted you to have the most awesome honeymoon ever and how great can a honeymoon be if I get seasick on a luxury cruise or fail at learning how to ski?" Big purple eyes shined up to Rainbow, and the blue pegasus bit her lower lip to suppress the “awww” which threaten to leave her tonuge. By Celestia, I got such a cute wife!
"Aw-em, ah don't worry, love. No matter where Luna sends us, we’ll have the best honeymoon ever; as long as I can spend as much time with you as possible." She cupped Twilight's face with her hooves and kissed her on the tip of her horn; a deep sign of affection among Unicorns. "But really, snake poison? What the hell do you think Luna has prepared for us?"
"Well, to surpass Celestia's honeymoon gift Luna would have to perform quite the amazing feat, so I concluded a couple vacations which in terms of uniqueness and exclusiveness could hold a candle to the world tour. Tartarus is amongst them too, by the way." Rainbow was left speechless for a second. How long was this mare thinking about and working to plan their honeymoon? Better not comment on the Tartarus one though; that does sound pretty awesome to me. At least it wouldn't be boring. Apropos boring.
"But didn't Pinkie tell us how 'booooooring' the world tour was? Sure, she saw some amazing spots and all, but the tour on the ship wasn't much fun, she said," Rainbow stated, in an attempt to change the topic.
"That's because she exhausted poor Mac every night and he wasn't able to do anything but sleep and eat during the day," deadpanned Twilight. "He came to me asking if I knew some spells too reduce the libido of a mare. Do you know how uncomfortable it is to hear about your friend's sexlife?"
"Uh, yeah. 'Cause I was the one Pinkie told everything about her bed adventures with 'little big Mac'. Also, Mac failed to reduce her libido, given that Pinkie went to Zecora and got tons of a potion she called 'Viagra', which makes you really sex-hungry. AJ told me last week that she caught Mac sleeping in the fields at least twice per day 'cause he was so exhausted."
"You never told me about that."
"You know how uncomfortable it is to hear about your friend's sexlife in all facets?"
"Point taken, distract me with something other than Pinkie and her attempts to not only be the first of us to marry, but also become a mother before the rest of us," Twilight laughed heartily; remembering how their quirky friend had announced to the clique that she was going to marry Big Mac a year ago.
With a huge banner popping from the ceiling declaring her marriage to Big Mac within a couple of weeks. Nopony had known before then that they were even dating. Poor Applejack was so shocked she had to drink two kegs of cider to move her congealed tonuge, before telling her friend that she was happy to have her as a soon to be sister-in-law, and to mutter what she was going say to her brother for keeping this a secret from her. Everypony was all aflutter at that time, and it had been a great marriage. One that led Twilight to consider marrying her marefriend, Rainbow Dash. Said marefriend turned wife, who was now wondering what topic was best discussed next.
"Oh! How's Spike doing? He was pretty down a couple months ago when he got rejected by Rarity, but he seemed fine these last three weeks. Is there something you know that you haven't told me yet?"
"Oh, there sure is. But you didn’t hear it from me, okay?"
"Got it, love."
Twilight felt another blush creeping onto her face. Even after three years of being together, she was still so weak to Rainbow calling her love.
"Well, do you remember who Spike danced with all the time yesterday, or were you too busy stuffing yourself full of the cake and food Celestia's kitchen had preared?" Rainbow blinked, caught by surprise. She really hadn't paid that much attention to her surroundings, yesterday. Most of it had been a blur. The palace, the guests, Princess Celestia and all that. What she could remember were the vows; Twilight's vow to her and the kiss the kiss they shared, and the cheers of their families and friends and everypony else. Her dad had been crying so much that time and kept repeating how happy her mom would have been if she were there.
Rainbow felt a lump closing up her throat. She coughed slightly to ease it up. Thinking about her awesome lovely dad and her late mom always made her a little emotional. When he danced with her on the party after the wedding she had to hide her face in his tuxedo to prevent anypony seeing her tears. Though her puffy, red eyes were clear evidence that she had cried, but neither Twilight nor anypony else asked her about them.
"I was too busy ogling the gorgeous wife I got my hooves on that day, so can I get three lucky guesses?" A shy smile and nod rewarded her compliment, and she put out her tongue while busy trying to pick up a big case and put it on the bed so they could continue to pack. This time without the fear of a meteorite hitting their vacation spot.
"So uhm, Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked, not quite seriously in an attempt to buy herself time to think further.
"I doubt Spike could have pushed his way through all the stallions that tried to woo Fluttershy that evening. Poor dear, ever since it came out that she's the famous Soft Quill who wrote the The Prince of Dawn novel series, she can't seem to get away from all the fans and admirers coming at her from all sides." Twilight hid her sympathic laugther behind a wing. Ever since she became a princess she’d had to deal with many admirers and obsessed fans; many of which were even up to this point still embarressing to her. She couldn't imagine how the shy pegasus must feel with getting hundreds of messages from fans everyday. Then again, it didn't prevent her from continuing to write the series; so she had more determination than many would have given her.
"Yeah, that one where the male you got a harem of sexy mares-"
"Dusk Shine is not a genderbent version of me, Rainbow!" Twilight shouted with a hint of annoyance at her winged wife. Quite a bit of her own fanmail had been about this ineffable “Dusk Shine” and his affairs with the five mares with whom he saves Equestria frequently in every book thus far.
"Suuuure, he just is an alicorn with a purple coat, is totally a bookworm, and-"
"And he has blue eyes. Not me at all," Twilight interrupted once again, as she slammed a cushion on Rainbow in an attempt to make her shut up about Fluttershy's novel career. The books were good, eloquent and had lovely writing, but the way Dusk Shine had five mares, who all resembled mares Twi knew way too well, going after him and how he dealt with them in such a cheeky and cassanova-like way made Twilight blush every time she read one of those books. It didn't helped that they were all rated mature for some really 'saucy' scenes. But they were so romantic and full of heartwarming scenes, so Twilight couldn't bring herself to put them away. She was always the first one to read Fluttershy's newest entries in the series.
"Yeah, that's why Dusk married Prismatic Blitz in the last book, right? Fluttershy told me she's thinking about writing a successor series about the child of Dusk and Blitz." Rainbow’s grin threatened to extend to each of her her ears as she looked at her embarressed wife. A slightly shocked look crossed the purple face as if she had caught Twilight with her hoof in the cookie jar, which made the pegasi cock one of her eyebrows.
"Ugh, I can already see the content of the letters that will be sent to me," sighed Twilight, massaging her forehead to keep said content and other pictures Rainbow teases had put into her mind out of it, as she put some neatly folded dresses into the suitcase. She really didn't need that of distraction on her honeymoon.
Rainbow seemed to have taken notice of that, too.
"Sorry, Twi. You're just so adorable when you get teased, I couldn't stop myself. Anyway, I think I’ve got it now. It was Applebloom, right? Those two would always hang out in the past, and they make quite the cute couple, don't they?" Twilight snorted at how proudly Rainbow had announcedf her deduction.
"Close, but not close enough. I doubt Applejack would take it well if even her younger sibling found a special somepony before she did. You have one more chance, if you're wrong again I'll keep it to myself."
Rainbow's mouth was agape. She concentrated carefully; knowing that Twilight must have given her a hint by now. Didn't she say that she was close? So that means it was one of the CMC, and Applebloom wasn't it; which left Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo had told her last month that she was going out with Rumble, Thunderlane’s little brother, so that left...
"Sweetie Belle! Spike danced with Sweetie Belle yesterday!"Rainbow shouted loudly; pointing a hoof at Twilight.
"Ding-ding! We have a winner!"
"Yes!" Rainbow shouted triumphantly, and allowed herself a litlte salto in the air to celebrate her superior investigation skills.
The alicorn chuckled at the childish display of the proud and boastful mare. She was so cute when she was this carefree and open with herself.
"Yeah. Sweetie Belle had asked Spike out a couple weeks ago, and they’ve gone on quite a few dates by now. She had visited him often when he was in his room; all depressed because of Rarity deciding to put her career before any relationship. He said, he would have had better chances with her if he was a 'boutique in Canterlot, then she would be inside him all day long'." Rainbow cracked up at that point and rolled on the floor laughing.
"Very mature, Rainbow." Twilight rolled her eyes. Some moments her wife was too open and carefree with what she felt. It was still a lovely sight though.
"Hah, sorry Twi. Hey, you did tell him about the birds and the bees, right?" Rainbow asked as she wiped away the tears of her laugther.
Twilight just stared at her. An uncomfortable chuckle left Rainbow before she sat up and tried to act in a more mature fashion again, though she already knew how she would tease Spike when she came back from the honeymoon. This double meaning was too rich not to use.
"So, Spike and Sweetie Belle are going out? Cool! She's a sweet young mare; like her name suggests. In a few years she will be as beautiful as Rarity; if not even more."
"Hm. Spike wasn't all that much into it in the beginning, but I think Sweetie is breaking through his shell and starting to take the place Rarity had held in his heart for so long. I'm happy that he found somepony that can make his life brighter just by being with him. Just like you do for me everyday, sweetheart," Twilight’s eyes twinkled and her smile beamed at Rainbow as she spoke the last word softly and coyly.
Rainbow's wings raised fully and her face went deep-red. The socks in her mouth, which she had tried to put into the case, fell to the ground. Quickly, she fought down the urge to jump on Twilight and make-out with her on the floor. She disliked how easily she became wax in the egghead's hooves whenever she used that tone and nickname on her. Then again she really liked to hear Twilight talk to her that way.
"I still find it interesting how the wings show several emotional stance of pegasi. You're so cute when you're fighting your urges," Twilight teased her wife with a smirk, who fought down her erect wings.
"Don't tease me, Twi! Months after your ascension you still had problems keeping your wings down. I remember how your wings had taken the entire blanket our first night together, it was raised like a tent over me," Dash replied to the now blushing princess, who's wings fidgeted slightly in embarressment at that reminder.
"Careful, Rainbow. Embarassing royality could result in punishment. Do you still want to speak about my wing problems?" Twi challenged Dash in mock anger, a mischivious glint in her eyes.
"Well, I'm Duke of ‘somethingsomething’ now, and I can speak about whatever I want," Rainbow answered the challenge in her best snob act.
"You’re going to regret this, Duke of Windsoir," Twi lowered her horn, magic channeled in it. Her tongue wet her lips, and Rainbow felt another twitch going through her wings, but there was no way she would back down from a challenge. She pawed at the floor; eyes set on her target, already knowing what she would do in a couple of seconds. Just like usual, the alicorn would teleport herself behind or on top of her to bring her down on the ground where she would have to receive her punishment helplessly. But this time she was ready, and Twilight would have to eat her own punishment.
"Make me, princess."
And the next moment Rainbow Dash faced the ceiling. For a second she blinked not sure how her field of vision had changed so abruptly. Then she understood that this time Twilight hadn't teleported herself, but her opponent, and that she was looking at a madly grinning princess; ready to deliever the worst punishment a pony could receive:
"Tickling time!"
And with those words Twilight tickled Rainbow with her wingtips and with a dozen quills summoned from her desk. The pegasus squeaked and exulted in various pitches under the force of the pure, soft feathers and white, grating quills. Her sides and her hooves were under constant attack by the quills, which made her laugh so much that her stomach was a wobbling mass of blue jelly. The worst, though, were Twilight's feather tips under her scapulas where her own wings began, her greatest tickling weak spot. Her quick and rapid movements made it impossible for Rainbow to close her wings and to stop the high-pitched laughing untypical of her. To her misfortune Twilight loved to hear this girly voice out of her.
"Do you give up? Do you give up?" Twilight repeated mercilessly through her punishment and laughed with Rainbow; enjoying every sound she made underneath her. She moved a bit closer to get a better standing for her wings to reach further under her lover's wings.
And suddenly Rainbow grabbed her neck and pushed her hindlegs aside with a swift kick; rolling herself on top of Twilight and leaving the tickling princess on the ground. Now the feathers were mixed anew. With gusto the still cackling Rainbow delivered a tornado of hooves rubbing all over Twilight's tickling places and her wing tips dancing gracefully at her lover's neck. Twilight laughed and giggled so much tears were dripping down her checks. She tried to squirm her way out, but Rainbow's embrace was too strong to escape.
"Say Uncle! Say Uncle!" Dash repeated over and over again; mirth-drunk on the silliness she enjoyed with Twilight.
"Neheheheever!"
And with those words the quills returned to the air and started to tickle the dominant pegasus everywhere the magican could reach. After a couple seconds of helplessly fighting down her own laugther and keeping up with her own teasing on the pony below her, Rainbow went in for the close-body kill. She sweeped the quills aside with her wings and put her forelegs behind Twilight's neck, pulling herself close to her. Both snorting and laughing the two ponies rolled around in the clothes and feathers, wrapping each other’s bodies in purple and blue wings. When their rolling ended, they laid on their sides, facing each other; chests heavily breathing from all the tickling and laughing.
Twilight snuggled closer, and Rainbow tightened her wings to feel as much of the purple pony as possible.
It should be forbidden to feel so at bliss. But I want to feel that way with you forever. Twilight thought as she closed her eyes and leaned onto Rainbow.
I want this feeling to last as long as we're alive. I will never let it stop as long as we’re together. Rainbow swore silently to herself as she felt purple, velvet lips on her own.
For a whole minute the two of them were basking in the happiness they provided in each other; to feel the warmth, to hear their moans and to taste the other as their tonuges wrestled in-between their mouths.
Slowly they ended the kiss, their heads leaving the contact their lips had hold and could have held for a long time. But time was short, as Luna would be there soon to pick them up for their honeymoon. Blazing stars in purple sky met rose-colored warming sunshine as their eyes never broke contact, just staring into each other’s; not wanting to stand up and pack yet. So much was spoken by this look of theirs, like it had been done a thousand times before they got together; when they confessed to another and when they decided to be together forever. Twilight could never find all the words she would need to tell Rainbow how much she felt for her, and Rainbow could never show Twilight how much she meant to her, no matter what she would buy or do. Yet such extravagant means and needs were unneccessary, as a few simple words were enough for them to confirm the other's heartfelt living truth.
"I love you." Two charming smiles lit up upon the simultaneous confession.
A quick peck and giggle later, the two wrapped up their packing and put the last pieces of cloth in their suitcase, and cleaned the room of the mess they had made in their loving play. With a thick book as the last item, Twilight closed the suitcase filled with everything they would need for their honeymoon.
"Another book? Geez, Twi, haven’t you packed enough of those."
"You'll like that one, trust me. Do we have everything?"
"Yeah, we should. Oh, wait. We forgot the most important ones!"
"What?! But I triple-checked the packing list!
"Never mind, I'll get it, Twi."
Quickly Rainbow flew up to their bedroom while Twilight read through her list, trying to figure out which items she had forgotten. When her wife returned with said items, she blushed madly at her omission, having not included those items in her list at all.
"I can't believe I forgot out wedding feathers!" Twilight groaned, covering her face with one of her wings. Rainbow chuckled as she walked over and nudged Twilight to give sight of her head.
"Hey, we’ve only had these since yesterday. Plus, there was the party and all the packing stuff. I’d have forgotten about them too," Rainbow laughed and gave her wife a kiss on the cheek before she put her blue feather on a silver chain around Twilight's neck. Twilight took her purple feather from Rainbow's hoof and put it gently around her blue neck. She stroked it softly and smiled at Rainbow who smiled happily back. Twilight remembered her heartracing yesterday when she had listened to Rainbow's vow; she had spoken her own and then put the feather near to their heart, and received Rainbow's blue feather as well.
"You know, you looked so beautiful in your gown, Rainbow."
"W-w-where did that come from?" Rainbow asked, surprised by the sudden compliment; her cheeks glowed the same color as her eyes. She was still not used to being called beautiful, even despite the happiness such compliments brought her. Especially when they came from Twilight.
"Can't I tell my wife the truth about how she looks?" Rainbow's coat threatened to exchange her sky blue color for a Big Macintosh red. She looked quickly to the ground, scratching her head as she tried to think of what to say in return.
"Not as breath-taking as you, Twilight. When you entered the room, nopony made a sound, even your mom stopped to cry; so mesmerizing was your apperance." Twilight's smile grew and her ears laid back on her head. Embarrassed, her magic played with a lock of her hair, and her forelegs scratched each other.
"You're just saying that. When did my sweetheart learned to say such words without checking a dictionary?" The princess of friendship bit her lower lip slightly, her eyes not leaving Rainbow's. It was a sight that made Rainbow’s throat rather hot and dry.
"Uh-huh, it's true! You were gorgeous, awesome and sexy in one white, tight package. I could have ripped your gown off and taken you right there before Celestia and everpony else, so mouthwatering was your look," Rainbow said; licking her lips in a very exaggerated, nasty way, rolling her eyes and moaning lowly.
"Ugh, and the romance died, choking and drowning. I really believed you had become a well-mannered and well-versed pony just to see that you're still the old you." Her laughing voice belied her words as she went to Rainbow to cuddle with her head on her neck. The rainbow-maned go-getter grinned widely as she put her hoof around Twilight to snuggle closer with her.
"Yeah, you haven't turned the Rainbow Dash into a mushy-wushy romantic yet."
"Yet?"
"I might change my mind since all your Daring Do shipfics with her and Proffesor Ravenhoof are pretty good and fun to read. I could be the awesome and cool Daring Do and you the amazing and smart Professor A. B. Ravenhoof!"
"Sure, you will."
"I'm serious, here."
"That's what I'm afraid of. I’d rather enjoy our life together without Ahuizotl or Major Eisenherz trying to kill us in various gruesome ways, just for us to find a way out and end their evil-doings," Twilight laughed as Rainbow huffed playfully, both snuggling closer and laying down on the near bed to wait till Luna would arrive.
"Are you okay with that? You know, about the Wonderbolts." Twilight stroked Dash's chest softly, as she asked in a quiet tone.
"Twi...," Rainbow started; her voice serious and concerned.
Loud knocks at the door stopped the conversation, and both ponies jumped up from the bed, quickly grabbing the cases and bags for their vacation.
"Let's talk later, love," Dash grinned with a playful wink at Twilight.
"Hm," Twilight nodded, a small smile adorning her face, hiding the concern and worry she felt deep inside.
Both of them flew down the stairs to the library room where the rest of the packs were waiting, sorted neatly. Rainbow went to open the door while Twi had to decide whenever to leave the case in emergency of earthquake and tsunamis, or the case in ermergency of meteroite hits and megadrought. Even if she had promised Rainbow to take things as they came, she wanted to be prepared for at least one possibility. With a shrug she decided that it was more likely she was going to need the earthquake and tsunami case than the other one. With a magical shove, the meteroite and megadrought case disappered behind the couch just the moment Rainbow opened the door and let princess Luna into the treehouse. Immediately the alicorn greeted her subjects the way she was best accustomed to: Using the Royal Canterlot voice.
"Greetings, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle! Princess Luna is here to drive you to the best and most fascinating honeymoon ever held in the history of Equestria! And I'm even most modest with this announcement."
Luna's loud voice made Rainbow roll into Twilight and their cases, knocking down all of them. Apologetic, Luna ran to their sides; helping them up while casting her magic on the cases to levitate them to the waiting thestrals at the doorstep who took them without a word and brought them outside.
"Luna, I'm glad you're here, but could you please keep it a bit more quiet? It's exactly midnight, just the time you wanted to pick us up, so thanks for being so timely, but some families would like to sleep at this hour, so in-door voice, yes?" Twilight shushed the princess quietly.
If she had picked us up during day time, we wouldn't have to be so quiet leaving the library. Rainbow thought, ears still ringing, having been so close to the infamous voice of Luna in full volume.
"I'm so sorry! I was so nervouscited- that's what young folks say nowadays, right? ...about this honeymoon and I had been up all day to oversee the final preparations for your vacation, and Celly teased me that I would be late and... I'm sorry. I didn't want to lay waste to your first vacation as a married couple before it even began."
Luna's head dropped; her eyes clad in gloom, ashamed of her own inability to adapt to new times after all those years and keep her Royal Canterlot voice off when she was excited. Twilight and Rainbow shared a quick glance in response to her strange behavior, before they went to cheer up the depressed princess.
"You didn't ruin anything, Luna. If anything we have to thank you for all the hassle you put yourself through to give us such a gift."
"Yeah, no big deal, princess. Just, you know, keep it down a bit."
Princess Luna lifted her head, happy to hear that her dear guests were not disappointed with her. She still had a chance to give them the best honeymoon ever. And to show a certain big sister which of the two was more romantic.
"Then follow me, I will lead you to a place which is both wondrous and fantastic. I promise you will enjoy this honeymoon much more than your dear friend Pinkie and her mate did with Celly's. I'll show her!" The newly-weds each raised an eyebrow at the same time, not sure if they should be concerned that their honeymoon had become the base for a bet between two immortal princesses or not.
"Well, as long as it's not Tartarus," mumbled Twilight to Rainbow as they followed Luna outside.
"Though that could be an awesome vacation; I doubt it's boring in hell," Rainbow whispered back, laughing internally as she imagined how deeply that particular vacation spot might push Twilight into one of her frenzy modes.
Outside waited an open carriage; pure gold, with ornaments featuring all kinds of clouds and birds adorning its sides. The wheel's spokes were carved pegasi wings. Red cushions that appeared to be particularly soft and fluffy promised a nice and comforting seat no matter how long the travel might last. Four thestrals clad in dark armor and with the usual grim expressions on their faces waited for orders to take off.
Twi closed the door and put the key under the welcome mat. Spike would stay with Rarity for the few days they were gone, so he could return anytime if somepony needed a book from the library. He promised Twilight that he would keep an eye on the books and keep the library clean and tidy. Though she had said good-bye to him and her friends this day, she wished she could give her number one assistant another hug. She walked up to Dash and Luna, who seemed very proud that Dash had called her carriage "pretty rad," though she had a slightly confused smile on her lips; not entirely sure if "rad" was meant as a compliment or not.
Two thestrals had stacked the cases before another less expensive and simple cart which would follow theirs.
Rainbow looked at the cases and saw the one marked with the sticker “Earthquake and Tsunami Emergency Case”. She turned and stared blankly at Twilight, who smiled akwardly back, and walked quickly to the carriage; opening the door and bowing before Rainbow like the perfect gentlecolt. The pegasus rolled her eyes and entered the carriage, saying nothing about the emergency case.
"You still haven't told us where our fantastic honeymoon would be," Twilight reminded Luna as she sat besides Rainbow in the carriage.
"Let yourself be surprised, dear friend," Luna smiled brightly as she sat up on the carter place, her loyal guards spread their wings as she took the reins in her hooves.
"Up up, my loyal thestrals! Let us take this happy couple to the honeymoon they deserve!"
Without comment, the thestrals beat their leathery wings and went up into the air; carrying the carriage and its cargo higher and higher. Twilight and Rainbow's eyes grew as large as plates as they saw how directly the carriage flew into the night sky, and they gasped loudly as they saw and guessed right away where they were travelling.
"This is all kinds of awesome..."
"Don't tell me we're going..."
"To the Mooooooooooooon!" Princess Luna shouted in her Canterlot voice for all in Ponyville to hear on this warm evening.
Twilight facehoofed hard and graoned loudly to Rainbow's amusement and Luna's incomprehension.
The travel up to the moon was the most wonderful journey Twilight and Rainbow had ever been on. They saw Equestria from high above the sky; higher even than Rainbow could fly. The whole of Equestria, with its mountains, plains, forests, seas and coasts and its little light points where stood the settlements of ponykind. The two lovers could do nothing but stare in awe at their earth and how their home town became a spark of light in a moonlit darkness until even that light disappeared and they entered space. Luna had cast the same spell she used back then on their adventure to save Rarity from Nightmare Moon around the carriage and the batponies, so Twilight and Rainbow could enjoy the show the princess of the night had prepared for them.
This show of shooting stars flying by, leaving glowing colorful figures in the airless space which slowly disintegrated into nothingness, didn't leave them speechless. Lots of “wows” and shouts of “awesome” were uttered by Luna's passagers, and when her masterpiece came up, a purple heart with a blue arrow piercing through, the two ponies behind her went silent yet again; too busy cuddling closer to each other and holding their hooves while sharing a deep kiss as the magical drawing faded away.
It was a travel both Twilight and Rainbow would speak of for the rest of their lives, and yet it was way too short for their tastes. The trip to the moon didn't even last half an hour. Soon the white moon grew bigger and bigger as the magically enhanced wings of Luna and the thestrals brought them closer and closer; each stroke of their wings passing entire miles.
Rainbow could see how her wife bit her lower lip and trembled slightly as she withheld her curiousity to ask Luna what spells she had casted in what way to make this journey seem so light and fast in a lifeless environment. With a grin she nudged the purple nerd and nodded towards the midnight blue alicorn, whose horn was constantly glowing through the entire journey.
With a huge smile and a quick hug around Rainbow's neck as thanks, Twilight blurted out what she had wanted to ask the princess since they began their grand adventure to the moon: "I'msosorrytoaskyouthiswhileyou'rebusy,butcouldyoupleasetellmewhatspellsyouusedtomakeallthispossible?!'"
In Twilight's eyes burned the fire of the scientist of magic and explorer of old dusty books with a passion; hotter than the sun. In Luna's eyes only blinked confusion after a failed attempt to determine what her dear friend wanted from her.
"She wants to know the cool spells you used," Rainbow translated, laughing.
"Oh, no problem. See, Twilight, I used the spells Starswirl the Bearded created for fast traveling: which has to be cast on each hoof and wing to keep the same energy on all limbs; else there's a risk of injury for the affected pony if one limb works in a higher magical output than the another. It was usually used for travelling on earth and through the sky, but I found out that it can be used in space as well; as long as you use the bubble spell created by Burst Bubbles together with the invisibility spell Unseen Sunshy invented, and the air creating spell of Algae." Now Luna moved into archmage gear and Twilight didn't even thought about stopping her. Rainbow feared for a long boring discussion about stuff that didn't really interested her. Luna continued her statement about her safe space traveling spell combinded of several spells.
"You have to make sure you cast the bubble spell before the air spell; else your bubble's air capaciity will shrink during the travel. However, do not use too much magic for the air spell; else the bubble might burst. So your calculation for the volume of both bubble and air is the key to success or failure - too small and you will suffocate; too big and the bubble might lose its stability. As for my starshooting spells, I had to..."
At that point Rainbow shut down her mind. Dork talk about spells had never been particularly exciting for her. But she liked to see the smile on the face of her beloved widen as she soaked in all the new knowledge she could gather. Rainbow knew that Twilight would be able to send everyone up to the moon in a similar manner once she had seen and understood the principle behind the spells. She remembered how, during a stunt training session, Twilight had looked at her with a blush and she had asked afterward if she was so red in the face because of her awesomeness, or because she was so amazing. Twilight had pulled her in on the cloud and given her a kiss on the cheek; whispering in her ear that she enjoyed the joy the pegasu felt each time she flew.
Everytime you're in the sky, my heart is with you. Seeing you happy makes me so happy I can't help but blush, love.
Rainbow had turned as red as a tomato before she tossed Twilight into the cloud and had a cloudball fight with her to hide her own embarassment. But she understood precisely how Twilight felt. Everytime her lovely bookworm read a book or worked, fully concentrated on her experiments, it was much more interesting to watch her than to nap or to read a Daring Do book. In such moments Twilight was the purest of her self; it was like she saw 120% of Twilight Sparkle, of the pony she held the deepest feelings she could imagine for somepony else. It was during these moments that she couldn’t help but smile at the happiness her Twilight radiated. And when Twilight caught her in said moments, it was impossible not to blush.
The pegasus moved her head underneath Twilight's chin, nuzzling her neck and putting a purple wing around her to feel as much of the princess of her heart around her as possible. Twilight blushed madly, but said nothing. She moved her wing into a more comfortable position and smiled Rainbow’s shiny, rose-colored eyes.
It should be forbidden to be so cool and adorable at the same time. Twilight thought, and gave a kiss to a forehead covered by a rainbow-mane; which made Rainbow sigh happily.
"I know, it's late at night but keep your amorous activity for the bedroom which we have prepared for you," Luna teased; unable to hide the glee in her voice. Twilight and Rainbow laughed with her, and tightened their hug; as if they wanted to melt into one body. The days where even a simple tease made them blush and look away from each other, or stutter excuses, or jump apart were long gone.
"Hey, Luna. When will we arrive on the moon?" Rainbow asked, "I can't wait to challenge the famous stamina of an alicorn princess tonight. I got lots of ideas how to exhaust it." Her last sentence was whispered in a husky voice, leaving a trail on pecks on Twilight's neck. Twilight's heart beat faster, already feeling the endorphines and oxytocins converting her brain to a playground of naugthy images and mushy thoughts.
"We're almost there. Soon you'll see your destination. A place which no couple before you have been. At least no earthly couple that is."
Twilgiht and Rainbow broke out slowly from their embrace, looking upon what Luna had promised them.
The Moon was huge now; taking up the majority of their gaze. White and grey, full of craters and mysteries, branded by a thousand years long history; waved aside as a child scaring fable. A place full of wonders and creatures you wouldn't even find in Equestria. A place which once held grand nightmares, and where even grander courage had brought forth the light of friendship to banish the shadows of fear and hate. A place which held personal memeories and which inspired many ponies to write the most wonderful works in poem and novels.
And it would be the place where Twilight and Rainbow would celebrate their honeymoon.
"We're here! Station Hotel Moonshine Deluxe! We thank you for traveling with Luna Express, and hope you had a nice flight! Please recommend us if you enjoyed it!" Luna's voice got louder as she slowed down, and the thestrals changed course toward a huge crater. A crater which held, upon closer inspection, a city. A big city lights that shimmered blue and red, with a silver palace at its end, and a big plaza in the center, where the majority of the lights burned.
They landed in the plaza; in a crowd full of creatures that seemed both fantastic and impossible, all holding laterns that glowed in several colors. Not one of them looked the same; be it in color, size or shape. Yet all bore the same look, one of eager joy and hope. As soon as their carriage landed, the weird creatures; which to describe each in full detail would take countless hours, cheered loudly for both Luna and the newly-married couple. Banners were raised, welcoming Luna back and wishing Twilight and Rainbow a happy stay, and congratulating them on their marriage.
"Wow, we're like rockstars, or Wonderbolts." Rainbow marveled at the sight of hundreds, maybe thousands of moon folk waving their laterns and banners while they got off the carriage.
"I wasn't expecting this either. Did you organize this, Luna?" Twilight asked, flabbergasted; seeing banners representing a "Princess Twilight Fan-Club," "Rainbow Dash Fan-Club-Moon Departement" and "Twidash Forever".
"You girls played a significant role in freeing them from Nightmare Moon’s dark magic, which had rendered them nothing but shadowy monsters; grieving for their lost felicity and basking in the zest of making others feel the same. That they're back to their former selves, that they can enjoy life without vision of hatred and greed, is thanks to you and your friends. You're heroes to them." Luna explained as she disembarked as well.
Rainbow puffed her chest up, proudly, and waved to the crowds; triggering a huge rejoice, and even one or two creatures with rainbow-colored wigs on their heads failing unconscious. Twilight blushed, and made a half-hearted attempted to wave at the moon folk; stopping quickly, as it caused the people to go hysteric in their shouting and cheering. Twilight was a hundred procent certain that a dozen of them lost consciousness. She didn't want to imagine the results of Fluttershy or Rarity waving.
Luna directed the thestrals to collect the luggage from the cart as it arrived to the scene. Twilight and Rainbow waved to the people around them, signed a couple autographs, and looked at the round houses; some of which looked like ice cream scoops towering several floors up into the dark sky. Each looked differen; some were colored in one color alone, while others had patterns, others had drawings on them of Moonfolk dancing, and the Elements of Harmony besting the evil of Nightmare Moon. Still others had many varieties of ornaments and shapes carved in.
But what really caught their gazes was a huge building; white with brilliant windows everywhere. What made it stick out of the other big houses was not only its size, but that it was square-shaped. A ball-like smaller building lay within its entrance with a big crystalline door in front and the letters “Moonshine Deluxe” above it. Two smaller buildings resembling pyramids were stationed to the sides of the hotel, making it seem more like some weird castle than a place to sleep and eat in.
"Is that..." Rainbow breathed, trying to calculate how many years she would have had to work to normally book such an extravagant hotel. She would probably need more than a lifetime’s worth of what she earned as a Weatherpony.
"I think so..." Twilight murmured back, wondering how Luna managed to build all this in just a few years. This city certainly wasn't here when they had first travelled to the moon.
Two moon creatures made their way till they stood before the two ponies. One looked like a beige-colored dog, but it was much bigger than any dog they had seen until now. It had huge ears lined from within with blue scales; same as the floating dermas had, each connecting its hind and front legs. Very long and sharp eyebrows; seeming more like horns or antennas than simple eyebrows, adorned its friendly face above it's warm, golden eyes. Small blue flames danced on its back and its tail. It bowed before them, introducing itself in a bell-like voice. "My name is Jerome. At your service, noble guests."
The other was a huge bird creature, walking on two legs. It had light purple feathers; dark purple feathers surrounding its yellow eyes like a mask. It had a pink colored front, which scaled its stomach up to its pink hawk beak and rose-colored cheek feathers. It bowed gracefully before Twilight and Rainbow, and through a dark, toned soprano voice introduced himself.
"My name is Larry. At your service, noble guests. As mayor of Mondhausen, I welcome you in the name of all Moonies. I wish you a happy vacation in our humble home."
Both rose from their bow, waiting for their guests to reply, and found them starring back, dumb-founded.
"Ah, you guys! I remember you; you were that sleepy guard before our cells!" the pegasus shouted enthusiastically, pointing to the canine moonie and then to the bird-like moonie. "And you were that guy leading Nightmare's shadow army. I think your name was “Shadowfly” or something like that." Larry grimaced in response to the blunt reminder of their first meeting. Jerome just chuckled, quietly.
"It was Shadowfright, Rainbow, and put down your hoof, please. It's rude to point at people," Twilight corrected her mate. She wasn't really angry at her, though; this was hardly Rainbow’s worst public display. It was better than the time Rainbow had been drunk at Princess Celestia's Grand Galloping Gala and stormed the stage, grabbed a microphone and started to sing a saucy ballad in her girlfriend's honor before everypony. Twilight stepped forward to give a proper reply in Rainbow's stead.
"Thank you for the lovely welcome, Larry and Jerome. And thank you all for being here to give us a welcome we had never expected, Moonies. We're happy to spend our honeymoon here; your presence makes it an even happier experience. Thank you all very kindly."
Loud cheering and applause errupted again; showering the two in congratulations and compliments.
Luna stepped up; raising a hoof, and spoke in her royal Canterlot voice.
"Party time is over, Moonies. Give our guests their space and privacy. Remember to be on your best behaviour at all times, and to fulfill the wishes of our dear guests." With Jerome and Larry, Luna guided the two ponies through the crowd towards the hotel, followed by the thestrals carrying their luggage. The Moonies slowly made their way home as Twilight and Rainbow entered their hotel through the crystal doors.
Inside blue and purple carpets covered the floor, a large fountain featuring the Elements of Harmony, Luna and Spike stood in its center; each pony and dragon looking so alive it was as if they would jump off the pedestal and go for a walk. The thestrals passed them and went up the silver stairs while Jerome and Larry excused themselves to check on the staff and the preparations. Luna gave the newly-weds a tour through her luxury hotel. It had everything you would need for a fulfilling vacation and more: swimming pools with varied water temeratures, a sauna, lots of massage rooms, a playground for little kids, indoor minigolf, a library with comfy sofas, a bar and a casino for the grown-ups and a huge video game hall - to which Luna admitted to have played weeks in.
"You really spared no expense, Princess Luna," Rainbow said while staring at the bowling alley, one of seven other activities inside this hotel, which was beginning to seem too small for all it had to offer.
"Of course. It should offer the ponies of Equestria everything their heart desires so that they'll come to love this place and its inhabitants," Luna explained, proudly.
"And you just happen to be one of those inhabitants, right Luna?" Twilight asked, with a knowing grin, remembering how devasted Luna was a couple years ago when she read in a newspaper which had polled its readers on who was most popular princess in Equestria. She was last place.
"T-that has nothing to do with our- my intentions are to give the Moonies a better life and a chance to show that they're very good people," Luna defended herself blushing; a cute reaction to which Rainbow and Twilight only chuckled. Twilight put a hoof on Luna's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Relax, Luna, it's not like this is a bad plan or anything. There's nothing you have to be flustered about."
"Yeah, even the most distrusting ponies that come up here are gonna love this place and will start to like you more instead of thinking about their stupid conspiracy theories. What's not to love here? It's awesome! It could use some more action, though."
"Oh, we do have some more "sporty" activities. Are you interested in asteroid riding, Rainbow?"
"Am I? What a question, of course I am!"
Luna's mood rose, and with a much lighter trot than before she brought Twilight and Rainbow through the entrance hall to a corridor leading to one of the pyramids. There they went up a spiral stairway to another large hallway. With its many tables, chairs and fancy chandeliers hanging from a translucent ceiling, it could only be the dining room.
"I allowed myself to let my servants prepare a late dinner menu for you as I'm sure the packing and traveling has emptied your stomaches enough to see what dainty dishes this little moon has to offer for you, and hopefully many future guests from Equestria." Luna lead the two lovers to a slightly higher stage to the table with the best view of the outside the moon and the space with its stars.
Now that Luna had mentioned it, they did feel a little hungry. While they were packing yesterday they had only eaten a few snacks as dinner, as they had to recover from their hangover from the party the day before, and lost much time to pack by treating it with a large lunch and much water. Luna shifted the wooden chairs for Twilight and Rainbow to sit down.
As they sat down on the table; illuminated by its candles and the light from outside, they felt a bit more hungry as the fruity-sweet smell from the dish before them found its way to their nostrils. On one of the plates before them were a couple of orbs; they looked like little crystal stones with a red ball inside, and white sauce on top of the appetizer.
Rainbow licked her lips, feeling very hungry now. Twilight examined it thoughtfully before turning to Luna.
"What are those lucent orbs? Given their smell, they should be fruits, but look like rhinestones."
"Those are Moonberries. It's hard core was taken out and replaced with red honey, gathered through our own apiculture, and topped with vanilla sauce. The sauce is imported. This will be the hors d'oeuvre of my hotel as greetings for all new guests. Soon, we will make the Vanilla sauce ourselves with products grown up here. It should show everypony that the moon can be more than just a prison for villians."
"Red honey? Awesome!" Rainbow declared, and refusing to wat any longer, munched down the berries with gusto. Smacking her red-tinted lips, Rainbow squealed in delight at the taste as cold pear and banana flavored berries mixed with hot vanilla sauce, accentuated with the exotic yet familar taste of red honey. It tasted like honey from Equestria, but as if cherries, strawberries and raspberries had been mixed into a fruity milkshake, and added to it with lots of sugar.
"Aw, Twi! Pinkie would love this so much she would bathe in it!" Rainbow's praise was hardly audible; coupled with her loud munching. The snow-white tablecloth became the unfortunate victim of Rainbow's poor manners, as red drops landed on it.
Twilight rolled her eyes before adressing her newfound issue with the dish.
"I didn't know that bees could live up here. I thought it would be too cold for them. Though it's much warmer than the last time we were here, it's certainly not warm enough for bees from Equestria to live without complications. How did you solve that problem? Plus, on our first time up here we saw a few plants; so Insects who pollinated them should have existed up here already. They are neccessary for a succesful plant environment after all. How did you solve that issue?” Twilight asked, curious; suppressing her stomach's angry cry for some stuffing. Luna looked away, uncomfortably.
"Well, we tried to colonize some bees here, yet as you said they weren't very active, so we decided to go with the native breed: the emerald bees. A distant relative of the blowfly from Equestria."
"Blowfly?"
Twilight looked quickly to Rainbow after hearing her explanation. Rainbow's eyes bulged widely, but she was still eating the berries with the vanilla sauce and fly honey. She munched slower and slower, looking with wide eyes toward Luna, who gave her an uneasy but reassuring look to Twilight; who had an mixed expression of shock and disgust. Rainbow stopped eating and gulped the mess in her mouth down in one go. She grabbed the glass with the water, and swallowed it, entirely. She licked her lips and gave her final verdict.
"Still tastes awesome. If you don't want that I can take it for you, Twi."
The purple alicorn stared aghast at her wife and her declaration that she wanted more of that honey. As Rainbow's left wing creeped up to steal her plate, Twilight raised it out of her grasp quickly with her magic.
"No, it's mine! You can have some if you ask politely. Or if I don't like its taste."
Under the watchful eyes of Luna and Rainbow, Twilight made a big show of putting one Moonberry with just a tad of sauce on her fork. Rainbow tapped impatiently, and Luna started to look disheartened at Twilight trying to get the perfect mix of sauce on berry for a whole two minutes.
"Will you hurry up? If you're too chicken to eat, then give it to me. I'm starving." Rainbow whined, theatrically; resulting in a glare from Twilight. Swallowing heavily, Twilight put the fork in her mouth. Her eyes opened, sparkling in surprise at the taste of honey collected from a moonfly.
"Delicious!"
"It is, isn't it? If they bottled that stuff up they could make tons of bits in Equestria.”
"As long as Luna and the Moonies kept quiet about the emerald bee relative. I doubt many ponies would be ready to eat something made by a fly."
"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed the first course of your dinner. If you'll excuse me, I have some things to prepare." And wiith that Rainbow and Twilight were left alone for the first time since their honeymoon started.
"Hmmm, I had no Idea a fly could produce something so tasty," moaned Twilight; her eyes closed, enjoying the starter of their dinner.
"I wonder if the kitchen could spare some red honey. I'd love to lick it from your coat." the mischievous pegasus winked; grinning.
"Rainbow!"
"What? Afraid that I’d end up eating you? I intended to do that anyway, love."
"Geez, Rainbow. You can be a sweetheart, but sometimes your mind is just in the gutter."
"You bring out the best in me, Twi," Rainbow laughed, quickly stealing one of Twilight's moonberries to toss it into her mouth, yet she bit only thin air as her wife teleported said berry back onto her plate.
"Speaking of the best, do you really think Luna's plan with the hotel on the moon will work out? Given its inventory, I doubt many ponies could pay for a weekend here."
"Hm, I think it is a cool idea. Who wouldn't like to brag at home that they had been to the moon? But yeah, a stay here would be rather expensive. But I'm sure Princess Luna had thought about that, already."
A small bell tinkled, and the two ponies turned their heads to see a procession of Moonies in black suits lead by Jerome and Larry. At its end was the ugliest and most horrific looking Moonie Twilight and Rainbow had ever seen. It was only one meter big, looked like a mix between a bunny. a bat, and some rodent baby which was tossed out by its mother because its appearance made her stomach sick. It had purely red eyes, and two big leathery ears; which were pressed down by the huge plate it balanced on its head. It held it with two talons; one on each foreleg. Its tail; a long sickly yellowish one that looked like a cave troll had stamped down on it and flattened it to its current size, dragged on the floor behind it. It had a corroded, dark purple coat. Its face and body looked like it had been a victim of a severe rash.
Twilight and Rainbow beamed at her sight.
"Buffy!" both exclaimed.
"By Celestia, you have grown so much since the last time we saw you!"
"How are you doing, snip? Fluttershy was thinking and asking alot about you, you know? So much that even Angel Bunny got jealous."
Buffy did her best to keep a professional expression as she put her plate towards the dozen others on a long table behind the couple's. Yet when she looked at Twilight and Rainbow's honest smiles, she blushed, and quickly pulled down her ears to hide her face. The other waiters and waitresses left swiftly, leaving only a proud Jerome and content looking Larry. Them, and a red Buffy; who was too busy blushing to notice her faux-pas, having not left.
Just as Larry wanted to tell Buffy to go back to the kitchen, and Jerome wanted to talk about today's dinner. The big door to the dinner hall opened, and a fifty Moonies strong orchestral band entered, playing musical instruments both familiar and bizarre. All five seemed surprised by the sudden, musical deployment that stood before the stage and started to play the famous love ballad "You're My Paradise". Just when they started to recover from the sudden entrance of a fully equipped band, thousands upon thousands of rose petals fell from the ceiling, burying the table and the dinner together with the two ponies and three moonies next to them. The next moment a booming voice echoed throughout the entire hall; silencing even the fifty instruments of the moonie band. Buffy hid quickly under Twilight and Rainbow's table to escape said voice to protect her sensetive ears.
"Hear, hear! May everyone know that Twilight and Rainbow are married, in love! May this love bloom and bear fruit their entire life long!"
A white alicorn with a long, blonde mane and tail, a big heart pierced by an arrow as her cutiemark, and with a bow and quiver on its back and sides flew over their heads, leaving a trail of red, blue, and purple glitter. Its flight left a red heart in which one half purple and in the other blue glitter fell down slowly on the people below.
A rose petal hill with rosy eyes looked at a rose petal mound with violet eyes, Both small mountains with blue and purple mountain peaks knew exactly who this amorous alicorn would be.
The white alicorn with cyan eyes landed on the stage, and blared the ballad's lyrics, the orchestra did its best to be heard alongside her powerful voice, but soon it was clear that they could never hope to compete at its volume, and would remain suppressed. Larry facepalmed, now understanding what surprise Luna had talked about before she left to pick up the very first guests of their hotel. He should have seen it coming a mile away.
Jerome was staring at the petal and glitter infested dishes, his ears hanging so low that he could step on them if he wasn't careful. Thankfully, he didn't move, and just muttered "my food, my poor food" over and over again. Under the table, Buffy had put the ends of the tablecloth into her ears in attept to suppress the sound. Twilight and Rainbow waited calmly for the song to end. They should have known that Luna would try something "romantic" to gain some points against her sister's honeymoon for Pinkie and Big Mac. Both knew that Luna probably hadn't even registered that she just ruined a perfect dinner and that she sang way too loud to be pleasant.
Finally the closing lyrics were sung, and the orchestra became silent.
Luna, almost resembling her big sister, and glowing radiantly, like her, ended her performance and looked to the small audience for applause, but there was none. Soon, she saw why, and wished she could bury herself underneath the rose petal sea she had cast upon the pair.
Larry brushed some rose petals off his shoulders, and looked disapprovingly at his princess; which was a hilarious sight, thanks to the red glitter on his beak and the blue and purple glitter on his head.
Jerome was a big beige picture of misery adorned with petals. His lips quivered, as he still couldn't look away from the mess which had once been the dinner he and his kitchen staff had worked so hard on.
Buffy peeked out from below the table, checking if the situation was secure for her ears. All she saw was a sea of petals, higher than she stood.
Twilight and Rainbow's expressions were undiscernible, and both still looked into each other’s eyes.
Aghast at her screw-up, Luna dropped her head and closed her eyes. Maybe her sister was right about her romantic side being unrefined.
"I-I'm so so-"
Rainbow flew out of her rose petal mountain and flew a circle around Luna and the orchestra.
"That was AWESOME! You could play on festivals in Equestria, guys! And you got a rad sining voice, Princess Luna!"
"Wha-"
Twilight shook the petals from her head and body, and give an approving nod.
"Indeed, a great performance. And the dinner looked divine, Jerome, I can't wait to eat your dishes tomorrow. But I'm afraid it would have been a tad too much for Rainbow and me at the moment. Would you be so kind as to prepare some daffodil and daisy sandwiches? And something for Luna and you and Buffy too. We would like some company tonight."
"Yeah, we have tons of time to eat in intimate privacy, so let's have a good time together," Rainbow agreed with Twilight, and pushed a bewildered Luna towards the table where Twilight took Buffy with her magic out from underneath the table and levtiated four more chairs towards the rose petal and glitter covered table.
Jerome and Larry quickly realized their guests intentions and sprang to action. Jerome took as many of the plates as he could and sprinted towards the kitchen. Larry jumped towards the fifty moonies and directed them into teams to bring away the food, clean up the petals and glitter, and into a much smaller band who would continue to play on the stage opposite to the kitchen entrance. Meanwhile, Twilight had pushed away enough petals to put the chairs around the table. Rainbow pushed Luna to sit next to Twilight and Twilight sat the levitated Buffy on the chair next to Rainbow. The two empty chairs on the other side would be for Larry and Jerome.
"So, you liked it?" Princess Luna asked, her surprise clear in her now much quieter voice.
"Of course, it was such a romantic gesture. Right, sweetheart?"
"Sure, love. But maybe next time you should cut down on the petals. And less glitter! Much less glitter." Rainbow quickly leaned backward as Twilight's eyes narrowed. "But I really like the color choice. it reminds me of how I tried to make my first date with Twilight an unforgettable romantic evening."
"It does?" Luna asked happily, unaware of Twilight’s shudder, remembering everything that had gone wrong on both their parts that evening. Even their first kiss had almost ended with Rainbow going to the hospital with one less eye. Rainbow smiled; very self-content.
"Sure does, it was just missig some more mayhem, a tornado gone out of control and a pissed off Ursa Major, but all in all it came pretty close to it." Buffy looked at the pegasus as if she had a loose screw or two.
Thankfully, Jerome and Larry came with lightning speed, and their surrogate dinner, to prevent further questioning. The rest of the dinner was fairly unremarkable. Luna told them about her plans to make the moon a vacation paradise for everypony, and explained what had to be imported, and what could be grown and produced on the moon. She explained how she managed to get the city to be warmer with the help of the enchanted lamps, and how many hardworking moonies it took to build this hotel; the first of many. Jerome and Larry spoke about their jobs as hotel managers, head cook and mayor of the moonies as well as their family life with Buffy; whom both parents were very proud of. Buffy was just quiet and happily ate her moonberry ice.
It was a fun and interesting evening for Twilight and Rainbow, they were happy to have invited the others to eat with them and to prevent Luna from truobling herself over her eagerness. After they were full and sated, they talked about the town and life on the moon. Though for Twilight, Larry and Jerome's life as a couple was more interesting; whereas Rainbow asked Luna about all the tricks and tips she had for asteroid riding. Buffy had fallen asleep at that point of the conversation. Her loud snoring marked the end of their conversation. Jerome and Larry wished the girls and their princess a good night, while the staff cleaned up the hall. They watched them leave with Buffy in Jerome's arms and Larry's arm around his partner's shoulders. Rainbow noticed a strange look in Twilight's eyes but she couldn't quite put her hoof on what exactly it was like. Her head was spinning a bit because of the red honey liqeur Luna had brought forward after all sandwiches were eaten.
"Guess we should go to bed too, Twilight. I bet it's early morning in Ponyville, don't you think?"
"Hmm..."
"Actually it's already 1 p,m. in Equestria at this point of time, Rainbow," Luna explained, a bit groggily after besting Rainbow in a drinking contest. She earned only a confused look from Rainbow.
"We traveled a grand distance very quickly, the amount of time which you felt pass normally was in truth much slower than on earth. In other words, what felt like a couple hours to you were even a couple hours more for everyone down there. Congratulations, you're like three or four hours younger than your friends are now. Oh, and by the way, the moon rotates slower than our blue planet so time goes on a much slower pace than in Equestria. A moonday is a whole month in earthdays, two weeks sunshine and two weeks nightime. It's why I had to take you at midnight so that you could arrive here at the last nighthours, have a nightday to relax from the wedding and two weeks with perfect sunshine for your honeymoon. Now am I an awesome planer or am I an amazing planer?" Luna ended her explanation proudly.
"Woah. I didn't understood everything, but it sounds cool. Did you know that, Twi?" Rainbow tried to get a response of her silent wife.
"Hm," Twilight replied, still bearing that look on her face as if she was watching something far away. Rainbow gave up.
Luna led them to their suite, and wished them a good night after thanking them for the wonderful evening.
In their room, to which luxury neither of them paid any attention, they packed out the neccessary items to brush their teeth and left the rest in the suitcases for the following day. Rainbow noticed the big book Twilight had packed in as the last item as she took off her marital feather off and put it on the desk beside the table.
"What's that anyway, Twi?" she asked, tired.
"I'll show you tomorrow," the alicorn yawned, completely beaten by the day's happenings. Half alseep, she levitated the blue feather of Rainbow next to her purple one on the nightstand; after she had pushed the big book deeper into the suitcase to hide it from Rainbow's curiousity.
Staggering, they fell onto the bed, snuggling under the warm blankets and cuddling together.
"Ah," came a quiet sound from the alicorn.
"What is it, Twi?" Rainbow asked; her eyes closed.
"I forgot to ask Luna how we could see the stars with all the lights in the city and the hotel," Twilight muttered, sleepily.
Rainbow smiled and nestled closer to her wife, putting her wings around her.
"You lovely dork, you," Rainbow spoke before she finally fell asleep together with Twilight, who smilied into her blue coat while dreaming about the future she and Rainbow would have together.
Rainbow woke up in the morning before Twilight. She looked at the cute ear twitch her wife had while murmuring something about books being overdue. Rainbow smiled and stroked her wife's face free of some wild hair streaks. Twilight rolled around in her sleep, one of her wings suddenly raised and whisked over Rainbow's nose. Feeling how those soft feathers threatened to make her sneeze, Rainbow quickly covered up her muzzle and tried to suppress it.
Phffzztt!
Quickly, Rainbow looked over to Twilight to see if her suppressed sneeze had woken her up. All she heard was a content smack and a hum. Relieved the pegasus stood up and walked towards one of the suitcases. There was a reason why she woke up earlier than Twilight, a habit she had taken from her time in the Wonderbolts academy and on the Wonderbolts team, she wanted to know what was inside that book.
Yesterday she had been too tired to care much about it, though her interest had been piqued already. She wanted to see what she would like about such a thick book now, and not in the evening, still a bazillion hours away.
Quietly, she opened the suitcase and rummaged its contents on the search for said book. Soon, she found it under some scrolls and quills Twilight had taken with her to write their friends some letters about their honeymoon. She snickered as she thought what faces they would make once they read that she and Twi were up on the moon. Carefully, she took the big, heavy book outside and put it on another closed suitcase to check what could be inside that would interest her so much as Twilight had said she would.
Rainbow doubted this thick book would hold any story interesting enough to keep her attention for long. Even if she liked some books thanks to Twilight's constant tries to get her interested in other book types than Daring Do, Rainbow still prefered cool and action-filled adventure stories over anything else. This book looked nothing like it she would enjoy; big, heavy and plain brown covers with neither picture nor title on it. Rainbow opened the book, prepared to be disappointed, and her eyes widened in surprise.
On the very first page was the first photo taken of her, Twilight, and the others as they had come together for a group shot. Under it was a date and a couple words written, clearly carrying Twilight's swift yet elegant quill-style:
My very best friends.
The date next to it went almost five years back. Rainbow swallowed, feeling a lump in her throat. Have really five years passed since she had first meet Twi and became friends with the rest of the gang? It felt like it had been just yesterday and yet it also felt like she knew them all for ages. She leafed through the book, looking at each page at the photos, remembering the times and circumstances they had been taken in. She readed her lover's accurate dates and honest remarks under them, smiling at some, grinning at others and snickering at a few humorous ones.
She skimmed through more pages, pictures of just Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike and many others came up from occasions she and Twi had only heard of in some of their meetings, yet there were pictures of their adventures too. Rainbow felt some sort of melancholia slowly take seat in her heart. Would she have ever guessed that she would have had that much fun, happiness and different adventures every day before she meet Twilight and the gang?
All she had thought and done before them was to train for the Wonderbolts, her dream come true, to do her weatherpony job to earn bits, and to nap everyday. Sometimes she would meet Fluttershy to help with her critters or to get her to watch her stunts, but with the others she hadn't socialised much. Then came a nerdy, purple unicorn to town and Rainbow got the bestest friends ever for life overnight.
She didn't know why she had been so keen to stay with Twilight despite her hardly being the coolest pony she had seen, but there had just been something about her that had drawn Rainbow to her. And she was happy to have done so, as she couldn't imagine her life without her, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie Pie.
Twi was right, this is really a great book. I had no idea she had made a photobook over all those years. I wonder if the others have seen it already.
As she went to the next page, Rainbow was sure that she was the first besides Twilight to have seen this book.
There she was, a blue pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane. A cocky and prideful expression in her face with a small smile softening its features. A mischievous look of a prankster in her rose eyes combined with a friendliness shining in them. Her athletic stature speaking of confidence and hard-earned skills, yet there was no ounce of arrogant loneliness, just a feeling of loyal comradery. Under it was no date, so Rainbow didn't know when she had stood there so perfectly, so herself. She readed the notice Twilight had written below it.
My first girlfriend.
Rainbow was a bit disappointed. She had expected some more stuff written about herself. At least a "she's so cool", could have been under it, she thought. Then she remembered that she hadn't done anything similar like Twilight had done. Sure, she kept all the love letters Twilight had written when she was away for business in Canterlot or the Crystal Empire, or when Rainbow herself was in the academy or away on tour. But she hasn't organized them, nor made a collection of them. And Twi had written a lot of such letters to her, wonderful, funny and lovely letters. Rainbow swore to herself that she would buy a book and put all the letters in them neatly organized once they returned to Equestria. Then she would show Twilight the book just like she had intended to show this one to Rainbow.
Oh.
Rainbow felt a bad feeling rising inside her. There Twilight had done so much work all this time to give her a pleasant surprise with those photos from their adventures and fun times in the past and she has gone and opened it without her. Now she felt really bad as she thought that Twilight may have wanted to see her surprise, her smiles and laughter at those pictures. That she herself had wanted to see Twilight's face light up whenever they talked about the past of some of those shots, and blushed whenever Rainbow teased her about some of them. Like the one which showed her adorkable dance style during that fancy party of Rarity’s.
But there were still so many pages left until the end of the book and Rainbow wanted to see all of them, wanted to know what her wife had considered important enough to offer it time and space in the book to keep it for the time being. Reluctantly, Rainbow decided that it was better to close the book and keep the rest of it for later when Twilight would show her the book. She wondered briefly if she should play along or be honest with her up front that she had peeked through it already.
I’ll just look at the other photo on the next page and then I'm done. I can tell her about it during breakfast.
In the page next to the one with the big picture of herself was also just one photo which showed Twilight and herself sitting next to a fire in the library, reading a book together. Unlike with the picture of only herself, under this one was only a date but no remark. Rainbow knew that date very well, it was the one of their very first dates as a couple. She remembered how Twilight had wanted to shoot a photo of them that evening and how she had rolled her eyes at that cheesy and embarrassing idea.
She had quickly relented when she saw the hurt in Twilight's eyes and they had taken that photo. Rainbow started to feel even worse; it had been a long day that time as so much had gone wrong on their first date and back then she had felt exhausted and disappointed of herself to have ruined what should have been a perfect day. Only later she would find out that Twilight hadn't considered that date a failure and that she'd wanted to go on another one. Now that she thought about it, after that day Twilight had never asked again to take photos with the two of them together.
Seeing this photograph album Rainbow realized how important taking that photo had been for her girlfriend-now-wife back then. She felt a sick twisting in her guts. She looked at the picture and saw the blushes in their faces, yet Rainbow's eyes were firmly pressed on the book while Twilight glanced at her blushing as well. But neither Rainbow nor Twilight looked very happy. Her expression was half-embarrassed and half-tired, darkened by the mane falling into her face. In Twilight's was happiness mixed with acceptance shined upon with the flicker of the fire. Her smile however was only half-hearted. Rainbow's nonexistent.
Now she really just wanted to close the book and forget about it, the next pages are probably all void and white because of her.
Just as she was about to close it, she noticed a small sentence in the right corner under the picture of their first date. It was so small, Rainbow had to pull the book a centimetre before her face and squint her eyes to be able to read it properly.
I wish that Rainbow stays for my entire life at my side, I really love her.
Rainbow Dash felt her eyes becoming wet and she sniffled heavily as a tear ran down her face. Her bad feelings were all gone, washed away by a single sentence written years ago. She knew Twilight did not hold anything against her because of her poor reaction, nor would she be angry when Rainbow told her about having already looked through the album. She promised herself that from now on there would be lots of photos taken of the two of them.
“Hm, Rainbow?”
The next moment, a still sleepy princess was tackled by a blue sniffling bolt. Twilight's neck and face were showered in hasty kisses and wet nuzzles of a very cozy Rainbow. Bewildered, she looked down at her wife, seeing streaks of tears on her cheeks.
"Rainbow, did you cry? Why?" Looking around the room, Twilight saw the reason why the cuddling wanting and warmth searching side of her lover had come out.
"Aw, you've read the book? I wanted this to be a surprise for after breakfast."
Another sniffle below her chin made Twilight hug her blue daredevil whose curiosity had found out another secret before it could become a surprise. She stroked through her beautiful rainbow-hair and kissed her forehead.
"Now, now. There's no reason to cry over it, sweetheart. It was just a book." Twilight tried to console her wife snuggling closer to her chest.
"That's not it, Twi. I'm sorry for not taking that photo seriously back then. And," Rainbow continued holding her hoof up to Twilight's mouth as she intended to interrupt the pegasus, "I feel so very happy to know you loved me that much since way back then. I promise you we’re gonna take lots of photos together in the future, love."
Twilight blushed and smiled broadly as she pulled herself and Rainbow closer together for a hug and a deep kiss. After a while they pulled away from each other and Twilight dried Rainbow's face with the blanket. She smiled mischievously at her.
"Let's brush our teeth and take a shower before we go eat breakfast, Rainbow."
"Sure, you can go first, I’ll make the bed and take out the rest of our stuff."
"I didn't say I wanted to take a shower alone, darling," said Twilight with a wink to Rainbow as she walked to the bathroom, her hips swaying softly left and right.
"Just wanted to test you, dear," grinned Rainbow flying after her seducing wife.
"And during breakfast we can look at the rest of the book."
"The rest?"
~*~
At the huge breakfast table, Rainbow saw what Twilight meant with the rest of the book while she ate scrambled eggs with spices, a dozen pancakes, four slices of bread with butter and marmalade, and a huge cup of orange juice. The pages she thought would have no photos were full of them. Photos of their other dates, before, during and after them. Photos of their small gestures during meetings with the others. Photos of their wedding and its afterparty.
"How did you take all those photos? I never noticed you taking any shots!" asked Rainbow with her full mouth, spraying crumbs and bits of her breakfast over the table.
Twilight took the book away quickly enough with her magic to save it from the manners of her wife. She sipped at her coffee, a bowl of cereal before her. She and Rainbow had asked for a simpler breakfast than yesterday's first dinner. It felt somehow weird to eat in a hall meant for two hundred ponies, all alone with super-expensive food which could fill the bellies of a big family. They promised Jerome that they would eat the kitchen's best dishes for lunch and dinner for sure.
Twilight waited for Rainbow to have swallowed before she brought the book back to its previous place, explaining how all those pages could be filled with such intimate shots of all angles and without any notice on Rainbow’s part.
"I asked Pinkie to help me when she came to me the next day and congratulated me on my first date with you. As for the shots, the camera has a invisibility spell on it and it's a modern one with no flash when it shoots a photo. So yeah, that's it."
"Wait, Pinkie was snapping these? So that's why she made those weird movements sometimes when she looked at us or when she pushed us together and such. And that one time when she suddenly jumped somewhere to catch something after she got bumped into by a changeling! That was when she caught the invisible camera! And I thought Pinkie had finally gone loco in the coco. No, wait, Pinkie knew since our first date that we were together? I thought we told her and the others weeks later. Argh, so that's why she winked and nudged at me so often or told me to look at your flank. I thought she was coming either on me or on you and I behaved like a fool."
Twilight laughed at Rainbow's desperate embarrassment which the pegasi tried to hide behind the pancake tower.
"I'm sorry for keeping this a secret, Rainbow. I thought you would be angry if you find out since you don't like photos taken of us, especially when they were taken by somepony else. But I really wanted to keep some memories of our time together and writing down a dating journal just seemed like a cheap copy of my friendship reports, unlike a photo album of our times together. I'm sorry, I should have told you this a long time ago," apologized Twilight, still smiling because she knew since this morning that Rainbow would not hate her for making this photo album behind her back.
"Are you kidding, Twi? Those pics are awesome! Pinkie really knows how to get a good shot. Guess her Pinkie sense is not only good to find out about secret relationships but also for good places to take a photo. Alone this picture with us watching the sunset, with our wings on each other backs, it's wonderful. As are the rest. Thanks love, I really like this album."
Twilight leaned forward for a kiss which Rainbow happily obliged to give. After a minute of enjoying the closeness, mingled with the taste of their breakfasts, they broke apart giggling and their tails intertwined as they went back to the album's photos. Rainbow pointed to one of the pictures showing Pinkie Pie gulping down a barrel of apple juice while smoke came out of her mouth.
"Can't believe princess Celestia managed to trick Pinkie with this super spicy chili cake. I was sure I saw how she exchanged the cakes with Celestia's to avoid eating it. And yet she breathed fire after taking one bite of the one she stole from the princess."
"Celestia told me that she prepared the chili cake for Pinkie and a wasabi one for herself. She said that after a thousand years, she can eat pretty much everything. And she wanted to get back on Pinkie for eating the most delicious cake right in front of her in one gulp. She said alicorns have a long memory for revenge."
"Well, I better keep that in mind then," grinned Rainbow. Twilight chuckled, remembering how she had drunk hot sauce in the very first party Pinkie had thrown for her and how Pinkie had experienced the same on her marriage day. Maybe there were some pranks she could pay back at Pinkie and her wife. She turned to the next page and her chuckling died.
Rainbow looked at Twilight and then the book, wondering what made her stop laughing with her. Then she saw the pictures where she talked with Spitfire, Soarin and Fleetfoot, her ex-teammates and still friends.
"Oh."
Rainbow wasn't sure what to say as Twilight went back to her bowl of cereal. For her, the Wonderbolt issue wasn't a big deal, but Twilight had taken it hard when she had heard that Rainbow had left them to marry her. That there was an old law, almost a tradition, which forbade nobles to enter the Wonderbolts. When Rainbow was just Twilight's girlfriend, it hadn't mattered much in the Wonderbolts. But when she was to marry Twilight and become a noble due marriage, the Wonderbolt council has told her that she had to leave the Wonderbolts if she insisted on the marriage.
In other words, either the Wonderbolts or Twilight.
This brought up a big uproar in the newspapers of Equestria as Rainbow Dash had quickly become the favorite of many Wonderbolt fans. But also many ponies who liked Twilight and cheered for her were angry to hear that there was a law which forbade their favorite princess to marry her lover unless her lover gave up her job. The problem was that only nobles could marry an alicorn princess, a law even older than the Wonderbolt one. The noble law usually got a way around as the commoner pony would get a title the moment he married a princess, usually duke of something, somewhere. But there was no way around the Wonderbolt law.
There had been weeks of constant annoyance of reporters asking for interviews or shooting photos as they pleased, tons of fan letters of ponies who supported them as well as hate letters, demonstrations even and a threat to get this case before the court. Her friends, the Wonderbolts and the princesses had been very helpful and princess Celestia was even thinking about changing some of the old laws, though that would have taken years as she couldn't just end established laws hundreds of years old on a whim.
Rainbow didn't let that happen, she just wanted to marry Twilight, not push on a social debate, nor be used for it. So she announced her retirement from the Wonderbolts and married the love of her life. And everypony lived happily ever after. Or so she thought.
But Twilight hasn't taken that time and Rainbow's retirement as well as she had.
Rainbow didn't know much about said law which forced her to leave the Wonderbolt. Twilight had read everything she could find about it to find a way around it.
Apparently in the old times a couple hundred years ago, only pegasus nobles could enter the Wonderbolts, back then called Windbolts, and fought for princess Celestia as an elite unit. But a captain of them, Storm Walker, had tried for a coup d'état to establish a pegasi military dictatorship. In the past, the Royal Guards were less powerful than now and mostly used to guard the palace and city, while the Windbolts guarded princess Celestia on her travels in and out of Equestria.
On one trip to Griffonia, the Windbolts guarding Princess Celestia turned against her in the Blackstone Mountains and attacked her. They killed the loyal companionship and wounded princess Celestia gravely who who seemingly fell to her death into the dangerous canyons of Blackwater. The traitors believed her to be dead and returned to Canterlot where Storm Walker accused the unicorn nobles to have worked together with the griffons to assassinate princess Celestia and overtake Equestria. This caused a civil war where it was not clear who fought for which side; a war that was over in a hoofful days and ended with the Windbolts victory.
Storm Walker established himself as a king in less than five days and got most of the military, which had been basically mostly pegasi only, under his hoof. Many unicorn nobles escaped from Canterlot into other towns and villages to hide, yet dozens of them were hanged at the plaza in Canterlot. Though it was only a couple hundred pegasi and their supporters, they managed to control Equestria with the fear of a Griffon invasion and the terror they spread themselves as they arrested anypony for being a ‘supporter of the rebels’.
But Celestia hasn't died, she had survived her fall and was found by griffon outcasts, griffons too weak and small for the strength based society in Griffonia. They nursed Celestia back to health and helped her to get through the heavily guarded border into Equestria. In Canterlot, Celestia singlehoofedly ended Storm's three month leadership of terror which was on the brink of causing a war with Griffonia.
Nopony knew what Celestia did to King Storm Walker the first when it was only her and him in the throne room. Earwitnesses spoke of a horrible scream which was heard past the plains of Equestria and the mountains of Griffonia. Nopony had ever seen Storm Walker again. When Rainbow asked Twilight if she knew what happened to him, she only said that princess Celestia didn't want to talk about it. Apparently, she had trusted Storm Walker the most, his betrayal and cruel leadership had hurt her more than the wounds given to her by her elite.
His family and the traitorous Windbolts crawled before Celestia's hooves and craved for mercy, to forgive their crimes they had done freely under Storm Walker's regime. That day the pegasus tribe lost most of its noble families. Celestia was merciful, she only banished them. But not without a gift of hers. Each pegasus of the traitorous Windbolts and their families were turned into batponies by her magic.
Pegasi who had leather rather than feathers as wings, fangs to warn every wanderer of their dangerous side, coats as dark and shadowy as the night and their hearts when they suppressed Equestria and killed every resisting pony. Their voices were taken as their words held no truth. The oaths taken by them to protect Equestria, its citizens, and its princess didn't mean anything to them in the face of their greed and ambition. Their ears and eyes changed and they became sensitive to the sun's light, preferring the night under the cool moon.
The turned pegasi fled to the Blackwater mountains and lived in the cave system deep inside it. They were never seen again in Equestria though there had been stories of batponies raiding travelers, as well as many ghost stories of batponies coming in the night to take naughty children and eat them. Princess Luna had, when she returned, visited the batponies and offered them a chance of redemption like had been given to her from her big sister. As they were unable to speak an oath, the batponies took one of blood and swore on it to protect princess Luna, Equestria and everypony in it and that they'd rather die than to fail at it.
Needless to say, that this move of Luna just brought her more distrust and fear, though Celestia had approved of it and allowed the batponies to walk freely in Equestria. It was an allowance which she had given already a hundred years after the banishment, but only now with their blood oath to princess Luna they accepted the allowance and were seen more often, though still rarely in Equestria.
Rainbow sighed. This was not how she wanted their honeymoon to go. This was supposed to be a happy time for the two of them and yet there was still this Wonderbolt issue from before their marriage. She shouldn't have waited to hope for an agreement so that she could take both the job and the princess, but just said ‘okay’ and been done with it. But back then she had been too shocked when she got that order and told Twilight and her friends about it, which then was told to the other princesses, the other Wonderbolts heard of it and suddenly all of Equestria had to say something to the matter of her and her marriage with Twilight.
During that time, she had realized how stupid it was to hold onto a job she could do for another ten or twenty years in comparison with the heart of a mare she would spend her life with. But it felt hard to explain that to Twilight properly as the princess of friendship felt it was her fault that Rainbow had given up on her dream. Though Rainbow had explained it to her that this wasn't the case, Twilight didn't seem to believe her much.
They had let that matter come to rest as they both became busy with the preparations of their marriage, but while Rainbow forgot about it during those busy weeks, it looked like it had eaten itself deeper into Twilight. Rainbow chewed on the last pancake and made her attack on the scrambled eggs. Her hope was to get an good idea how to solve this problem while she ate something though it was rather Twilight's business to come up with the ideas.
A small cough made them turn and look at a slightly nervous princess Luna, standing before their table.
"I hope I haven't interrupted you. If so I'm really sorry, but I wanted to talk to you about the schedule for the fun activities during your honeymoon." Luna levitated a big scroll besides her.
Twilight's eyes sparkled happily at the sight of the size of the scroll while Rainbow groaned, fearing what the princess of the night had planned for them what she saw as ‘fun’.
At least Twilight's attention wasn't on the Wonderbolts anymore, so Rainbow wouldn't complain too loudly. But that didn't mean all her means to influence Twilight were gone. She just had to haul out the big guns.
"Twilight..." whined Rainbow in a cute voice, putting on her best adorable pout combined with big shiny eyes, to show Twilight what she thought about a scheduled honeymoon. Twilight smiled at her, elated, and turned to Luna to address her about this issue.
"Could you show us the scroll and leave the decision what we wanna do when to Rainbow and me? Not that I don't trust you to have planned a great vacation for us, but I guess we rather have some control over what activities we want to visit in the days to come. That the honeymoon is on the actual moon was big enough of a surprise. I still can't fully believe it to be honest." That and both wanted to avoid another romance attempt from Luna like yesterday.
"That's exactly why I came to you. I have thought about it after the events of yesterday and come to the conclusion that it would be wiser to let you two decide on what you want to do next for today. If you don't mind I would like to be your guide for today and Larry for the next one."
"No problem, where's Larry anyway?" Rainbow agreed to Luna's offer while Twilight took the scroll from Luna's magical embrace into her own.
"He has to work today. As mayor he's responsible for the opening speech for the festival today as well as to oversee it."
"There's a festival today? When it’s this dark outside? And there's nothing written about it in the scroll.", asked Twilight as she had read already half of the planned tête-à-tête dates on Luna's scroll.
"Well, yes. It's a festival where the moonies celebrate the liberation of their nightmare beings and that every earthyear at the moonday’s last night hours. Normally, they celebrate it in small feasts with family and friend circles and enter the festival plaza solely to fulfill some traditions or to buy stuff and play games or meet friends.
“But because you two arrived here, they wanted to make it a really big festival, so we got tons of new stalls and performing groups unlike any liberation festival before. I had planned to attend it shortly after leading you to a romantic place for a picnic, but it's hardly the place for a romantic activity as it will be full of moonie families drinking, eating and dancing. Even my batpony guards will hold a joust to the entertainment of the moonfolk."
"A joust? Awesome! I always wanted to do another one after the Crystal Empire joust. Fluttershy never was a real opponent in it. Can we go to the festival, Twi? Please?"
"I don't see why not. It sure sounds interesting and given yesterday's welcome I believe many moonies would like to have us on their liberation festival."
"Of course, they would be overjoyed for you to take part in the celebration. You are the ones who helped to free them of Nightmare Moon's control. I just thought such a huge festival with hundreds of people around you, would be, well, not as romantic as a picnic with just the two of you." Luna had been so sure that her guests would have prefered a quiet place just for them and that on top of a mountain with full view of the beautiful earth with its oceans, continents and cloud seas.
"We surely will do that too, princess. What is a honeymoon without some time alone? But we can do the picnic any time, and this festival happens only once, so we can just delay the picnic for later," said Rainbow before she rolled the scrambled eggs at once into her mouth and finished her meal.
"Right, good then when you're finished with everything we can go to my personal chamber and put on some fancy clothes for the festival. Oh, dressing up gonna be so much fun!", squealed princess Luna while trotting happily on the same place, already excited for the couple's plan. Rainbow rolled her eyes but she doubted she would be able to avoid this one even with her big guns.
~*~
"I can't believe you've put me in this dress. What is this anyway? It doesn't look anything like the ones Rarity makes." Rainbow complained. Her long hair was in a ponytail with several colorful bands matching her diverse hair color, all intertwined. She wore black, wooden hoof shoes on her forelegs and had a lilac flower in her hair, along with some light makeup on her lips and eyes, done by one of Luna's thestral maids.
The dress was dark blue and made of silk, which Luna told them was moonsilk; harvested from plants rather than the silkworms common in the eastern countries of earth. The dress itself bore a pattern inspired by stormclouds. Of all the dresses Rainbow had seen in Luna's wardrobe, this one had been the most badass. However, when she had seen it first she thought it was a blanket and couldn't believe that anybody could wear such a big thing. Then a moonie maid came and put it on Rainbow's body in several steps, wrapping it around her, making it tighter and tighter, until it fit perfectly on her.
"It's called a yukata. It's similar to the kimono of the Kirin on the eastern continent, Hu, but it's much simpler to put on, just the right thing for a festival. All moonies wear one whenever a feast is held. Meaning they have them on every moonday during its last hour." Luna explained cheerfully. She wore her own white Yukata, with red, yellow and blue flowers held by green stems as its pattern. She had made a part of her hair into a bun, the rest was still long and wavy; in the hair bun was a silver chain that held it together.
"Simpler, haha." Rainbow remembered the boring time spent standing still for over ten minutes alone to dress her up, the makeup and hairdressing not counting. Luna was done in fifteen, and she had put it on herself.
Still, nothing against Twilight's dress; which took almost twenty minutes to finish its glorious result. Rainbow looked over to her wife and sighed dreamily, it was such a beautiful sight to behold.
Her deep purple yukata had a pattern of the night sky: Silver stars in all sizes, golden falling stars creating several forms, a white moon and plenty lines of red, light purple and pink mixed in to create a unique and artistic scenario. Twilight was simply stunning.
Many moonies looked after them when they passed, but Rainbow was sure that most of them looked at Twilight. She wore light brown sandals of wood, and her legs were in long white socks; each bearing a star pattern as well. Her hair was made into a simple bun, but it carried silver chains that spread over her hair and fell lightly upon her neck; which was covered by a white silk scarf, with a pattern similar to her cutie mark. Rainbow had gotten one as well, but she had refused to wear it, same for the socks. There were only so many clothes she could deal with at once.
All their dresses were held together by a scarf-like belt around their waist, which Luna told them was the most important part of the dress; else the yukata could become loose and fall apart. Rainbow wouldn't mind that much, but then again she would be the sole naked pony in a party with fully clothed people, and even she had some manners. If you're on the moon, behave like the moonies; or something like that. Rainbow thought, staring at Twilight again, who noticed her stare and gave her a grin, which looked to Rainbow sexier than ever with the cherry red lipstick and professional make-up on her face. It made her look so exotic; given Twilight didn’t usually didn't wear much make-up. But she made an exception for today.
"See something you like?"
"Yes, but it would be a pain in the ass to unwrap ya."
Twilight laughed and nudged Rainbow's shoulder with her hoof. She had a great time as well. The moonies were all friendly and looked interesting in their clothes and masks. The stands had food, which looked strange but tasted great, and the games they could play here were new and fun to Twilight. It was a good idea to come here as the many noises and sights kept her too busy to worry too much about other stuff.
Stuff like how I destroyed Rainbow's dream of the Wonderbolts with my wedding proposal-no! Stop thinking like that, Sparkle! You just going to make Rainbow worry again.
"Oh, there you are! Princess, dear guests, welcome to the Nightmare Liberation festival!"
The three ponies turned around to see Larry with Buffy in a fancy yellow yukata with a butterfly pattern on its shoulders, and Jerome at his side. Buffy had her face hidden with a white-red fox mask, while her dad Jerome had a black-grey one resembling a bird on the left side of his head. On his right was a cat mask, black with blue lines around its eyes and ears. Both seemed to squeeze his large ears quite a bit. Larry carried no mask. Both males wore pretty simple yukata in partner-look though it looked different than Rainbow's and the princesses’ yukata, as they had wide pants and comfy coats rather than a dress clinging to their bodies like a second skin.
Larry continued as he bowed slightly together with Jerome.
"I hope you have enjoyed what you've seen so far. It's an honor for us moonies that two of our saviors are willing to visit our humble festival." A black dragon costume with huge red eyes and long tongue, carried by a dozen moonies or more, accompanied by a couple of drummers, went past them, making a lot of noise. Half a dozen children, all in cute looking yukata, followed the dragon while carrying white masks; dancing before the dragon who pranced and then threw out some candy from his huge mouth, which the children happily gathered while giggling. Neither Twilight nor Rainbow heard most of Larry's speech, too busy looking at the strange and yet lovely activity.
"... and if possible, to one day have your friends as guests up here, as well."
Really, nothing reminds me of the Shadowfright who had ponynapped Rarity anymore. Twilight thought, recovering from the last words spoken by the moonies’ mayor.
"Thank you, and don't worry, Rainbow and I have had tons of fun, and Luna is a great guide as well." After that was said, Twilight turned to the girl on her daddy's shoulder. "And Buffy, you look so cute in your yukata." The bat-rabbit was so embarrassed by Twilight's compliment that she hid her mask with her ears, just like yesterday. Everyone smiled and snickered at her adorable reaction.
"Don't be shy, sweetie, the princess is right." Jerome agreed, happily. "We were searching for you, princess Luna, as the joust will begin soon, and afterwards is the firework display. After all, the kiss with you is the main prize for this tournament and the reason so many of us will come to watch the joust. The crown and title are just nice extras. On the VIP-seats you've got both the best view of the joust and the fireworks. This is gonna be a blast!"
Rainbow perked up as she heard the mention of a prize.
"Oh boy, let's go! I so wanna enter this!" Rainbow declared as an idea started to form in her head.
"We're not even married for three days and you already plan to cheat on me with my aunt-in-law?" Twilight looked appalled and hurt at her wife, who hadn't thought much about what the most anticipated part of the prize was.
"No, no, no, no! Twilight, love, this- this isn't why I- also what I want to is-It's because uh-uhm..." Rainbow was at a loss for words, watching her plan sink before she could even carry it out. Suddenly Twilight broke out in laughter.
"Relax, Rainbow I'm just teasing you. I know you just want to have your fill of action. Just remember to give me a hundred kisses if you happen to win this tournament, sweetheart."
"What? You think I could lose this?" Now she had another reason to win this joust.
"Probably, Luna's guards are different opponents than Fluttershy after all. Luna, do you think, Rainbow will be allowed to join this tournament?"
"I'll ask my guard captain, but I think I'll have a way to get her in." Luna grinned.
"Phew, that's settled then! Speaking of 'blast', when can we do the asteroid ride, princess Luna?" Rainbow asked as she trotted alongside the group to follow the flow of the moonies flocking towards the joust.
"Not today and not tomorrow, I'm afraid. The asteroids are fickle and prideful beings of space who've seen much and don't just change their course so easily, even for somebody like me who can control them."
"So, stars have feelings? What about the ones you made shine so brightly yesterday? Are they different? What about the Sun and the Moon?" Twilight was surprised, she had never read about heavenly bodies possessing emotions or a personality or anything like that.
"It's not like the emotions we living beings feel; pride is just the best way I can describe it. Each of them possesses magic that resonates with Celestia’s and mine, and makes them move in an according direction and speed. Celestia needs much more magic to wake the sun as well as to put him to sleep than I do with the moon, so he's more stubborn and hardworking whereas she is more gentle and philosophic."
"They’ve got genders?!" Now Twilight was almost sure that Luna was pulling her leg. Either that or her mentor had not been kidding when she said that unicorns did not understand everything about the planets and stars as they believed they do.
"Well, it just 'feels' like that whenever I get in touch with her. Don't think too much about it Twilight. My sister and I will someday teach you how to interact with the heavenly bodies, and then you can feel for yourself what it is like to move the sun and moon, and make the stars shine bright enough that a couple in love can enjoy a beautiful view."
Twilight didn't respond.
"So, my little princess, time to walk on your own. Your old man can't carry you much longer." Larry put Buffy down, and he and Jerome each grabbed one of their child's claw-hands as they continued their walk towards the station. But Buffy was rebellious, it looked more like Larry and Jerome dragged her on than she was walking on her own. And her shaking heads and pleading looks indicated that she wanted to continue her piggy ride. Jerome looked apologetic to his partner.
"Maybe I could take her piggy-back?"
"It's because you spoiled her like that everyday that she misbehaves now that she doesn't get it her way. No, Buffy is more than old enough to walk on her own."
"Aw, come on, Larry-honey. It's a festival today and she has worked very well this morning. Let her have her will."
"No, Buffy had one piggy-ride, that’s enough."
"Another one wouldn't be the end of the world, Shadowfright. You're being too strict again."
"I told you to not call me that. And I'm not that strict. I just don't want to spoil her too much."
Rainbow snickered and looked at Twilight, wanting to make some joke about stressed parents to relax the mood, yet Twilight had this strange look on her face. It seemed happy, but unsure, and it had a feeling of something being lost. Rainbow didn't like that look at all. Before she could say anything, Twilight's expression suddenly switched to a warm smile and she excused herself to walk up to Larry and Jerome. There the two men shook their heads so quickly at what Twilight offered that Rainbow was sure they would get dizzy. Twilight just huffed cutely and levitated Buffy onto her back, giving her a pony ride with her daddies walking alongside, still holding her hands. Buffy must have been pretty happy to get to be on Twilight's back, given the up and downs of her hands intertwined with her parents’.
Larry and Jerome looked both surprised and happy; they probably hadn't expected a princess to offer herself as a ride for their daughter, but soon they smiled as well, seeing how happy Buffy was. Luna and Rainbow followed the unique sight a couple steps behind.
"Say, I'm interested in those masks. What's their connection to the festival and why do the children wear white masks and adults black ones?"
"Well, you see the idea behind the masks is to show our past and future. We adults carry black masks, reminding ourselves what we have been the past thousand years, while our children carry white ones to show their untainted and innocent future. Some of us adults are uncomfortable with wearing a mask though." Jerome explained, with a sideways glance to the unmasked Larry.
"I'm the mayor, I don't wear a mask to be easily recognizable by everybody." The feathered moonie defended his unmasked attire, though Twilight could tell that Larry wasn't completely honest. But it wasn't a surprise to her, given that he had been the leader of the nightmare shadows the past thousand years, plotting their return and after Nightmare Moon's failure her revival through Rarity as a vessel. She could understand very well that there are parts of the past you don't want to be reminded of. Jerome thought so too, because he didn't say anything as well. His tail moved past Twilight and stroked Larry's tail feathers before he turned to the purple princess to explain further.
"Anyway, at the end of the festival we light up a huge bonfire. In it, everybody tosses their masks, black and white, and let them burn away. We show that our past doesn't matter anymore, and that we can face our future unmasked, and will make the best out of it. It's why I carry two of them; so that Larry can throw one into the fire as well."
A quick side-glance from Twilight to Larry told her that he was embarrassed, but the smile on his beak showed he appreciated Jerome's concern and was happy about it.
"I see." Twilight murmured, thoughtfully.
"You’ll have to excuse my curiosity, but I'm interested in something as well: What's the deal with the blue and purple feathers around your necks? I wanted to ask yesterday, but I didn't wanted to be rude." Jerome scratched his head sheepishly, hoping to not have stepped on the princess’ toes, or hooves in her case.
"Probably a couple things for ponies, I guess." speculated Larry, not really interested in this type of conversation.
"Well, yes and no." Twilight attempted her own explanation in return. "In the old history the three pony tribes had more important things than marriage gifts before they founded Equestria, the unicorns arranged marriage between families, the pegasi usually fought for the right to marry somepony, and the earth ponies stayed together in big families to help each other out. After they united, new marriage practices were set, where the marriage partners would give gifts to the family of the other partner's.
“Later, when Celestia and Luna began to rule Equestria, it changed into the custom to put a bangle around the others foreleg. Unicorns used gold or other noble metals, the pegasi iron or copper, and the earth ponies wood or cloth. A couple hundred years later and a new mode established in which it was chic for unicorns to carry a ring on their horn to show that they were engaged, while pegasi carried a feather of their partner’s around their heart. The earth ponies didn't change their custom until two hundred years ago, when they began to just exchange the bangles and later wouldn't carry it around all day. It was done mostly for practical reasoning, as they worked mostly on the fields, and the armlet rubbed them sore during work.
“Around fifty years later, the Unicorns began to keep their rings at home as well, or put them on only during special occasions, and another hundred years later the pegasi kept their feathers mostly in small treasure boxes as well, to avoid losing them during flight; which had happened quite often, given the recordings. Rainbow and I wear them for our honeymoon, mostly, and will wear them when we go out on a date and such, but we surely won't carry them around everyday. Did that answer your question, Jerome?"
The canine moonie nodded, satisfied, glancing at Larry over Twilight's head, who still bore a disinterested expression on his face when Twilight turned to him.
"You, Larry. Will you give me a feather, too?"
"Am I a pony? You heard the princess, they don't carry it much anyway, why would you want it, then?" Jerome's ears tips dropped a bit, Twilight quickly tried to change the topic.
"Please call me Twilight, guys. I'm more used to that then the princess title."
"Of course, your highness. I mean, Twilight."
"Sure, Twi. Is there anything else you would like to know?"
"Hm, yes, there is. Where is the next mask stall?"
A couple steps behind Luna; Rainbow watched the engaging conversation between Twilight and the moonies in silence. Each had their own thoughts as to why the purple alicorn had walked away from them.
"You think, I shouldn't have told her about what Celestia and I had planned for her?" Luna asked Rainbow. She didn't want to make her worry about her possible future tasks as princess.
"Nuh-uh, I'm sure she will be thrilled to learn how to move her precious stars. I think there are other reasons for her behavior" Rainbow said, thinking about the Wonderbolt talk she had avoided at breakfast.
But I’m gonna fix that. Suddenly the pegasus faced a purple alicorn with a white fox masked kid on her shoulder. "Let's buy some masks for each other, Rainbow."
"Eh, why?" Rainbow wondered about the request; having come completely out of nowhere.
"Why not? Come on, everybody carries a mask, and Jerome explained to me they get used for the bonfire, which marks the end of the festival. Let's go, sweetheart!"
"Yeah, but isn't it more a Moonie tradition?"
"We’ve only done this a few years, I wouldn't call it a tradition, yet." Larry remarked, matter-of-factly.
"If it makes you feel better, I can pick a mask as well, Rainbow." Luna offered helpfully.
"I'm sure a mask would fit you just fine." Jerome added.
"I'll take you wearing a mask for the hundred kisses after the tournament!" Twilight said, grinning at the sight of Rainbow looking for an escape and finding none. Buffy delivered the final blow by pulling her mask aside and giving the pegasus her best sad child’s look. Rainbow groaned, her last barrier fallen.
"Ugh, fiiiiine."
"Yay!" A happily grinning Twilight tucked her foreleg under one of Rainbow's, and pulled her towards Buffy's parents, who led them to a stand where they found a nice collection of masks.
Both ponies played around with the masks and checked out a lot of them. In the end, Rainbow picked a black wolf mask with golden lines because it looked so cool while Twilight bought a white bunny mask with pink lines around eye and nose because it was so cute. Then she had another idea.
"Let's exchange masks. I’ll wear your mask and you’ll wear mine."
"Come on, Twi. I can't wear that, it's too cute and cuddly-looking." Rainbow complained, looking at the smiling bunny mask. She had successfully avoided wearing white socks, a more complicated hairstyle, and a too cute yukata, she didn't want to break that score by being caught wearing this type of mask. It fit a pony like Fluttershy or Rarity better than her. Or Twilight and Luna in this case.
"I think you're very cute and cuddly-looking, sweetheart." Twilight cooed.
"That's just it, why should you be the wolf, and I the bunny? Wouldn't it be better If I wore the wolf mask?" Rainbow tried to reason with her wife. A hopeless proposition, as Twilight cheated with her magic and teleport exchanged her mask with Rainbow's.
"Because I love you to bits." Twilight growled in a playful tone while putting on the wolf mask. Rainbow blushed when she considered the double meaning of Twilight's words. That Twilight looked really cool with her chosen mask didn't help to fight the blush down, it only added fuel to the fire.
"Aww, you're so adorable~"
"Ah, shut up!"
Rainbow put on the bunny mask to hide her red face, and turned around to look into a mirror. She was surprised that the white mask did fit her look quite well. Her eyes looked softer with the white and rose colors around it, and her rainbow mane framed the mask nicely. Even if she didn't want to admit it, she liked it. Another pony's warmth snuggled into her side holding onto her foreleg.
"See, I told you, you're cute. And very cuddly." Twilight whispered, whose reflection looked mysterious and dangerous with the wolf mask on. The good kind of danger that made your heart beat faster, and your throat swallow for no peculiar reason. Then a muffled voice interrupted their little bonding.
"Behold! My choice! What do you think?" The two ponies looked at Luna and recoiled slightly. The princess was wearing a black snake mask with large silver fangs in a widely open, spread mouth and silver lines around the eyes. It looked very realistic, and scary. Twilight could feel Buffy shiver on her back. Larry looked like he had bitten on something sour, while Jerome had a helpless expression on, not sure how to tell the princess that this mask made her appear like a reptilian version of Nightmare Moon. A presence which still filled many moonies with fear and terror; the memory of the thousand dark years she had been imprisoned with them on the moon fresh in their minds.
"Uh, it looks quite fetching?" Rainbow began nudging Twilight to do something about this horrid mask of Luna’s.
"Eh, yeah. Very eye-catching. But I think it really bites with your dress. Why don't you wear something more fitting? Like this mask here?" Twilight levitated a white mouse mask with gray lines on cheeks and eyes. Luna put her snake mask aside and took the one Twilight had suggested. She frowned as she inspected it on all sides.
"You think, this will look good on me?"
Fierce bobbing of heads affirmed the choice. Reluctant, the princess of the night put the mouse mask on and checked herself in the mirror.
"Oh. I must say, I look quite... harmless and adorable. Plus the mask of a woods and meadows inhabitant fits my flower yukata nicely, just like you told me, Twilight. So, do I look good with this mask on?"
"Harmless is great, your highness!" Larry endorsed the choice, with a thankful nod to Twilight and Rainbow.
"You look really cute with those big round ears, princess." Jerome corroborated, relieved.
"I see. And you don't just say that because the other mask made me look like I gobble up two or three moonie children for breakfast?" Luna's question was answered with iron silence, awkward looks and pawing hooves. Then Luna threw her head back and laughed loudly. She tossed a small purse to the startled stall owner and walked away towards a huge construct a couple hundred meters away.
"I'm just messing with you lot. Let's go to the arena, we've lost enough time with the mask shopping."
Shortly afterward, they arrived at the joust arena. It was an elliptical stadium, built with gray moonstones with pillars and archways; hundreds of lanterns lit up the giant building. It was five floors high, each floor was decorated in a different fashion, just like the houses in the city. The stadium was higher than any sporting arena the awe-struck couple had seen in Equestria. It reminded them of both the open Cloudosseum in Cloudsdale and the stadium in the Crystal Empire. There were different entries for spectators and athletes where the group would split in two. Now that they were there, Twilight felt her stomach churning; fearing what would await her wife in the joust. But if Rainbow wanted to enter it for whatever reason, then she would not stop her. She turned towards the excited pegasus, who read the words on the archway over the athletes’ entry: 'Only the brave and skillful may enter'
"Give me your mask and feather, Rainbow. I'll handle them until after the festival."
"Thanks, love."
When Rainbow handed over her stuff, Twilight moved her wolf mask aside and gave Rainbow a peck on her lips
"Take care."
"I'll see you on the winner's podium." Rainbow promised before she and Luna went to the space where the thestral guards were warming themselves up for the tournament, whilst Larry led Twilight to the VIP seats in the middle of the terrace with Jerome and Buffy. Rainbow felt her blood get hotter as her heart pumped it faster and faster through her veins. She hoped everything would go according to her plan.
The joust field was huge with a joust railing in the mid and much space around it with many terraces on each side. Thestrals in their armors drawn in different colors warmed up for their part of the tournament while moonies and thestrals sat down on their seats. Luna and Rainbow walked up to a Batpony in a golden armor who oversaw the warming up phase of the contestant. The captain had like all thestrals a dark coat with grey undertones but his cat like eyes were blue instead of the typical yellow, his moss-green hair was long and braided with black cloth ties. A few scars adored his neck and face proving that he had his fair amount of fights in his life. Luna nodded briefly to him as he bowed before his princess.
"Greetings, Captain Stardust Chaser. I have another contestant for your tournament." The captain wrinkled his left eyebrow at her request. He opened his mouth and a clicking sound escaped it. Rainbow blinked confused at this weird sound in different shrill pitches.
"Yes, it's a last minute entry and I know you already have all bases covered." The Captain's mouth made another series of clicking sounds.
"She's more than just a guest, dear Captain. Rainbow Dash is not only famous for being the element Loyalty of the elements of harmony which freed me and the moonfolk but also for being one of the best Wonderbolts ever in their history." Luna had a sly half-smile on her face as she expected her overly prideful and a bit too full of himself captain to take the bait. He did. After a series of clicking sounds which sounded a bit like scornful laughter, the Captain gave Rainbow the place and number of a rookie batpony guard who didn't looked all that disappointed to not have to went on the joust field.
"What was up with those weird clicks?" Rainbow asked still weirded after the captain had walked away and Luna led the pegasus to the armory.
"When my sister punished their ancestors, she didn't simply silenced their voices. She just changed them, to fit the other changes on their bodies. Their ears can hear way better than anypony can and while their eyes see better in the night than most of us, they can fly blind thanks to their voice echolot and their ear hearing it hitting their surroundings. It's how they were able to fly and live in the lightless tunnels and sunless caves deep inside the mountains. They soon created a new language with audible clicks, a mix of speech and morse codes. Though they also established wing and hoof signs similar to mute ponies in Equestria to talk with other races who can't understand their clicks."
Rainbow knew Twilight would loved to read some books about those batponies to learn their language and culture. Maybe they could used a day of their honeymoon to read in the library of the hotel or in Luna's palace to find out more about the thestrals. And if Luna could teach them their language Twilight would be overjoyed with all the new knowledge she gained through this vacation. The best way would be of course to befriend somepony of the thestrals and spend some time with them. The opening of a door brought Rainbow back to the present. She looked past Luna into a big room with many armors, helmets and weapons.
"Here's the armory. Time to chose your gear, Rainbow Dash."
Luna helped Rainbow to get out of her yukata and put on her silver armor with purple coloring, very fitting for Rainbow's taste. It was a bit different than the one she had carried in the Crystal empire, mostly because of the three shields with red circles on then added to it; a big one on her chest and two small ones on the sides of her helmet as well as leather and metal covering her exposed neck. It should be much heavier than the one on earth yet Rainbow felt like it was her normal weight without anything on. Must be the moon's gravity, I felt way too light ever since we landed here, thought Rainbow. Luna explained the tournament rules while helping Rainbow to get ready in the last minute before the tournament.
"In the first round you go up once against three opponents, you need to hit the shield to get points. A graze hit is one point, a full hit on the chest two points and a full hit on the helmet shield three points. First and second place advanced to the quarterfinals where you go up three times against an opponent, most points wins, in a draw you go up again. Same for the semi-final and finals. The lances ends are soft and covered in clothes to ease the impact, but be careful, my guards will go all out and a full hit can still hurt a lot and I don't want to feel the wrath of your wife cause of a cracked rib of yours.
Especially Stardust is determined to win today. I believe he has, what do you call it nowadays, the hots for me but he became very arrogant lately towards his own people and the moonies ever since I appointed him to be the captain of my guards. I think it kind of went to his head. That's why I agreed to let you in, I hope you can teach my captain some lessons in humility."
"Don't worry, princess. I have my own reasons to win this and nopony can stop me once I've set my eyes on a goal," assured Rainbow Luna. "And it has nothing to do with kissing you, just to make it clear."
"I thought so. Good luck then, Rainbow Dash."
"Pff, I need no luck with those babies," said Rainbow beating her wings up and down twice. Luna left Rainbow as she joined the others on the VIP stand and Rainbow walked up to the thestrals in line in front of it.
The crowd became silent as princess Luna walked up to the dais and hold a speech at full volume to welcome each and everyone of them and wished the contestant much success in the joust. "May the best pony win and claim crown, title and your princess lips!" ended her speech. The moonies cheered so loudly that the terrace shook. The thestrals raised their lances silently whereas Rainbow shouted her excitement as loudly as the crowd.
"Rainbow! Come over here!" waved Twilight to the armored pegasi. Rainbow flew up to her wife, doing some spins and turns she would hardly be able to do on earth with this attire. The armor's weight meant nothing to her up here.
"Check it out, Twi. Don't I look the best in Uniform?" Twilight's smile flinched slightly, remembering the same sentence Rainbow had used when she first showed her her Wonderbolt costume when she got into the team. Rainbow facehoofed herself in her mind. Ah, crap. Why didn't I said armor?
"Anyway, why did you call me, I'll be up soon." The group screamed loudly as Stardust Chaser send a batpony flying with a straight hit on its chest. Twilight's smile returned to normal, with some worry glimmering in her eyes.
"I wanted to give you this scarf. In the old times of Equestria, joust contestant had asked for some lucky charm of the mare they courted. Do you want to take it?"
"Of course I do! With a luck charm from you there's no way I'd lose. Thank you, love." Rainbow bowed forward and gave Twilight a nuzzle to the nose with hers, Twilight nuzzled back into the nose kiss and tied her scarf around Rainbow's lance with her magic. Rainbow blowed Twilight a kiss before she flew down on the field for her first match.
It was over in an heartbeat and she lost it spectacular. Rainbow didn't got a single point and her opponent, a female batpony with light purple hair and a grey and a white streak in it, got two points for hitting her straight in the chest shield. Worse was less that she had lost or gotten no points, but that said hit made the proud pegasi eat moondirt. That's not how she had imagined the start of her plan.
Rainbow gritted her teeths, the thestrals were more used to the moon's gravity to run on it whereas she was unused to it. The pegasus had a hard time to determinate how much distance her opponent would run in what time, it got her badly as she hasn't prepared her lance timely and got surprised by the sudden burst in the female guard's speed.
But now thanks to it, she had an sorta feel for it. She bowed before the female batpony as thanks for the good match, but she just walked away, not even bothering to look at her. Some moonies booed though Rainbow could understand the cold treatment. For those descendants of the Windbolts it was a smack to the cheek to have to face a Wonderbolt in "their" tournament, even if it was a retired one. Rainbow looked at the white scarf on her lance and then on its worried owner in the VIP stand. This would be the last time she lost, she couldn't afford more losses.
The next match was against a young guard rookie who had lost his first fight as well 0-2 against a huge veteran batpony. He grinned as he smelled a chance to get easy points with the pegasus. Rainbow squinted her eyes, she would show him why she her name was spoken in the same breath with Spitfire and Fleetfoot. The gong sounded and both ponies run up to each other, lances aimed at each other. Five steps before they meet halfway the run, Rainbow rushed the distance with a single step and beat with her wings. The young thestral widened his eyes, his lance swayed in surprise at the rainbow-maned pegasus suddenly being up close to his face, Rainbow moved hers slightly, eyes set on his chest shield and then it connected while the opponent's lance missed her helmet shield by a mile.
A loud crack was heard as the batpony was hit full in the center and lost his balancing. He rolled into the moondust, unhurt but still without points. The crowd exploded and cried out Rainbow's name again and again, cheering for the underdog to have a chance to get nominated for the quarterfinals. Depending on how the other two fight's goes out. If both somehow manages to get a hit on the other's helmet shield at the same time, I'll hardly have a chance to advance, measured Rainbow her chances.
But she was lucky. The huge male guard and female guard's match ended with 2-1 in favor for the mare. She had feinted a hit on the veteran's helmet shield who tried to hit her first on the chest by leaning forward, when the mare suddenly crossed her forelegs, moving her body out of the way and used her wing to change the lance's end down.
The Veteran pony immediately saw no chance to escape the hit and tried to get one himself, moving his lance after his target, but she was already out of range. He just managed to get a graze, while she got a full-hit on his chest shield. Though it barely had any impact it still counted as a two point hit.
The veteran panted disappointed while the much younger winner did a salto to celebrate her victory and as good as nomination for the next round of the tournament as the rookie will hardly be an opponent for her skill.
Yet she was slightly mistaken as the rookie managed to surprise with an unexpected slowdown of his run, fully expecting the hit which even splintered the purple-maned thestral's lance. But he easily managing to hit the female's chest shield as well, withstanding the impact of her hit. This time he didn't fall and while the mare staggered, she managed to stay on her hooves. Both bowed before each other respectfully, something Rainbow doubted she would receive anytime soon from them in this joust.
Then it was her time against the veteran pony. All he needed was a two point hit and Rainbow had no chance to advance. And even if Rainbow hit his shield helmet as long as he got a hit on the chest, he won by default due Rainbow's zero point loss in her first match. Rainbow put the white scarf on her lance close to her forehead, closing her eyes to concentrate on her breathing, before she walked up to her running start point. Her opponent snorted disparaging, Rainbow paid it no mind.
Unlike in the other matches both begun to walk slowly, Rainbow cause she planned to surprise with a speed burst, the veteran cautious because he wanted to win this for sure. They increased their speed the closer and closer they came to the midpoint of the joust field.Then the Veteran picked up his speed to max, lance concentrated on her shield. Rainbow moved her lance up to the level of his head, clearly showing her intent to hit his helmet shield. The Veteran allowed a short grin the second before they would passed each other, he foresaw an obvious feint just like in his last match. Just in case he moved his head slightly away and presented his shield chest more towards Rainbow Dash, luring her in to attack it though he knew as long as he hit he got this in the bag.
Two steps before Rainbow meet her opponent, she breathed out in her mediated breathing method. Her right leg leaned forward in the next step, the veteran's lance near her shield. Her left leg followed, moving a step aside and leading downwards which lowered her body's hit zone. Her left wing spread out to keep her balance so she wouldn't fall down at this speed. Her right one kept her lance aimed on the head and thrusted forward. Their lances crossed each other. The sounds of metal being hit and lances getting broken vibrated through the warm air, suppressed by the cries of the excited audience.
Rainbow beat her left wing to compensate for the sudden impact on her right side. She pushed forward with both hind legs to get up back into a more balanced position. She slowed down her trot and looked back to her opponent, panting heavily. The end of her lance hung on a wood splinter, she had hit his head shield fully, but she had also felt a hit of him on the right side of her shield. She was too scared to look down.
Her opponent laid down on the ground, his helmet a few metres away from him and a dust trail showed how far he had slided after her score on his helmet shield. He sat up, looking around confused and blinking, then he saw the helmet and Rainbow Dash still standing. He concentrated his sight on her shield and saw a dent on it, halved by the edge. It was only a graze shot. Luna declared Rainbow the victor of the third match. Relieved Rainbow bowed to the veteran guard. He just looked away ashamed. The terraces shouted her name at the top of their lungs as did Twilight and Luna and their friends with them. Rainbow smiled proudly and raised her cracked lance, the white scarf fluttered in the wind.
Gonna need a new one.
Rainbow's quarterfinal came up quickly and was done just as quickly. Her opponent had fought in his last match against the Captain and lost miserably. After his hit on the helmet, he had fallen unlucky and sprained one of his legs. He limped towards his starting position and when the gong came his run started slow and ended in a pained hiss as his lance almost hit the ground. Rainbow was still fit and could have easily landed a score on his shield helmet, her lance was raised and ready to hit it.
But then Rainbow thought differently, moved her lance aside and passed her opponent, neither of them scoring a hit. Luna flew down and asked him if he could continue. He shook his head and Rainbow won by default. The audience applauded her for her sportponyship. Her bow to the match's loser was answered with an of himself disappointed nod. Rainbow didn't even wanted to imagine how it would feel to be in his position especially with her idea in mind. For her there was more on stake than just a victory and its prizes.
Her opponent for the semi-finals was the female thestral she had lost to in her first match, she won by knocking out the other contestant in the second round. Rainbow didn't wanted to let this chance slip aside, this time she would beat her.
Captain Stardust Chaser had a tough opponent and had to went up three times against him, despite the guard not even scoring a single point against his captain. Rainbow grinned, she might had a chance after all. But first remained the semi-final to be won.
When they both walked to their starting point, the purple-maned mare hold up a hoof to wish for a time-out. Luna allowed it and the batpony used it to make some signs with her wings and hooves incomprehensible to Rainbow though she knew that she was meant with them. But what she did understand was when the guard pointed at her, hit with the same hoof on her shield with a loud clang sound and bowed before her: Rainbow had earned her respect. The moonies applauded loudly as Rainbow answered her respectful bow with her own.
"What did the mare said, Luna?" asked Twilight, making a mental note to read some books about hoof and wing signs. Luna smiled as she together with the ones around her applauded to this display of true sportsponyship shown by the guard.
"That Rainbow is a true warrior and that she's very honored to fight her."
Twilight smiled proudly of her Rainbow, looking at the athlete, growing with the hurdles thrown at her, earning the respect she deserved and the admiration of the crowds she desired. It was just like when she had been in the Wonderbolts and was close to become their new figurehead, the Captain of the Wonderbolt. And then she had given all of that up to carry her feather. It did made Twilight happy that Rainbow had chosen her over her job, her dream, but it still left a stale taste when she thought that she basically had forced Rainbow to chose between those two. She had worked so hard to find a way for her love to keep both, even thought about giving up her princess title but Celestia didn't wanted to hear about that option. And then Rainbow had just gone and declared her retirement in public and thus ended her search for a solution to keep Rainbow's dream alive.
Now Rainbow was fighting for some reason she couldn't hold grasp on and she feared that it was because of this: The applause and praise of the audience, the respect and envy of the other contestant, the adrenaline rush when a move succeeded because of her skills. Twilight's clapping slowly died out and was the first to end. Suddenly she felt all alone and quiet in a sea of applause and cries.
Rainbow couldn't noticed Twilight's inner turmoil. She felt her spirits roar and grinned eagerly. Both ponies set into motion and crossed lances for the first time in the semi-finals. Both had aimed for the other's chest and evaded the incoming hit slightly thus both ended up with only one graze point in their first match as both were unable to follow the evasion with their lances thrusts.
In their second round it was the other way around, both aimed at the head and moved downwards to hit the chest as their heads moved slightly to escape the incoming head-thrust. Both lances shattered as the force behind their hits made both ponies fall onto the ground. The crowd groaned shocked as both ponies laid on the ground. Rainbow gasped and took needed air back into her hurting lungs.
"Rainbow!"
Twilight jumped up from her seat, terrified that Rainbow might have gotten hurt or even got inner injuries. Jerome covered Buffy's eyes who tried to push them away to see what's happening. Larry looked worried at the cool Luna and agitated Twilight who looked like she was about to jump from the VIP stand and rush to her wife's side.
"Luna! This is too much! Rain- somepony could get hurt if this continues!" protested Twilight, feeling that this joust had gone too far if its endangers her love's health.
"Of course, this isn't a Crystal pony joust, but a Thestral one. I had to forbade them to use real lances as I doubted the Moonies would enjoy this tournament as much if instead of bruises and hurt pride, we have broken bones and deep stabs. Rainbow already realized the risks when she said she wanted to join a joust made for guards. She is fighting there, willing to win but not for herself. Have you noticed how often she looked at the scarf you gave her as lucky charm? From me and probably anypony else, a good luck wish wouldn't have meant much as she trust her skills to get her through everything. But it's your lucky charm she takes strength of. She's fighting for you, I don't know the exact reason, but I think she's trying to prove you a point. Support Rainbow if you really cheer for her victory. Don't stop her because you're worried about her health."
Luna's eyes hasn't left the field as she watched the batpony stand up and shake off the dust on her armor while Rainbow still laid on the ground, breathing heavily. Soon she would had to enter the field and decide whenever or not Rainbow could continue the match. Twilight gritted her teeth, then she turned towards the field and shouted in her best royal voice impression.
"Stand up, Rainbow! Didn't you told me that there's no way you could lose? Then show me that you're a mare of your word and win this! I believe in you!"
Rainbow grinned, still feeling the pain in her chest. This would leave a bruise for the honeymoon. Then again she could used it as excuse to make Twilight kiss it better to ease the pain.
"Ugh, like I gonna disappoint you. No need to shout. It takes more than this to take the Rainbow Dash down," grunted the bruised up pegasus to herself as she slowly fought her way up to stand on her four hooves. Once she did, she picked up her lance. She kissed the dirtied scarf and raised the lance as thanks to the terrace, looking to the seat where Twilight sat, causing an encouraging cheer from the crowd.
Twilight felt her heart beat faster as she clapped and shouted louder than anyone else in the terrace to spur Rainbow on to decide this last round for herself and advance to the finals. The last match where Captain Stardust Chaser was already waiting after his overwhelming victory in the semi-finals.
Rainbow took stand in her starting place. She tried to calm down her rapid breathing and get back into a pattern. Her opponent was good, as good as her if not better. And that she wasn't Captain of Luna's guards spoke volumes of the strength that Stardust must had in him to lead ponies like her. She couldn't help but smirk as she started to run with her lance raised high, waiting for the right time to drop in for a thrust. She had missed this the past weeks, no matter how much she tried to convince Twilight and herself differently. Ever since she has left the Wonderbolts she had missed it. This one little thing.
The wondering if somepony else was faster and better than her, the challenge stirring in her to prove her worth in face of stronger opponents and the feel of accomplishment when she won. She became faster and faster just like the batpony in front of her. Her lance already sank down slowly while Rainbow's was still raised.
But what I missed the most...
Her lance begun to sink slowly, taking aim.
...was not the adrenaline rush...
Rainbow squinted her eyes and hold her breath as less than three metres were apart of her and the female guard.
...nor the applause and admiration...
Rainbow put a full stop to her motion the moment she felt the lance was about to hit her.
...not even my teammates and fans!
The impact pushed all thoughts out of her mind, leaving only white pain in her head. The lance of the guard dashed to shivers under the force, but Rainbow didn't faltered and the unexpected strength of her stand proved to be successful. The thestral mare movement was halted for a mere second, enough time for Rainbow to move forward, move her lance sidewards and thrust upwards, resulting in a hit at the helmet shield.
Rainbow staggered forward before she collapsed while the Thestral stopped her run, slowly realized that she had been hit and lost the match. Expect her blue opponent wouldn't be able to stand up anymore. Worried the guard ran to the pegasus on the ground. The entire crowd in the terraces and around it stood up, worried whispers filled the air. Twilight had her hooves before her mouth while Luna begun to wonder if it had been a good idea to let Rainbow enter the competition. The thestral mare nudged Rainbow carefully, fearing the worst when suddenly the pegasi jumped up into the air with a loud shout.
"Buwaaaah! Hah! Hahaha, got you all! What? You thought this was it for me? Sorry to disappoint some of you but this pegasi ain't stopping till she won this joust!"
Rainbow's vociferated words resulted into a huge uproar, a cacophony of thousands of voices calling out her name, over and over again, mixed with shrill screams and lots of clapping and stamping on the terraces ground. Rainbow Dash still knew how to work the crowd like a music director.
However she ignored the rain of admiration and appreciation, blocked out thousands of voices, searching and listening to the one voice she wanted to hear in this turbulent sea of sounds. A sound, most pleasing to her ears, refreshing like a shower after a harsh training to her body and as warming as a blanket in the cold evening to her heart. A voice of pure euphony: Twilight's voice calling out her name. Yeah, this was it.
What I missed the most was her voice cheering me on.
Rainbow smiled and waved towards the purple pony who was jumping up and down, ignoring the state of her clothes getting slightly loose and her hairdo undone.
The thestral mare came up to her and gave her a slap on the back with an acknowledging look saying “I had no idea you're that kinda crazy pony”. Rainbow grinned back and hold out a hoof. The guard's yellow eyes looked puzzled at the offered hoof, before she realized how her opponent wanted to pay her respects. Not with a bow like athletes, but with a hoofbump like friends after a good match. Her lips moved into a toothy smile and her hoof connected with Rainbow's briefly.
And the crowd went wild again.
Luna flew up over the joust field, turning towards the terraces which was swarming with moonfolk and thestrals. She raised her hooves and waited for them to calm down a little before she spoke to them in her royal voice.
"Dear audience! I see and hear that you all are burning for the finals!" Loud cheers agreed with Luna's observation.
"Then I will no longer annoy you with meaningless blabber and say let the final begin: Stardust Chaser versus Raaaaaaaainbow Dash!" The terraces shaked upon the noise made by the moonies and thestrals.
Rainbow walked to her starting point, swallowing her spit. It hurted, just as every breath left a sting in her side. The armor and lance felt heavier than in the matches before. And her opponent looked as fresh, fit and strong as in his first match. Rainbow snorted determined. She didn't had come so far to lose in the end. Especially not to somepony who looked at her with so much disdain in the skyblue eyes.
She breathed in and out, then the gong sounded and they run towards each other. Her breathing was heavy, too heavy. Somehow it wasn't easy to hold the lance towards Stardust, its end felt like a bar of iron. She could see the lance of Stardust aimed on her chest shield. She would sidestep and thrust towards his to get a score and him only a graze point. Then suddenly his lance's end was in her face's front.
Shocked Rainbow stopped her run and threw her head aside, too late realizing it had been just a feint to made her do this to expose her headshield for a better hit. Which Stardust did with all his strength. Rainbow saw the darkening sky of the moon with the blue and green planet filling out half of it for some seconds. She wondered where the ground had gone before she hit it with her back. Grey dust fogged her view.
Her head rung and she groaned. The shield and helmet as well as the cloth around the lance had turned this hit of Stardust into only a headache and bump on it. If those measures weren't there, it would have cracked her skull open easily. But that didn't eased the pain much, especially not the one to know that she hasn't felt anything on her lance's end. She was without a point in the first round.
Where's my lance anyway?
She saw that it was behind her, she had lost hold of it when she got hit and the scarf was grey of moondust. Groggily she tried to stand up but ended on her butt, blinking away the white and black dots in her sight. Then she heard a clicking and saw Stardust walking towards her. She couldn't understood what he just said, but she could feel how he had said it: Arrogantly and malicious.
Her eyes widened as she saw what the guard captain did.
He went to her fallen lance and picked the scarf up, ripping it away from her lance and tied it around his own. Shouldering his scarf decorated lance he looked down at the open-mouthed pegasus who couldn't believe what her opponent had just done to spite her. Neither could the princesses and the audience who were speechless for mere seconds, before they interrupted in boo's and swears. Even Stardust Chaser's many fans amongst the thestrals and moonies thought he went to far.
Twilight was swearing so madly that if she were still Celestia's student, the princess would have teleported at her side and washed her mouth out with a big soap. But the only princess besides her watched the happenings sadly, cold disappointment glooming silently in her cyan eyes.
Abruptly Rainbow jumped back to her hooves. Her pain and fatigue were washed away by a red flood of anger and wrath.
"Give that back!", she screamed, louder than the audience's collected noise. With a shake of his head and a toothy grin Stardust refused. he walked back to his starting point, ostentatious slowly, the lance with the damaged scarf wavering in the air. Rainbow steamed and gritted her teeths. She was so close to just tackle that bastard and beat him into the ground, but that wasn't her goal. She closed her eyes briefly and looked then to the seat where Twilight was close to erupting into fire if she wasn't controlling her rage.
Larry had forgotten all of his tact as mayor and shook his feathery fist threateningly at the batpony captain, who ignored the uproar of the crowd and bowed in the princess of the night direction before he turned to face Rainbow Dash. Jerome had his hands full to hold Buffy back from jumping down onto the field and kick Stardust's butt.
Rainbow smiled and the blusterous flood inside her receded with the view at Twilight who had stopped swearing and was just looking intensely at her wife in armor, conveyed her wish unspoken. Rainbow nodded and walked towards her lance. Sadly she looked at the few tiny scarf remains on the ground when she picked up her scarf-less lance.
She bowed deeply before the princess of her heart and flew to her starting point for the second round of the final. Her pain was forgotten and her anger a silent whisper in her head. She had to thank Stardust for this as his display of irreverence had opened ressources of strength and concentration she thought gone. She knew Stardust had just done that to make her lose her head in anger and be an easier target, but she wouldn't do him that favor. She would repay him fully.
Your wish is my wish, Twilight.
Her lance was aimed at Stardust even before the gong sounded, a clear challenge to the captain that she would hit him this time. He receipted it with an arrogant smirk.
The gong sounded.
Rainbow shot forward, beating her free wing to gain more speed whereas Stardust Chaser started slower, the lance with Twilight's lucky charm still raised. She paid the provocation no mind and focused on her target, his chest shield. Stardust lance lowered, aiming on her helmet and when they were a few steps apart he pulled its end aside for it to appear before Rainbow's face and make her recoil. Neither did she stopped nor slowed down her run.
Startled the guard captain pulled the lance aside to avoid a direct hit between her eyes which surely would have left an injury. An injury his admired princess would never forgive him. His body leaned away to get a better angle at her hard to hit helmet shield. Rainbow's head turned down sidewards to make her helmet an even smaller target, while both her forelegs went quickly into the knees and her left wing pulled her lance up quickly to score on his exposed helmet shield. His lance grazed her shield on the left side just slightly. Her own hit his fully.
Stardust did a salto backwards, so strong was her grip and force of her lance, that even a bump in his shield remained. With a hiss he tried to raise from the ground to regain footing, but he tottered around before he sat down on his butt against his will. The world was turning and twisting, but he could clearly hear the laughs of the audience like needle stabs in his pride while he started to realize that he had been hit on the head. And had himself only gotten a graze point, his first in this tournament which he had dominated so far with full hits whenever on chest or head shields.
The shamed guard captain felt anger rise in him and he stood up, grabbing onto his lance with the trophy to show this audacious pegasi who was the better fighter of them. Then he noticed that his lance wasn't nearby. A loud cheering from the terraces made him turn in confusion what they were cheering for. He saw the reason. His lance with the scarf from that other princess on the ground. And a blue in silver-purple armor clad pony next to it, grinning triumphantly at him before she picked up his lance to get back her property.
Tenderly she untied the scarf from Stardust's lance and put it around her neck, part of it falling onto the left part of her chest shield. She tossed Stardust's lance before his hooves and raised her own, face serious and grim, pointing at him to pick it up. Then she did a turn and walked back to her starting point without looking back. Everybody in the seat rows hooted in response with her action.
Stardust fumed with rage, jumped on his feet, took his lance and flew as fast as he could back to the other end of the joust railing. He was furious that he had been treated like a mere rookie who couldn't see the difference between a spear and a lance. That he had failed before the eyes of the princess he had sworn to protect and fight for. That a common descendant of the pegasi who had been unworthy to enter the noble Windbolts had beaten him. Worse, she was even a former Wonderbolt, the pegasi troop who hold the torch from where the Windbolts had ended. When he grew up in the mountains and heard of the story of his ponies, he had sworn he would show Equestria and especially its pegasi what thestrals are made of: Skill, Speed and Pride. And he would start with this feisty blue one.
Twilight and Buffy's daddies cheered for Rainbow's point win, Buffy was jumping up and down on her seat, waving her little arms. Luna still sat there silently, contemplated how the match will unfold. Stardust led with one point but that didn't reassured him of his victory, yet it didn't irritated him either. Rainbow could win if she gets two or three points, but that put ahead that her opponent scored no or only one point. Something Stardust will try to prevent to hold justice to his reputation as most skillful batpony on the moon and as he says of himself, of his entire tribe. All he needs to do is to make sure that Rainbow scores no point and he won the tournament. But Luna knew that the pride of her captain would not allow such a shallow victory, he would go for the head. And Rainbow probably anticipated that already. This match could still go either way.
Neither Rainbow nor Stardust had eyes or ears for the terrace and its audience. Both waited with heavy breathing chests, which contained tense strength and boiling anger at once, for the gong to sound the last round of the final. It sounded. Both ran. As fast as they could they held on towards each other, Stardust aiming on chest height, Rainbow on head height. The moment they were about to meet they changed the directions of their lances. The sound of a single shield being hit let everyone and everypony hold their breath in the stadium.
Stardust trotted towards the end of the railing, stared at the end of his lance. He had missed. Completely missed the target for the first time in this joust. Then he looked back at Rainbow Dash who looked relieved to have landed at least a graze. Her plan had been to avoid the incoming head thrust and get two points by a chest hit, but Stardust had automatically moved his body aside, making a direct score impossible. At least she had succeed to escape Stardust's attack when she leaned her head forward and turned it aside. Though that risky move costed her purple panache quite a bit hair, it was better than any hit of Stardust to deny his victory and force a draw.
Stardust couldn't believe it and neither could anypony watching. There would be extra rounds till one pony got more points than the other one.On his starting point the thestral captain turned to look at the sidelines to see the reactions of his guards. What he witnessed was worse than what he had feared. Most of his guards were cheering for the pegasi, at the head the female guard and the other opponents Rainbow had faced and beaten and those who didn't were recusant to cheer him on.
Their cheering stoked his burning rage. He saw red. When the gong for the fourth round sounded he just wanted the equestrian to go down. Both lances crashed into each other's chest shields, but neither did stop in their track and rushed to the other end, picked up swiftly another lance and were back racing on the joust ground before the gong could be hit again. The gong to the fifth round sounded when they were mere seconds away to meet each other in the mid of the joust railing.
Luna and Twilight hold their breaths while the rest of the audience screamed their minds to the heavens. Both felt that this was no longer just a match to win a tournament. For one pony his worth, pride and self-respect was on stake, for the other the happiness of somepony else. The rivals collided in the middle of the joust field as Stardust reared up to let Rainbow's upwards aimed thrust hit his neck and not his helmet. It was risky enough to end with an injury, but he was ready to take that pain as long as he beat the unyielding pegasus.
He pulled his lance downwards to thrust from above onto Rainbow's chest shield, but she raised as well into the air together with her lance. Stardust's end hit her shield first, it bent under the pressure but it didn't pushed Rainbow down as she digged her hind legs into the ground and thrusted her lance upwards, avoiding the neck towards his helmet. Stardust tried to prevent the hit, but on two legs only he had neither the speed nor the stability to escape the quick attack. He leaned sidewards as far as he could, moving forward to let the thrust end in empty sky and finish the battle, but his lance on Rainbow's sturdy chest kept him in place and so he could only watch the unavoidable.
Rainbow's lance end hit straight into the mid of his helmet shield, sended it flying and him stumbling. Stardust fell on his side, his broken lance besides him. Rainbow landed on her forelegs, before she breathed out and flew up in the sky, her unbroken lance held high. Twilight cried, while Luna smiled and applauded and so did Larry, Jerome and Buffy and everyone else with their hoarse voices. Still it was the loudest cheer of the entire tournament as nearly all moonies and thestrals threw their masks into the air, celebrating Rainbow's victory. The noise the audience caused was so loud that three hours later ponies everywhere in Equestria could have sworn they had heard a faint cheering sound from the sky though they were all alone.
While Rainbow flew circles and savored her hard earned victory, the loser of the final looked sadly at the VIP seats. Seeing princess Luna clap and smile at Rainbow Dash sunk Stardust Chaser's heart and head. No longer he could called himself undefeated champion of princess Luna and no longer would thestrals or moonies listened to his boasting of his skills, pointing out his loss against an ex-Wonderbolt in the joust. In the future he would have to be a lot less self-important and arrogant than he had been till now if he wanted to remain princess Luna's guard captain. If she will have him, that is.
Defeated Stardust moved to the balcony where princess Luna awaited the victor of the joust and all its competitors. But while all eyes were set on Luna, Rainbow had only eyes for Twilight next to the princess of the night. She gripped lightly on the scarf she had given her as a lucky charm and in the end had been part of the reason why she won this tournament.
"Sorry, it got dirty,",Rainbow mouthed quietly.
"As if that matters to me, silly," moved Twilight her lips silently.
Luna raised her hooves and waited for a couple minutes till the cheering and applauding finally quiet down.
"Moonies and thestrals! We have a winner: Rainbow Dash!" Again Luna raised her hooves as she unsuccessfully tried to calm the crowds applause and cries down to continued her victory speech and gave Rainbow her prices.
"Will you quiet down already?!" Luna shouted in her royal voice, blowing away the helmet of the thestral rookie guard in the rank before her which got him a sharp look of his superior, the veteran guard besides him. With the audience being quieter than an animal caught in Fluttershy's stare, Luna harrumphed and continued from where she had begun.
"Rainbow Dash, you have won through your skill, strength, willpower and a keen eye. And a bit of luck i might add. To you I will bestow you the title of the tournament; from now you'll be known as 'Champion of Princess Luna' as well as get land and a duke title for a part of the moon." Oohs and aahs were heard from the audience at the size of Rainbow's price. And yet it wasn't the end of it.
"You'll also receive this crown made of moon silver and diamonds. It alone is worth a fortune to be set for life." The thestral rookie blowed a loud whistle which the huge veteran guard besides him redeemed with a blow to the head, everyone on the terraces laughed at the bold rookie's expense.
"And as last part of the price you will receive a kiss of yours truly, me." Luna had no idea where the moonies got the breath and energy but they shouted again so loudly, it shook the balcony slightly.
"Come forth to welcome your prices, Rainbow Dash," finished Luna waving to Rainbow to fly closer. Luna took a beautiful formed silvern crown out of a small treasure chest hold by Larry while a thestral secretary who came out of nowhere hold a pergament with the new title of Rainbow and to write over the rights to own land on the moon.
Luna held the crown in her hooves, looked at Rainbow who still hadn't broke eye contact with Twilight who already made small desperate gestures telling her to quit that and look at the princess next to her. Luna looked slightly bemused as she asked Rainbow:
"Any words to speak, Rainbow Dash?"
"Yeah, how about 'no, thank you very much.', princess?" said Rainbow finally looking at the princess of the night. A loud gasp was heard from the audience and every guard present. Twilight's gestures stopped in their tracks, eyes widened in surprise. Stardust was so shocked his mouth hung wide open as did it with almost any guard who had been in the joust.
"I have not entered this tournament to win some prizes or to establish a new fanclub on the moon. I do hope though the Rainbow Dash fan club gets more members, 'cause I'm awesome fellas! Heh, just kidding though you can join if you want to. No, princess, I did this for myself and for somepony else, somepony very special to me who needs to hear some words I had to tell her much clearer many days ago: Twilight Sparkle!"
Twilight cringed as she felt thousands upon thousands of eyes looking at her as soon as her name fell. She blushed red like the setting sun, trying to hide herself behind Luna. A plan Rainbow shoot down as she flew up to her, took her hooves into her own and pulled her forward to the balcony for everybody to see as she got to the juicy part of what she wanted to tell her wife.
"Twilight, if I had known back then what kind of a shitstorm I kicked off when I asked for some time to think, I had chosen you in less than ten nanoseconds. I would have said "no, thank you very much". I need no mountain of fame or awesome job or fancy title, much money and land as far as I can fly. What I need is to have you at my side a whole lifetime. And I would do it again and again as I've proven just now. I had good years with the Wonderbolts, but I've got a life more amazing and wonderful than any Wonderbolt tour could be ahead just because you wanted to marry me. I couldn't be happier. I didn't gave up my dream for you, Twilight, you became it. I love you."
Twilight opened and closed her mouth, trying to comprehend what she just had heard from Rainbow, what she had known already in her heart but wished for it to be confirmed by this brash and smashing pegasi own words. She felt her doubts dried away and wither away like weed refused its water by the blazing sun of Rainbow's honest love. Twilight pulled the purple feather forth and put it back on the pegasi, its color shining brightly over the dusty scarf. "Come here and kiss me, you fool!" With wet eyes Twilight let Rainbow pulled her up in the sky in front of the balcony and kissed her.
The moonies and thestrals applauded and a few even cried while some couples used this chance to kiss as well, like Larry and Jerome which Buffy commented with rolling eyes. The veteran sniffed loudly and before the rookie knew what happened his sergeant was crying into his shoulder to muffle the sounds. It was a really awkward and confusing day for the poor rookie. The purple-maned thestral mare sniffed and wished away a tear at this romance before her. The hurt guard from Rainbow's quarterfinal put a hoof around her and pulled her closer to his side. She snuggled closer to her lover, giving him a kiss to the cheek. Stardust thought he was in the wrong movie.
"When did you thought all that up?" asked Twilight Rainbow, unheard by the noise of everyone present.
"Would you believe me if I told you just now?" answered Rainbow with a cheeky smile.
"Interesting, so love makes pony not only blind but also eloquent."
"Hey, did you just insult me?"
Twilight laughed shortly before she went in for another kiss, enjoying the feeling of happiness rose in her chest like a field of flowers opening their buds to show their rainbow colors to the sun which had awaken them, a feeling Rainbow shared with her. She pressed herself closer to Rainbow and Rainbow's hug tighten around Twilight to keep her as close as possible.
When they finally broke apart, Luna still had the beautiful crown in her hooves and no winner to give it. She looked at the captain turned into a pillar of salz.
"In this case, Captain Stardust Chaser, step forward." Luna's loud voice startled the captain who was still not sure if he was in the wrong movie or not. Swallowing he stepped forward and bowed deeply, still staying on the ground.
"You lost the final yet the victor refused her prices. What do you propose should be done about this situation?" Luna awaited her captain's answer with stoic expression which he only looked at for a second before facing the ground again and clicking his answer, hasty and apologetic.
"Is that so? It's rare to see you modest, to refuse what had been refused already. Does nopony want to get a price today?" The rookie tried to raise a hoof just to get another slap to the backhead by the composed himself again veteran sergeant.
"Nopony? In this case, captain, you as second place will receive neither crown nor title of a duke nor land. I will bestow you the title 'Champion of Princess Luna' as I wish for you to be in the future not only my protector but also the embodiment of the virtues I want to be seen in Equestria for your people which are not arrogance and self-aggrandizement, but humility and caring in face of those less gifted than you in need of your protection. Do you believe you're cut for that job, Stardust Chaser?"
When he had heard about the title the batpony captain had just stared at the princess, not believing his luck. He knew he didn't deserved this title yet, that he had to earned it in the years to come, but he felt ready to be what his princess wanted him to be and what the pegasi who had beaten him already was. He bowed to princess Luna and clicked some answer which Twilight and Rainbow could guessed was something in-between "You're so gracious, your highness" and "I'll not disappoint you, princess".
"Now what about the kiss, captain? The offer still holds." Stardust blushed madly at Luna's tease and the crowds whistles. The rookie bit his lower lip to not give in to temptation, all the grander was his surprise to see his sergeant have his hoof up his muzzle and blew a shrill long whistle at their captain. The veteran thestral winked at him and the rookie gladly joined the choir. Stardust looked left and right, trying to find a way to properly refuse this kiss he didn't wanted under such circumstances. Then he flew up to grasped Luna's hoof and kissed her platinum horseshoe. Luna giggled at the shy behaviour of her guard's captain. She could get used to it.
"How unusual chivalrous of you, dear captain. In this case I allow you to have the first dance with me on the bonfire tonight." Stardust looked like he was about to cry for joy while everybody else cheered for the last time in the joust stadium.
"It's time!" shouted Larry and he was right as far away from another hill fireworks flew up in the sky and bloomed into wonderful flowers and figures causing many light up the night sky in all kinds of colors, sparkles and fire.
Closely entangled Twilight and Rainbow watched the fireworks with the rest of the townsfolk. Their heads and chest next to the other one, Rainbow's wing wrapped around Twilight, their hooves holding each other, feeling their breaths, heavy and tired of Rainbow, softly and swiftly of Twilight. This was true happiness to the both of them. And yet Rainbow could feel that there was still something in Twilight, that she hasn't managed to satisfy. A kind of longing she didn't understood but knew it was important to her. But she was too exhausted to worry about that today, she would ask her wife about it tomorrow.
The last firework went out in a golden shower of stars and the crowd slowly scattered, walking back to the stalls, home or to the place where the last part of the festival will be hold. Twilight and Rainbow followed Luna, Buffy and her parents to the square where a big tower of white bricks with many holes in between its four sides was build on. It was at least 8 ponies height and had had an extent of two carts. Both wondered what should feed the fire as Luna walked up to the stone tower and lit it on fire with a simple sparkle spell.
"Oh, magical firestones ever burning once lit, just like in the dragon lands. I had no idea there are ressource up here on the moon too." whispered Twilight surprised, knowing what a price each such brick would fetch on the market. Rainbow shushed her quietly since nobody else spoke a word either as the white fire climbed himself up higher and higher till the whole tower was on a blazing fire. Some moonies and thestrals stepped back from the hot flames.
Luna stayed where she was, her white mouse mask in her hoof, eyes on the tower. Neither Twilight nor Rainbow understood what the princess intended to do with it as she suddenly tossed the mask towards the burning tower through a hole in its large centre. Everybody and everypony expect the first two and right now very confused guests on the moon hooted as loud as their tired throats could do at Luna's successful throw.
Luna sauntered light as a feather over the ground to Twilight and Rainbow, looking very pleasant with herself. Both mares were none the wiser what just happened and they watched how Larry went with Jerome and Buffy up to the tower with their masks ready to been thrown as well. Compassionate the princess of the moon and stars explained the idea behind this strange festival part.
"I see neither of you understood why I tossed this nice mouse mask in the fire. You see, somebody had last year the idea that instead to gather the masks we could use them to throw into a special prepared firestone tower with the black masks being our fears and doubts and bad luck for the future and the white masks our happiness, hopes and good luck for the same. It's like a game. A fortune game to see whenever you will have bad or good luck in the next year or even both or neither at the same time. Watch our little family there."
Larry and Jerome threw their black masks at the same time and while Larry's throw went right through a hole Jerome's hit a brick next to the hole he had aimed for. It fell on the ground already caught fire after one touch. Applause for the parents and cheers for Buffy were heard as the moonie girl went up to a good throwing position. She threw her white fox mask as far and as strong as she could, but she ended up hitting the lower row of bricks on the ground. Very sadden by her luck burning away her ears dropped down far though Larry and Jerome quickly took her in their arms and hushed her, telling her that with Larry's throw everything was fine and that this doesn't mean she won't have any luck or success at all in the next year, just that she needed to work a bit harder but that success will surely come to her.
"If you don't hit the center of the tower, your luck will burn outside while your doubts and fear will come true depending on whatever color of the mask you threw at it but missed a hole," explained Luan further with a sympathetic look at little Buffy. "Missing has a purpose as well. So, It looks like the moonies wants you, our guests, to go next. Go on, step up and toi toi toi."
Luna pushed them on with her magic and Rainbow and Twilight stumbled towards the big tower on fire. With their masks in hooves they looked unsure to its huge size and its many small holes in the wall, just big enough for a mask to fly through without a problem if you aimed them well.
"Uhm, do you want your mask back, Rainbow?"
"Nah, I rather stay in charge of the good luck part, Twi. Make sure to burn our bad one to crisps."
Rainbow grinned encouraging to Twilight and stepped up first, took aim and threw it. The white bunny mask went right through a high hole on the right side of the wall. The crowd cheered loudly as hitting a higher hole was always seen as a good omen despite it being a newly invented tradition. But this game had been so much fun last year that buying a mask for yourself and your family members had become trendy for the festival this year and most likely all future nightmare liberation festivals as well.
Then it was Twilight's turn with her black wolf mask. Nervously she got closer to the tower, as close as she allowed herself with the heat coming at her. She looked which hole was more likely to be hit and decided for a hole on the left side on medium height. She took aim, tongue swiftly licking her cheery-sweet lips and threw the mask.
And it did hit the hole but the throw was not strong enough. The mask tipped as it took fire and fell on the ground. However, Twilight's just shrugged her shoulders while the audience sighed disappointed and applauded for this partly successful throw.
"Sorry, sweetheart. Looks like we gonna have a bit of trouble coming up next year." Twilight said with a smile, not upset for some weird reason but still happy as a foal on Hearts and Hooves day when it got the gifts. A misleaded throw wasn't able to spoiled her day anymore. Rainbow looked at it the same way.
"Doesn't matter, Twi. Given my throw we got perfect luck and all our dreams coming true as well. Besides as long as you are at my side and we have our friends with us we can face any trouble, no matter how big or how many fire-breathing heads it got. And a bit bad luck always spices up an adventure given the books of your mom. High wing, love!", said Rainbow holding up her right wing which Twilight hit with her own right one.
Both started to laugh as they went back to join the princess, Larry, Jerome and Buffy. They comforted Buffy with the others as well and accepted the gratulation of the others for a great throw and an almost good throw.
While more and more moonies and thestrals threw their black and white masks into or onto the tower, the big band from their dinner yesterday entered a stage and started to play a slow couple dance. Luna and Stardust were the first to start the dance while moonies and their families from all sides came and threw their masks to then join the dance around the bonfire burning the white and black masks as well. Rainbow hold out a hoof to Twilight, asking for a dance which the alicorn answered with a smile and bow.
Rainbow was the one who led Twilight on the dancefloor though she was always surprised how a badly solo dancer could dance so perfectly whenever it came to a couple or group dancing with presumed steps and moves. She noticed the strange look of her wife again, this time past her shoulder. A mix of melancholie and wonder and happiness. With a swirl she turned Twilight around and saw what her purple eyes had seen before. Larry gave Jerome a feather of his chest which Jerome accepted overjoyed.
"Heh, looks like somepony is about to introduce new traditions to the moonfolk. I wonder who that could have been", teased Rainbow playfully the obvious offender, Twilight stick out her tongue in response. Both pressed themselves closer, sharing a quick kiss as Twilight pulled Rainbow's head closer with her left hoof. After their muzzles drifted apart slowly, Rainbow looked with silent curiosity at Twilight, her cherry taste still on her own lips.
"What? Am I so beautiful I stole your voice with a kiss?"
"No, but close to it," smiled Rainbow at Twilight's haughty act. "I was just wondering what secret you are keeping from me. Is it still about the Wonderbolts or my title?"
"So you really did take the title just to be able to marry me? Even left your friends in the team."
"Of course I did, I don't even know which county I'm duke of. And I didn't left them, they are still my friends. We just will have different jobs from now on that's all. I hope the weather team still has a spot open for me. But that's not-"
"Windsoir, Rainbow."
"What?"
"The county you're duke of."
"The citystate where it's always misty and it rains so much? Dang, thank god it's just a title with no real responsibilities 'cause I wouldn't want to live there." Twilight snickered at Rainbow's indignation to have gotten such a 'lame' county despite it being one of the most productive ones in Equestria. Not that Rainbow cared much about such statistics.
Rainbow knew that Twilight had successfully evaded her earlier question and decided to went about it another way.
"What do you think about creating our own stunt team, Twilight?"
"Huh?" The alicorn in Rainbow's arms looked baffled at her wife with this idea. Not like she hasn't thought about that possibility herself when she tried to find a way to keep Rainbow's dream as sky acrobat alive. But she hasn't expected that the Wonderbolt-loving Rainbow Dash would honestly consider founding her own team. With their incomes it would be no problem to finance a team of professionals as well as build a school to teach newcomers who wants to join them. All that needed was to calculate the costs, managing the teachers and flyers and tours and make sure that the ponies in Equestria will be interested to watch their shows which Rainbow's name will be a guarantee to caught their interest and it would boost the competition in a entertainment niche which the Wonderbolts had filled out and got fat in for the last couple hundred years.
So Celestia would surely allow their team to exist, same with their school. All they need was land where Twilight and her title could come into. Maybe Ponyville would be ready to sell some land if she asked the mayor if they got any free plots. But before Twilight could think deeper and further in her plans for Rainbow Dash's own stunt team, with her as its manager, said pegasi took her back to the present.
"I mean, like the Twilightdashes or something like that. What's your opinion about that?"
"Heh? Oh! I-I think 'Lightdashes' sounds more awesome. What do you think, Rainbow?" Twilight smilied widely, trying to cover up that she hasn't listened to Rainbow's explanations. Explanations she had already written and collected weeks ago in a drawer in her writing office in the library.
"I think somepony seemed to have put more thought into this than I had till now. Let's see what the future brings. Right now I can't even get my wife to listen nor open up to me, how can I lead a team of young and hopeful flyers?", sighed Rainbow quickly noticing the strange look returning in Twi's eyes. Hurt, which hurted Rainbow as well, but she wanted answers if there was a way for her to help her love with whatever troubled her. Thoughtfully, which made Rainbow hopeful she'll consider telling her. A bit of worry and uncertainty which made Rainbow wonder what problem it could be that her wife didn't came straight to her. But most important of all, it was determined as well. I'm starting to sound like a headshrinker, thought Rainbow chuckling about herself and her observation of Twilight's emotions through her eyes.
"I'll tell you tomorrow once we're alone," came the fully determined answer of Twilight. There was nothing else besides it, just an assurance that everything will go well and a trust that Rainbow will understand her. Twilight knew, now was the right time to come clean with her wife and to be honest with her. Tomorrow, when they weren't surrounded by thousands of other people as this was something Twilight wanted to speak about only in privacy.
Rainbow beamed and embraced Twilight into a bear hug which Twilight responded with even greater strength thanks to her alicorn body.
"Okay, as long as you let me know what's eating you, love."
"Sure thing. Thank you for being such a sweetheart and wait all this time. When did you notice that something was amiss with me?"
"During our wedding when you talked with Pinkie. I'm not sure if you had those looks before but back then I already had a feeling that there was something important which was eating you. And then I have seen those looks the past days here and then again and again."
"Really? I'm so transparent?" asked Twilight surprised at how open of a book she was to Rainbow.
Her wife laughed and took her hoof to lead her into another much quicker couple dance the band started to play. The rest of the night spent Twilight and Rainbow partying with everybody and everypony of the moonies and thestrals. Larry brought Buffy to bed before he returned for the various bonfire dances which Twilight and Rainbow enjoyed very much. The moonfolk had a fun time when the band played a quick song for the solo dancer and the princess of magic joined them in her unique style. But that didn't bothered Twilight at all as she had lots of fun herself and it gave her a good sweat to match Rainbow's from the harsh joust tournament. Liquor and food was brought by Luna for everyone to ate and get drunk to their heart's contents resulting in many many songs sung this night with hoarse and babbling voices.
Much later in the night, when the first sunrays crawled through the craters and hills towards the city, Twilight and Rainbow left the party while Luna was still partying like crazy with the moonies and thestrals. In a couple hours all of them would wake up with a huge hangover.
They returned to their hotel, beaten by walking, dancing and staying up all day and half of the night. And since the joust had taken so much of Rainbow's strength Twilight had to carry the half-sleeping pegasus up the stairs. In their soundproof room away from the noises of the festival still going on, Rainbow was tossed on the bed and Twilight pulled off her soaked with sweat Yukata and laid next to her sweaty smelling darling. Tiredly Rainbow pulled her into a hug and Twilight snuggled closer to her. Then she heard a throaty whisper above her head.
"If you could chose between me and your title what would you take?"
"You!" said Twilight without a second hesitation, squeezing Rainbow warm body closer to her chest.
"And if you could chose between me and a book?"
"What kind of book?"
Rainbow roared with laughter ending in dry coughing. to which Twilight snickered and levitated two cups of water on the table. But before she could give her lover some water, she heard a loud snoring and saw Rainbow sleeping soundly at her side. Twilight took a quick sip of water, raised her head for a good-night kiss on Rainbow's forehead and joined her partner in the sleep. Soon she dropped off into the dreamlands with white and black masks, knights in armor and large towers on fire.
And in all that was her Rainbow, the purple feather on her chest with a confident smile on her face and understanding in her eyes. She danced with Twilight over a field of flowers and white papers, always breathing the same sentence in her ears:
"Everything gonna be just fine, love."
And Twilight hugged Rainbow a bit stronger in her sleep, happily smiling.
Twilight and Rainbow were woken up by loud knocking on the door. Rainbow grumbled sullen and put a big pillow on her head to muffle the annoying noise which kept her away from dreaming. It was such an awesome dream about being married to a dozen Twilights who all tended to her every need before she even thought about them. Giggling she pulled the blanket closer to her as the Twilights showed up in different maid uniforms before her inner eye.
There while the real Twilight Sparkle started to wake up as the warmth of the blanket had been revoked from her body and the coolness of the room made her shiver. She groaned distressed as another long sequence of knocks scattered her dream into the winds. A dream she remembered only fuzzy images of as she slowly opened her eyes. Twilight stretched her limbs to speed up the process to wake up.
Immediately Twilight felt that she had laid badly on one of her wings. When she looked for the reason for it, she saw Rainbow still sleeping on it, misusing it as second blanket. Twilight would have been annoyed if the slightly fidgeting wings and twitching legs of her wife weren't such a cute sight to behold.
Softly she pulled her wing out under the mopey grinning pegasus. Twilight wondered what kind of happy dream she must had, before a third loud knock hurried her to the door. A widely smiling Jerome with a tablet of mugs and coffee on his sturdy back greeted her. He looked as somber and fit as ever.
"Good morning, Twilight. Isn't this a most wonderful day?" Jerome bid her a good morning and squeezed past her into the room. A loud snore and nasty giggle from a sleeping Rainbow and a big yawning from a half-awoken Twilight greeted him back while he put the tablet on a desk.
"Mooooraaaahning, Jerome. What's the time?"
"Oh, roughly at half past two at the morning." Jerome answered, walking to the shutter while Twilight moved in-between a state of sleepwalking and common walking towards the desk and poured herself some coffee. However the absurdity of his answer let her halt, the coffee pot still pouring into her already to the brim filled mug.
"What? You wake us up at this Celestia sleeping hour and say it's a good morning?" asked Twilight, confused as she was sure she and Rainbow had returned to their room around five or six in the morning. Had they slept a whole day through of their honeymoon?
Then she noticed that she had poured out almost all of the coffee pot's content in her mental absentness. The tablet had become a small dark-brown sea with two white islands in it. Quickly she put the pot away; her magic took the white island with the coffee volcano eruption in it and cleaned it with a tissue. Suddenly blazing sunlight blinded her, quickly she raised a hoof and wing to cover her blood-shot eyes from the white needle stabs of her mentor's fireball in the sky.
"Of course," said Jerome while he raised another shutter, making Rainbow toss in her sleep to avoid the merciless wake-up kisses of the sun to stay a little longer with the dreamily Twilight maids. Jerome raised the last shutter and turned to Twilight who looked at her mug of coffee as if it was a gift of Celestia. "I let you sleep the entire morning and miss breakfast but that's because I thought it would be nice- ah! Oh, right, the time difference. For you and Rainbow it's not half past midnight but uhm, a couple hours more..." Jerome spoke slower and slower as he tried to remember what time in Equestria it would be for his guests.
Twilight took a deep sip of her coffee. It tasted really good.
"Around half past noon," Twilight calculated, head much clearer thanks to the coffee reviving her spirits. "Sorry, Jerome. Rainbow and I still have to get used to the moon's time zone. Last time we were here everything had been dark and now we see our first real day in sunlight on the moon. 2 weeks of continuously sunshine, how can you sleep like that?"
Jerome chuckled, "We just hold a siesta every few hours, but thankfully we don't need as much sleep as you ponies do. I prefer the steadiness of the dark phase and light phase of our days up here, I couldn't imagine to have to live where every few hours the sun does up and down like a crazy Ping-Pong ball. Or that I have to go sleep whenever it gets dark. But looks like our sleepyhead here would make the day to the night and just sleep through it."
Twilight took another couple sips of her coffee.
"Rainbow always prefers to sleep in. Not counting all the naps she takes whenever she finds a good napping place. She's like a cat in that regard." Jerome laughed at her comparison. Then he grabbed the blanket with his paws.
"Then we gotta give our kitty cat some help to get on all fours." With one strong pull Jerome took the blanket away from the wrapped in Rainbow. The pegasi turned and tossed but remained in the bed and in her dream world with her many Twilights. Yet the dream maids behaved differently than before. When they had given her massages, food and drinks and kisses whenever she wanted them while sitting in a comfy sofa, they now pulled her out of it, put a hat on her head, a tie around her neck and a suitcase on her wing. And before Rainbow was aware what's happening, the maids pushed her outta the door of her dreamily paradise, waving happily goodbye.
'No, I don't wanna go~' Rainbow protruded her right foreleg to get a hold of that closing door, when it touched the doorknob she felt a soft and fuzzy contact on her hoof. With blinking eyes to filter the bright light in the room Rainbow woke up, checking what she was touching. She looked into a smiling purple face which left cheek was caressed by her hoof.
"Good morning, sweetheart. Had a nice dream?" breathed Twilight with a kiss on her hoof, eyes open half-lid like the maids in her dream whenever they were about to give Rainbow a kiss.
"Where's your uniform?" blurted Rainbow out, brain still in the makings of operating normally. Twilight blinked surprised at that question.
"What uniform? Do you mean my yukata?" Twilight asked, looking around for it and seeing a hastily thrown away bundle of her expensive dress which Jerome was about to fold neatly for transportation.
"Uh, yeah," confirmed Rainbow as she noticed she wasn't in a treehouse but a luxury suit of armor and glass. Then she smelled a great scent. "Is that coffee? Where's my coffee?"
Twilight shook the pot carefully to measure its content before she told her wife about her findings. "Either you drink the one left in the tablet or you can have some of my mug." Rainbow put her head atilt, before she grabbed Twilight's mug out of her magical grasp and emptied it in one go.
"Puwah, now I'm awake!"
"That's good to hear, then you girls can get ready. We will go out for eating today," Jerome said while putting Twilight's dress on his back.
"And where?" asked Rainbow
"In a restaurant?" guessed Twilight.
"No, since it's so late in the day for you, I allowed myself to let my staff prepare a brunch on the pavilion near the beach."
"The beach?" both ponies asked, surprise and excitement audible in their voices.
"Of course. The sooner you're ready the sooner you can go see it yourselves." Jerome left the room quickly enough to avoid a collision with two mares racing to the bathroom, shampoo and hairbrush readied in hooves and magic grasp.
The ride to the sea outside the city was short and comfy thanks to the thestrals speed and luxury cushions in the silver and much simpler looking than the one they traveled to the moon cart. After surpassing a hill, Twilight and Rainbow could see a sparkling flat going on and on as far as they could see: The Moon-sea.
"Awesome! Twi, we can go to the beach! On the moon! The others never gonna believe us!"
"I had no idea there was so much water up here. Last time all we saw were stones, fog and some plants, but now it looks more and more like back home."
"It is a fairly new piece of our home to be honest. Only two weeks old." explained Jerome.
"All that got made in two weeks? Whoa..."
"He means this was done roughly a year ago, Rainbow."
"No, I really did mean two weeks in earth days," Jerome rectified his explanation. "Larry could explain the nature spells of Princess Luna better than I could."
"Speaking of him, where is your hubby?" Rainbow's minimization of Larry made the moonie in the driver seat grin.
"He's with Princess Luna, trying to wake her up and to get her back to business. There's still the work of yesterday left and other papers which need to be read and signed. The two will swim in a different sea than us."
Twilight's and Rainbow's grins and giggles were interrupted with their stomachs growling in choir. Jerome laughed and stopped the cart, a long and wide beach with white sand before darkish-blue waves greeted them and on a tiny hill before it was a pavilion build with a table and seats and a couple hotel employee serving the dishes. One of them were easily identifiable for the guests from earth.
"Hey Buffy!"
"Good morning, Buffy!" The moonie child turned to their cries for attention and waved back, spilling some juice in her talon on herself and the ground. They watched an upset Buffy reach quickly for a towel to clean up her mess, not looking what towel she was grabbing on. Twilight and Rainbow cringed as they heard plates break and food splatter on the ground. A distressed groan was heard of the other staff members.
"Please excuse me!" Jerome sped to the pavilion to get everything under control with Twilight and Rainbow in guide rope, both ready to soothe Buffy about her little mistake.
Turned out it wasn't such a big deal after all. There were still more than enough food for an entire family to get fed on and the couple enjoyed a great, vast and tasty brunch with Jerome and Buffy. The other staff members thanked for the invitation but they rather wanted to go hold a nap on the sunny beach or play in the cool water. Still Buffy felt down about her accident and wasting some of her daddy's food despite him telling her that this wasn't a big deal. Twilight then pulled the downcast child into her lap and told her during brunch about the lessons she had learned not to make an elephant out of every fly. Buffy was especially interested what an elephant is in that explanation.
She stayed in Twilight's forelegs till everybody had finished their meals. Her mood improved as Twilight showed her some of her magic tricks. Every time the child showed happiness at one of her magical displays or her talks about animals on earth Twilight fondled Buffy, understanding more and more why Fluttershy had liked this moonie so much.
Rainbow watched her wife during her conversation with Jerome about sporty activities on the beach, she noticed this strange look in her eyes though this time it felt more like an aura surrounding her body than just her face. Rainbow felt like she was close to understand the reason why Twilight looked so differently today, but then Jerome told her that she could drive waterski here with an otter moonie as motorboat and she forgot about it a second later.
Said otter reminded the two of them of the sea serpent Steven Magnat as he too had an elegant and orange moustache. As a matter of prudence the hotel staff had prepared everything while they were still asleep. Rainbow was on fire to try out some speed on the water and tricks to impress everyone and the growing audience of moonie and thestrals families coming to the beach to enjoy the sunrays of their first hour.
Twilight rather wanted to sun herself on the beach and wait till the food had settled before she gets into the water. With a fruit cocktail and sunglasses and a towel on the white warming sand beneath her, she watched Rainbow performing stunts on every wave high enough for her to get airborne.
Jerome was busy to put some lotion on Buffy against the blazing sun. Twilight felt a weird twinge in her chest observing this family display. Around her was the normal sight of families eating, playing and bathing with their children and friends, a sight she was used too from Ponyville and Equestria yet it made her feel lonely again. She looked up to the shy, seeing the blue planet she and Rainbow had traveled from. It was a different sight than the white moon one she was used to. Yet it was even more beautiful as she knew the many ponies and dragon who she all loved very much would await her and Rainbow's return. 'Feeling lonely is so silly of me. I should just relax and think how to tell Rainbow what I worry about.' A wet cool body jumped unexpected onto her back, she squeaked at the sudden coldness her warmed up coat endured as blue feathers and fur embraced her.
"Rainbow! Dry yourself, you're cold!"
"Eh, my cute princess doesn't want to get wet?" Rainbow purred mischievously.
"No, I don't and I don't like the look you got on your-, hey! Why are your carrying me? Where-, no! Rainbow, no, the water's cold and I-, wait wait waaaaaait!"
But Twilight pleas were unheard by Rainbow, who tossed her wife into the waves. Snorting and coughing Twilight emerged through the surface, registering in a side of her mind that the water of this small ocean tasted sweet, not salty. But the main part of herself was busy throwing daggers at Rainbow with her glares which didn't touch Rainbow at all.
"You laid on your lazy cute butt long enough, love. Time to get moving." Rainbow said and splatted some water at the purple pony in the water. Twilight narrowed her eyes and raised a huge fluid ball out of the water behind her. Rainbow watched the rising water ball with growing uneasiness. Her water tossing with her hooves was nothing against this mother of all water bombs. She tried to apply on Twilight's sense for fairness and mercy.
"Twi, that's chea-" Then the ball hit her full front and she laid on the wet sand, her body forming an sandangel in it.
"Everything's fair in love and war, sweetheart. Especially in water battle!" With a grin and war cry, Rainbow answered Twilight's challenge and jumped her in the water. The next hour they played together with Jerome, Buffy and other children who had joined their water battle. It came to a temporary end as Larry arrived at the beach, waving to them. Buffy run out of the water to jump into her feathery dad's arms who didn't minded to get a little wet to embrace his daughter.
Twilight and Rainbow left the water too as they had been in there long enough and started to feel tired, fighting water wars with so many children. The exercise had done them good though as both beamed happily while they walked wing in wing towards Larry who sat Buffy down and greeted them.
"Looks like you had a nice time so far. Is everything to your liking?"
"And awesome, gotta take a nap though to refresh my energy level." Rainbow laid down on the towel, letting the sun dry her fur and feathers. Larry sat down on another towel with Twilight next to him, while Buffy run back to help her other daddy fighting a hopeless battle against the moonie and thestrals children in the ocean.
"It's wonderful here, Larry. But why didn't Luna come with you?"
"Princess Luna is still working on the papers. She had sent me ahead and told me to spend more time with my family on those first hour sunrays. And I intend to take her word and relax as much as I can." Larry laid down on his towel. When he was about to put sunglasses on his beak, he noticed the intense stare of Twilight on him. Larry knew his siesta had to wait a little while longer if he wants to satisfy his guest's unspoken need.
"So, I guess you are curious about how this beach and water came to be, right?" Larry spoke Twilight's question out. She nodded, excited to hear how an ocean came be on the moon. Rainbow groaned quietly, fearing another scientific boring conversation when she tried her version of a moon siesta. They ignored her little protest though and Larry started to explain how Luna created this future hotspot for future moon guests.
"Princess Luna wanted us to become a great vacation place for the ponies in Equestria so that they could see themselves what good guys we moonies and thestrals are. The blackstone mountains on earth are not a place many ponies would go to voluntary and here on the moon we didn't had much that would justify to travel to the moon for a few day’s vacation. So she worked together with us to create a town which ponies would love to spend time in. She researched what was "in" for Equestrians and we converted her results up here. The pools, massage rooms and such in the hotel should make the guests feel like they are in good hooves, but we also got restaurants and theatres in the town and another casino as big as the one in Los Pegasus. We're thinking about other ideas as well, like sun driving sail carts in the ebene for racing or hikes on the mountains and caverns of the moon.
But it wasn't enough yet for Princess Luna's plan. She wanted this to become the number one vacation choice of Equestria and the nations around it. So she laid out her plan to make this a reality."
"The ocean."
"Yes, this ocean. Small in comparison to the ones on earth, but it's the biggest and sole ocean we got up here. A beach miles-long with white sand and beautiful tiny stones in all colors and forms for little children to collect and decorate their sand castles with them." Larry took a teal stone into his hand, half the size of one of his talons, for Twilight to see. "A sea to bathe and play in with two weeks uninterrupted sunshine, that's something nobody on earth can competent with. And in the two dark weeks we got our indoor entertainment as well as other activities you can do during the full darkness like stargazing for adults or hunting Glowflies for children. You two are not only our first guests but also our final rehearsal if we can handle guests and their demands or not. But if all or even only half of our guests are like you, I believe we will have no problems to give each of them a great time here."
A volley ball out of nowhere hit Larry's stone out of his hand and landed on Rainbow's head. The disgruntled pegasi raised, ball in hoof to see who was the offender of her interrupted nap she was about to have. Her grim expression lit up as a female thestral came up to their place with apologetic clicks and wing signs.
"Ah, you're the batpony who wiped the floor with my butt in my first round!" Rainbow's shout out made the purple-maned guard grin, she looked much different without her armor and helmet on. Her hair fell in wavy lengths onto her shoulders and the soft curves of her body were easier to see. 'Still holds no candle against Twilight.' Rainbow silently ranked her into her hotness list below her number one girl.
"She's called Nightflower and prefers to be called a thestral." Larry explained but Nightflower interrupted him with a few clicks of hers and a pointer to the theastral group she was with. Twilight looked past her and saw three more guards from yesterday's tournament, the rookie, the veteran and the thestral who had to give up in his match against Rainbow due injury.
´"Apparently she doesn't mind to be called a batpony, but she would like you to call her by her name. And she asks you if you want to join their beach volley match 'because they're missing a player for obvious reason."
"Oh yeah, I'm in! Come on, sister! Let's show those boys how beach volleyball gets played for real!"
Both ponies flew away towards the volleyball-field, one of six in a row. Twilight could imagine hundreds if not thousands of ponies on this huge beach who all could either swim, play ball, drive waterski or collect beautiful stones or build sandcastles. This plan of Luna's was a really good one. For certain, everypony who had been here will have a better opinion of the moonies and thestrals and thus of Luna who was their princess as well as of the ponies of Equestria. Yet there was still a part missing as her curiosity pointed out in her mind.
"And how did this ocean came to existence thanks to Luna?" reminded Twilight Larry after the interruption about the explanation he had promised her.
"Oh right, she used some fancy spells to melt the ice on and in the moon, said water then filled this gigantic crater, the second biggest on the moon by the way the biggest is on the other side of the moon, And in the past weeks the waves washed up this white sand and created this beautiful beach. If you need a more scientific explanation about what spells she used, you need to wait for Princess Luna tor return from her duty."
While Twilight was thinking about what she had heard, Larry finally wanted to put on his sunglasses and enjoy a nice and refreshing siesta. Then he noticed something odd. There was no sun which blinded him and kept him from sleeping. He opened his eyes and saw a big white fluffy something a couple hundred metres above him.
"What's that?"
"It's a cloud. Just like on earth. You know, when sunlight dissipate water into gas and said gas floats up into the cooler sky regions and there solidifies into clouds which then will later rain down their collected water. A normal physical circle happening in areas where no pegasus magic."
"But there had never been clouds here. A lot of fog, especially at night, but no clouds."
"Is that so? Must be because of the new ocean and the sun shining on it. Given how much smaller the moon is compared to the earth, the cooler regions of the sky lay much closer to the ground as well which explains why it formed so quickly after a few hours of sunshine." Other moonies looked around confused while the thestrals didn't paid it much mind. Rainbow's loud cheer was heard as she scored another point right between the rookie's legs which got him a slap on his back head by his veteran teammate.
"Will they disappear? The plan was to have sunshine 354 hours long, not for it to be cloudy." Larry was worried, this had not been in Luna's plan and surely wasn't in her intention as well. Twilight patted reassuring the upset moonie mayor on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, wild clouds usually either disappear on their own or will rain or snow or hail depending on temperature and content in the air. But that goes for uncontrolled wild clouds and we're lucky to have the best weather pony of Ponyville here. Rainbow Dash! Can you get us some more sunlight please?" Rainbow turned to her wife and looked up to check on the size of the cloud and the new smaller ones forming next to it.
"Sure thing, Twi!"
Rainbow talked to the thestrals and they agreed to help her to get back to the game quicker. Even the injured guard wanted to help out but Nightflower didn't wanted to hear anything like that from her boyfriend and told him harshly to sit on his bandaged butt and keep an eye on their ball. Twilight snickered at the dejected look of the guard and watched Rainbow and the thestrals pick up the clouds and push them away over an empty ebene behind the beach where they could rain or dissolve for all they liked. Larry watched this performance with growing interest.
"I didn't knew that the thestrals could still interact with the weather like normal pegasi."
"Celestia only changed their bodies, but never took their inborn magic. Guess if this should stay a cloudless beach you're gonna need a thestrals weather team who takes care that it's always sunny here." Rainbow kicked away the last cloud, waving to Twilight that everything was done.
"See?" Twilight turned to Larry. "Everything is just fin-" A loud rumbling sound interrupted her speech and seconds later tremors on the ground shook Twilight and everybody else through and made her almost bite her own tongue. Rainbow looked from the sky with shock how the pavillion moved so far left and right that its beams gave in and broke under the roof weight, which buried the leftover food under it. Shocked sounds of the thestrals guards flying besides her made her look towards the town where the round and many stories high houses shook and some started to break down on their unstable weight.
As quickly as the earthquake had come, it was gone. Rainbow flew down to her wife while the veteran guard told the others to fly to palace and city to check on their princess and their citizens.
"Twilight! Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine," replied Twilight jarred but composed unlike Larry and the other moonies and thestrals around them. They either laid on the ground shivering or ran around confused or cried in shock. Twilight knew something was wrong. She turned to the paralysed Larry who stared ahead with open beak and wide eyes.
"Larry! Do earthquakes happen often here?!" Twilight asked with urgency while Rainbow flew to Jerome, Buffy and the kids to check on them.
Then he blinked as if he realised that he wasn't dreaming and had been asked a question, a very confusing question for the moonie.
"E-earthquake?"
Twilight breathed in sharply. 'Not good. This reaction is not good at all.' Her mind was working as to what the reasons could be that something happened which had never happened before. But she already knew the reason behind this catastrophe. A loud voice came from the city, Luna's voice slightly distorted as if spoken through dozens megaphones: A Message.
"Please remain calm! We just witnessed an earthquake! Please remain calm and follow your thestral officer to safety! If anybody needs help call for the guard! I will be soon with you! Please remain calm!" Then it repeated itself, a record, given the urgency and haste it was spoken just taken moments ago. Larry looked unsure what to do, his father side told him to go look after his family, but his mayor one wanted to check on the citizen first who had been hit harder by the earthquake than his husband and kid who were safe in the water. Twilight was in the same dilemma, not sure if she should fly into the city and help where she could or teleport into her room first and get the emergency suitcase out with its spells, scrolls and books first and be able to help better.
Then a cry stopped their inner battle.
"Twilight!"
"Larry, the water's gone! The water went away!"
Both looked to the sea and indeed, the water flowed away through the legs of Rainbow and everybody else in the water. The kids and some adults looked confused, as it quickly went further and further away, leaving behind sand and stones. Some of them followed the water out of curiosity and Larry too walked towards the sea, confused what was happening.
"Stop!" Twilight's royal voice made everybody halt and look at her, the entire beach's attention was on her. "Everybody get away from the ocean on to the hills! Rainbow, I’ll go grab the case, do what you can to help!" And with that Twilight Sparkle was gone in a purple flash.
Rainbow looked from where Twilight just vanished to where the water which was still running away now several hundred metres ahead of them. She knew what this meant.
"Jerome! Get the kids and everybody else out of the ocean! We need to go on higher ground!" Jerome jerked, but quickly grabbed Buffy and told the kids to follow him while their family members ran to pick them up out of the gone ocean. Rainbow flew to Larry and the injured Guard who had walked up to them.
"Get everyone away from here and warn the townspeople! A tsunami is coming! A huge wave which will bury everything under it! Larry, we need to do something!" Rainbow's urgent cry snapped Larry out of his confused stance. If his people were in danger, he would do everything to help them. He pointed at the injured guard.
"You, fly into the city and warn Princess Luna and everybody else!" The guard nodded and flew into the city as fast as possible. "Jerome, get your staff members to organize a route to the nearest hill! Make sure it's not a small one!" Jerome waved to the other moonies of the hotel and talked to the families with their children, pointing at a hill before the city, big enough to withstand a wave. Though admittedly, Jerome had no clue how big said wave will be. "And you Rainbow Dash, please take some thestrals and get those out of the beach who can't walk for whatever reason!"
"You got it, boss! And what will you do?"
"I have to go into the city and organize the evacuation, Luna will need help to save as many as possible." Larry started to run towards the city and Rainbow flew up to some thestrals, her years as weather pony manager and Wonderbolt team leader came to fruition as she organized dozens of thestrals to make teams to fly out children and elderly towards the hill. In a minute the beach was deserted of people and Rainbow flew back to check if everybody was really gone as a purple flash appeared on the ground.
Twilight Sparkle was back, suitcase in hoof. She threw the suitcase on the ground and opened it to search its contents for what could save this situation.
"Twilight!" Rainbow cried as she flew down to her wife, embracing her swiftly.
"Rainbow? Why are you still here? No, don't answer, no time." Twilight rummaged through the suitcase again, throwing books and scrolls out of it in her frequent search. Rainbow stepped back to avoid the flying objects.
"What are you doing here, Twi?" She already had an expectation, but hoped it to be wrong.
"I gonna stop the tsunami!" Rainbow cringed, she had expected that answer. She looked towards the sea and saw the watery horizon moving, a huge wave was coming their way, gaining altitude with every passing second.
‘Next time I’ll throw the black mask...’
"Horse apples...Twi, we got a problem coming full speed!"
"I know, Dash, I know!"
Dash went closer to Twilight, in case she needed to grab her and fly her out against her will as she noticed the two feathers on Twilight's neck, blue and purple. Rainbow could imagine how her wife had looked through their room quickly for the case and how her look fell on their wedding feathers. Her expression as she considered for half a second to take them or not to take them and put them around her neck, just in case. 'In case she faces this wave alone and fails to stop it, she wanted something from me with her'
"I can't find it, I can't find it, I can't..." Rainbow grabbed Twilights face and hold her upwards, giving her a quick kiss to the lips to stop her rambling. She knew that valuable seconds were passing as she didn't said anything and just looked intensely at Twilight, telling in one look how much she loved and trusted her. That she knew Twilight would not leave this place if there was a chance, however tiny it was, to save the lives of thousands of people. And most importantly, that she would stay with her and see this through to the end no matter what it will be.
'I promised myself to never let this feeling stop you bring to me. I can't leave you here alone.'
'I feel so blessed to have you at my side. Thanks for staying with me.'
Twilight swallowed and went back to the suitcase just for her face to light up in joy.
"There it is!" She picked a green book out of the case and skimmed through it, searching for the spell to create a wonder. Rainbow breathed relieved, everything would end well once her smart wifey found the spell to save the day. Then she looked to the sea and saw water.
"Twilight..."
Water.
"No, nope, no, not it, no..."
Lots of water.
"Twilight?"
A wall of water coming at them with the speed of a train and the sound of rolling thunder.
"Got it!"
A mountain of water, growing higher and higher, coming closer and closer; an unstoppable force of nature, greedy to devour everything on the land and leave its mark for every survivor to remember for the ages.
"Twilight!"
It was directly before them. Twilight opened her eyes and everything happened in a second. She saw water, only water, her entire world was water. Her horn, ablaze in her magical fire, seemed tiny and helpless against those masses of tense water, darkening the sky as its height even covered the sun. She felt Rainbow Dash in a tight embrace around her upper body, her face pressed into her neck, trembling.
She cast her spell.
Rainbow Dash trembled, before she had closed her eyes, death was metres away from her to crush them into a wet grave and now everything was silent. Carefully she opened her eyes and raised her head.
The first she saw was the beautiful face of her wife, eyes narrowed, horn glowing and mouth breathing heavily. Twilight's beauty was even grander to Rainbow now that she had faced death so directly, so shortly before. She moved her view away from Twilight to the ocean.
A few centimetres before her blue muzzle was ice. Rainbow blinked and looked up, seeing a wall, dozen metres high, at least hundred metre in total, over them. The wave dwarfed them, being bigger than the hotel or stadium they had seen. It's tide was already over them, like the maw of an ancient leviathan, its ice tips sparkling like translucent teeths.
Rainbow Dash gulped hard. It was hard to believe Twilight had been able to stop such a monster. And when she looked left and right, she had stopped all of the wave's incoming strength, turned into an unmoving ice block. Twilight fell on her haunches, tears fallen from her eyes as she sobbed quietly. Rainbow felt the alicorn's body shiver and her own still trembled, but she squeezed Twilight as strongly as she could against her chest, glad to be alive, overjoyed that she was alive. The two ponies hugged each other, happy to feel the other's warmth, to be able to still feel it. Their touches and strokes comforted each other and let the icy fear inside them disappear, replaced with affectionate feelings giving them back the strength they had shown in face of such enormous danger.
"I almost peed myself" confessed Twilight through her sobs.
"I think I left out a few drops" joked Rainbow Dash, not checking if she said the truth.
If it was true she’d rather not know it. Twilight snorted, a wonderful sound in Rainbow's ears who snickered in delight with her. Twilight kissed Rainbow. Just like that while Rainbow was still snickering. Her lips and tongue silenced her laughter and replaced it with blissful moans as Rainbow put her hooves around Twilight's neck to let the kiss last longer. Heavy breathing, this time not because they had almost died, they broke apart slowly. With a relieved sigh Rainbow touched the feathers on Twilight's chest.
"Can't believe you even thought about taking our wedding feathers."
"I didn't know if you were still there so-"
"I know. I would have done the same."
Smiling Twilight took the purple feather on a chain and put it around Rainbow's neck who was about to cry so happy was she, knowing what she meant to Twilight and she to her. Their bodies met into another hug and they snuggled for as long as they could. Soon they would have to face what had happened around them, till then they wanted to enjoy the happy world they created for each other with their presence.
"Twilight! Rainbow!" Both ponies turned towards the city where Luna flew by, together with Stardust Chaser, Nightflower and some thestrals guards. Jerome and the moonies from the hill, which would have been overflowed by the wave
"I can't believe this." Luna whispered, shocked at the size of the ice incarnated catastrophe of death and destruction before her eyes. "There had never been an earth-, I mean, moonquake on the moon, much less a tsunami."
"It's not important anymore," interrupted an exhausted Twilight the Princess of the Night.
"We need to get to the city and help everybody we can find in the rubble. Please cast a spell to cloud this ice in shadows, then we don't have to worry about the sun melting it." Waterdrops landed on Luna's snout and she cast the requested spell and shrouded the sea, the number one attraction place for her plans, into darkness.
Princess Luna returned with Twilight, Rainbow and the other thestrals and moonies to the city which had taken quite some damage. Moonies and thestrals were on the streets, children searched for their parents and guards were busy to bring the wounded to the hospital while everyone else searched for survivors in the rubble of what had once been colorful houses. Jerome carried Buffy on his back as well as Twilight's emergency suitcase with all it helpful spells and tips in cases of earthquakes and tsunamis. He addressed Luna anxiously.
"Princess, where's Larry? Have you seen him? He went into the city to help you."
"And he found me, Jerome. Be at ease, he remained in the city helping his people." Luna said much to Jerome’s relief. Twilight was propped by Rainbow as her legs still felt weak from the spell. She had used more power into this ice-spell than she had intended to. She wasn't sure if it was done because of her fear of death or because she had the pony of her life at her side, holding her till the last second.
She sighed and went away from Rainbow who was reluctant, but let her walk on her own.
"Jerome, give me the suitcase please." Twilight requested of the moonie.
Jerome put the case on the ground and opened it. Twilight took a couple books and scrolls and gave them Luna for they would be more useful to her than to Twilight in her exhausted state.
"Those are medical books and spell scrolls which can help to strengthen the build of buildings so that they won't break in an aftershock as well as to heal injuries and fasten the healing process. Your power is needed in the hospital. We can handle things in the city ourselves with your captain as leader."
Luna nodded, her face bearing no emotion despite Twilight and Rainbow knowing how deeply it must have hit her to see her people hurt and the town she build for their future half in ruins. She ordered the captain to listen to their advice and Jerome to bring the families and everyone who lost his house to the hotel, the most sturdy building in the town which hasn't taken any damage of the moonquake.
After Luna flew to the hospital to help the doctors and heal the many injured, Twilight and Rainbow worked out with Stardust an organisation to quickly find anyone caught in the rubble. Twilight taught the teams what rules they had to keep in mind when searching for survivors, finding them and getting them out of their predicament. Rainbow lead the thestrals ambulance teams to fly between the hospital and the destroyed places swiftly and safely. Stardust organised mixed teams of his guards with moonie civilists to cover a huge ground of the city. He and his officers themselves went into the most dangerous place to find survivors. Nobody had seen Larry who had been missing after Luna had gone to the beach, hoping to stop or slow down the giant wave somehow.
After a couple hours Jerome returned with his staff members, bringing food, drinks and towels for the workers and survivor searchers. He told that the rooms were filled with the ones who had lost their home or were scared to return to their house in fear of it breaking down. He also brought good news from the hospital, a few moonies which life had hung between life and death were out of danger thanks to their princess and her spells. This news raised the mood of the workers and they cheered for their kind princess who helped them in their time of need. Nobody had the heart to tell him of Larry being missed.
In the next hours, Twilight and Rainbow followed a seemingly neverending circle of looking through the places where once houses stood, shout if somebody needs help, get a moonie with a good nose to sniff for survivors too weak or hurt to cry for help and then dig the buried people carefully. They lost count how many moonies and thestrals they took out of the rubble, how many were taken to the hospital for treatment or to the hotel for resting. When Jerome came with another load of food and drinks, this time with much coffee, the two ponies weren't sure if it was dinnertime or still noon or already in the morning of the next day on earth. They were tired and sore but neither thought about going for a rest if they still had the strength to help the moonies and thestrals in their effort to save the lives of their folks.
This time Jerome stayed with the search time and used his nose to sniff out buried people. Just half an hour later, he smelled a familiar scent in another destroyed place.
"Larry! Larry lies here!" His shout that he had found the mayor, buried under lots of rubble, doubled the effort of the workers and guards. Together with Twilight's rest of magic and Rainbow's stubborn strength, they managed to dig Larry out of his stoney grave. They found him with a moonie and thestral child under his body whom he had protected with with it. The children were unhurt, but Larry bleed from his head and shoulder. Jerome cried his eyes out while guards brought the children to the hotel to search for their parents. Rainbow and Nightflower flew the injured to the hospital while Jerome remained with Twilight and Stardust to search for more survivors.
Time went and passed by and the two ponies felt their bodies become mechanical. For sometime they didn't find any survivors under the debris of the fallen buildings but that didn't stopped them to continue the search. Jerome and Nightflower and to force Twilight and Rainbow to go lay down and take a nap. Though both tried to fight it, they fell asleep the moment they closed their eyes, laid together onto a mattress in a tent.
Careful nudges woke them up. Blinking the sleep out of their eyes, Twilight and Rainbow saw Luna standing before their bed. She had an unfazed expression in her face, trained through many years in many situations. Yet her eyes, red and puffy, showed that she had cried, but they also showed such relief and happiness. It were eyes which scared and calmed them down at the same time.
"Everything alright, Luna?" asked Twilight, worried what the princess must have seen in the hospital. They themselves had seen many injuries but thankfully no dead moonies or thestrals. It might have been differently in the hospital. But Luna just nodded as answer, her stoic face breaking into a smile while she sat down at their bed and the couple raised on their haunches. "Did you sleep at all, Princess?" Rainbow's blunt question was due the huge dark circles around Luna's eyes. Twilight wondered briefly how long they had been asleep.
"No. No, not at all," answered Luna, her voice thick with tiredness. Twilight and Rainbow made space for Luna to sit down which she took thankfully. "Till a few minutes ago I had treated the injured with the spells you gave me, Twilight. You will be happy to hear that nobody died, we had over 200 injured but the few whose wounds were life-threatening survived thanks to those spells."
Twilight and Rainbow smiled at each other, those were great news. Better than they had hoped for.
"They survived because of your skill and power with magic, Luna."
"Yeah, don't sell yourself short, Princess. The townsfolk were jubilant when they heard you saved their injured friends and family members from death." Luna sniffed loudly, but it looked like she had already spent all of her tears. Twilight and Rainbow hugged Luna at the same time and Luna appreciated it greatly to feel them so close to her. After a few minutes she had calmed down and continued her report.
"Stardust and his guards are counting the last people, but it looks like we have found everybody of the town. No one is missing. A hundred buildings are destroyed and another thirty are in danger of collapsing. Rebuilding them will take time, but for now all citizens without a roof over their head have found shelter in the hotel and my palace. The Ice is still there, unmelted under the shadow clouds, you have frozen the entire sea, Twilight. My guards flew over it and only found ice from one end to its other."
Twilight scratched her head uncomfortable while Rainbow blew a whistle at the awesomeness of her wife.
"Uh, I'm sorry I've frozen your tourist attraction."
"No, don't be. It's my fault," sighed Luna deeply, her voice wavered with pain and sadness as she accused herself. "I wanted so badly for the moonies to be known as the kind and caring people they are and the thestrals for the strong and loyal ponies they are. I wanted so badly to be loved by my subjects that I changed the nature of the moon to bring ponies to want spend their vacation here. The ice had held the plates of the moon together like glue. Glue which melts a bit under the sun to move between the small rifts and which then froze in the night and hold it together for the next circle. But me melting so much and collecting it in one spot, increased the rifts and left the plates without a glue to hold them together. An moonquake had to happen sooner or later under those circumstances. They trusted me to build them a better future and I almost destroyed it through my short-sighted actions!"
"Woah, slow down, princess. You are loved. A lot. The moonies and thestrals out there? They admire you as much as the ponies do towards Celestia, if not more! You don't need to prove anypony anything. You're a great princess else they wouldn't love, would they?" Rainbow hold against Luna's self-loathing.
"And they will not blame you for this. Larry told us that they're happy that you want to help them. They carried this decision with you and will stand at your side. So please don't beat yourself up over this." Twilight argued against her the princess self accusations.
Luna sniffled again and wished away invisible tears, before she spoke again. Her voice was steadier and more collected than before.
"I'm so happy that nobody died. I guess we were quite lucky under the circumstances. Many were outside in the mountains and plains hiking and on picnics in the first hours of the sun. Thus few had been in the city when the earthquake hit it. Stardust's guards have found all of those who had not returned yet, only shock and minor injuries, nothing serious. But if that wave had hit the city..." Luna caught her breath, "I don't even want to imagine how many would have died."
"Why was it such a big wave anyway? I never heard of such tsunamis on earth." Rainbow wondered, trying to get Luna's mind away from the possible deaths to the very real wave outside the city's border.
"It's because of the depth and size of the crater. its walls acted like a natural Fjord and kept the waves from spreading out which left them only one way to go thus the waves gained more speed and height than normally on a real ocean. The flattest side, the beach, was the only way it could go." Rainbow shivered at Twilight's explanation, remembering how she saw this front of water coming closer at a speed she thought only she could reach.
"Yes, thankfully the ice spell also froze the water in the rifts, so as long as the ice won't melt the region is earthquake safe again. What spell was that anyway? I don't believe to recognize it, same with some of the medical spells and the building reinforcing one. Who were the creators of those spells?" Luna asked
"Oh, I made the ice spell myself and modificated the healing spells a bit to work easier" admitted Twilight sheepish. Both Rainbow and Luna looked flabbergasted at her. Then facehoofed cause it was somehow obvious. Which pony would create an ice spell strong enough to stop a tsunami? Of course their overly prepared friend and wife who wants to be ready for every situation.
"Let me guess, you didn't test the spell." Rainbow guessed deadpan.
"I did test the reinforcement spell and the medical spells are still the same, just quicker to cast and less costly on power. But I didn't really had the chance yet to test the ice spell but it did turn water tossed out of a bucket into ice very effectively." Luna laughed till her sides hurt.
Twilight and Rainbow spend some minutes talking with a much more relaxed Luna about the rebuilding of the city and to make it earthquake safer in case of another one happening in the future. After a while Luna yawned and the couple stood up from their bed like it had been the starting signal. When Luna tried to get up, they hold her back.
"You should get a snatch of sleep, Luna."
"Yes, lay down and sleep for a bit. We can't have the princess of the night fall asleep in public, right?"
Luna let herself be tucked under the blanket by Rainbow and Twilight. She felt how her eyelids got heavier by every passing second, but she had yet to tell them of her new idea about the hotel and of the feast which the town planned to hold on their last honeymoon day to their honor for saving this town from a tsunami. But she was so tired...
Twilight and Rainbow smiled at the softly sounds of Luna's sleep as the princess drifted off into the dreamworld of hers. They went outside to get some food and to let the princess rest in peace. Outside was it still sunny as nothing had happened. Jerome and Larry waited before the tent, happy to see them without the princess.
"Did she fall asleep?" Larry asked, the white bandages around his head and left shoulder visible. The two ponies affirmed his question. "Good, good. She had worked the whole day and night through and used those healing spells so often the doctors wanted to give her sleep-inducing drugs to force her to sleep. Not that we know if they would have any effect on her but we were so close to do it anyway."
"We heard her laugh, a good sign. In the hospital she had smiled only sadly and forced. No one in the city blames her but we know she's likely to blame herself the most," said Jerome. "We wanted to give you a surprise after that horrible day you had. No, no interruption." Jerome stopped Twilight's and Rainbow's words before they could leave their mouths. "We just wanted to give you a surprise. Something nice for all the good you have done. We know you did that because you are good ponies and not for any reward;" interrupted Jerome the two again before they could get a word in. "But still, please enjoy a picnic while stargazing."
Twilight and Rainbow didn't had the chance to even ask how they're supposed to watch stars with the sun shining so brightly as a wooden cart with two thestrals, Nightflower and the Rookie guard, landed before them. Larry opened the door and waved them to enter while Jerome put a big picnic basket into the cart.
"The two guards will fly you to your destination and pick you up in a few hours. Have an enjoyable picnic and believe when I say the night without Luna's touch can be very beautiful too." With those words Larry closed the door and waved them together with Jerome goodbye as Nightflower and her comrade went airborne.
During the flight Twilight and Rainbow were quiet. They just snuggled together and thought about the past days and what had happened in them. After half an hour they reached the line which divides the moon into the sunny and the dark side. Their destination laid on the dark side of the moon, a mountain. Twilight and Rainbow left the cart with the picnic basket. Nightflower and Rookie signaled them that they'll be back in a few hours and flew away to let them have their intimate time together. Both ponies laid down and watched beautiful night sky. A sky they haven't seen that way one earth yet. A wild one untouched by Luna's magic to bring in order and harmony.
"Beautiful..."
"I've never seen the stars like this. It sure is different from Celestia and Luna's night, but fairly interesting in its own. I wish I could see some forms in it, but it's merely chaos. Discord would love this view, but it's a very artistic and frisky kind of chaos..."
"Twi, just enjoy the show, will ya?"
The couple watched the movement and blinking of the stars in solemn silence while eating Jerome's sandwiches. The ones with the red honey were their favorites. After their bellies were stuffed, they cuddled together as the dark side was colder than the sunny one, but nothing they couldn't handle. Then Twilight begun with a sudden question.
"Remember your confession to me with the sudden kiss?"
"Eh? Uhm, yeah. Was quite funny how I almost lost my eye because of it."
"I mean what I said afterwards, about being not gay."
"Ah, that...," Rainbow remembered it clearly though she wouldn't mind forgetting about it. Besides the unsuccessful first kiss and the messed up first date, she considered her flying away from Twilight after hearing what she said one of the lowest points of her cool list. Especially since Twilight flew after her and did her best to keep up with her but of course she escaped her. She spend hours crying on some cloud before she returned home, night already fallen in. On the front of her door sat a purple alicorn, waiting for her. She had waited the entire day for her to return. Rainbow had never felt so ashamed before in her life.
They talked it out, in front of her door. That Twilight wasn't entirely sure about the whole straight/gay business as she never cared much for dating and love just like for friendship before meeting them. About how she was willing to give her friend a chance to win her heart. About when said first date should happen. Rainbow took the chance and succeed as Twilight noticed during the first date that she's in love with her, despite all the mayhem happening. Twilight continued, now that she was sure they were on the same paper of the conversation.
"You see, I really haven't thought much about my romantic life. I thought one day I would find a nice stallion, have a job under the princess, a pretty house with garden and a couple children, running between my legs and calling me mom. And now I'm married to the most wonderful mare in my life and I couldn't be happier. And yet there's something missing, something essential for families..."
"You wanna have children, Twilight?" Rainbow asked in surprise the mare in her embrace. "You mean, like a real family, mommy, daddy and two little copies of our mixed selves? So that's why you were so strange around Buffy and her daddies. You wanted to have that with me. Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Because I haven't really noticed it myself until during the wedding. When Pinkie came to me and told me that her menstruation hadn't come yet, though we both know this will be the fifth mistaken pregnancy of her, I swear her cycle can be as unpredictable as she herself. But after that I suddenly saw myself when I was a little girl, drawing a picture about my grown up self, married to a handsome prince charming and playing with our children. But well, instead of a handsome prince I got a gorgeous princess. And while I know she likes kids very much, I didn't know what she thought about being a parent herself. "
Rainbow squeezed Twilight in response a little closer to her side, both staring into each other eyes while Twilight continued.
"But after you took my worries about me costing you your beloved job, I knew I could tell you about it. Even if you don't agree with it or believe it's too soon or that it gets in the way of starting our own flying aerobatic team. It was clear that you had the right to know what's going on with me and I should have told you sooner. I just wanted it to be something that you would want to as well. I wasn't sure yet if you had a big wish to have children like I do. You must think I'm stupid to talk about having babies right in our honeymoon." sighed Twilight into Rainbow's fur.
"No, Twi, I don't. I've seen this kind of happiness in their eyes as well, a happiness you don't achieve with simply two ponies but more. And to be honest, I kind of want to have it too. But more of all, I want to have it with you, love. Raising children together with you will be greater fun than having my own stunt team. Though we two know we're gonna get both someday." Rainbow blushed at how corny her words sounded to her own ears. "Ah, dang! Listen to me getting all mushy again 'cause you're being so cute."
"Oh sweetheart, you know I like you the most when you're "mushy"." Twilight leaned in closer to Rainbow, kissing her neck lightly which made the pegasus blush spread till to the place she had touched with her lips.
"So, we gonna do it?" asked Twilight excited.
"Well, yeah. Guess we gonna have to adopt a child in an orphanage or something like that."
"Or make our own"
"Our own?" Rainbow had a vague idea what Twilight meant, but she wanted to hear it from her magical wife herself to be sure of her hunch.
"I know a spell or two for that, you know?" Twilight's voice was full-on seductive mode, eyes half-lid and her lips smiling this little devilish smile Rainbow loved so much.
"Oooh, kinky~" She couldn't wait to test that spell.
"You're gonna make a great mommy, Rainbow," whispered Twilight, nibbling happily on Rainbow's left ear end.
"Yea-wait, I'm the one who's gonna get preggers?" Rainbow shouted shocked, her happy fantasy going up in smokes. Worriless, happy laughter rang out through the hills and valleys of the moon.
Evening hold way in Equestria as princess Celestia hold a letter from her former student and her newly-wed wife. She wondered how Twilight's and Rainbow's vacation on the moon had been. She must admit it was a good idea of Luna to plan their honeymoon up there on one of the most romantic heavily bodies, inspiration for many love poems and songs, but she also knew the lack of interest this place could hold for the studious alicorn and her adventure-hungry pegasus lover. if she had planned the honeymoon, it had been somewhere south, with jungles to track through and old temples to explore. With luxury hotels to relax from adventures and explorations and a little island with a nice, comfy home for the days the two wanted to spend in intimate togetherness.
Her planned honeymoon for Pinkie and Big Mac wasn't as much of a success as she had hoped for. Pinkie got bored of the new places in the world quickly and the world was not ready to handle Pinkie Pie's "Pinkieness", she had to pay her out of several jails for indecent behaviour and Pinkie couldn't understand why others wouldn't like to hear a "smile, smile" song in a holy temple or why it's a bad idea to fire a party cannon on a marketplace.
Big Mac on the other hoof got seasick and when he wasn't sick he had to fulfill his husband duties to his wife who awaited those moments greedily. He had come back a few kilos lighter than he started the cruise.
But it's not like a honeymoon on the sun would have been much better, right? thought the white alicorn to herself. Then she opened the letter and read Twilight's description of her honeymoon till now.
Dear Celestia,
I write you from the moon, but I guess you know that already. But I doubt you know how much has changed up here on Luna's domain. Luna and the moonies, that's the name of the moonfolk though I'm sure you know that already just wanted to point it out in case you don't, have rebuilt the ruins of the palace and its city and even built a super luxus hotel with lots of bedrooms, a huge dinner hall, an own casino and bar, many pools, massages rooms and saunas and they even have a library with many many books! Books I've never seen before! And they have planned to integrate rooms for fillies and foals to play in and a big adventure playground.
But we haven't used much of those offerings because we're too busy to explore the moon and its wonders. On the first day after our arrival we went to a huge festival of the moonies and we had tons of fun and before that we got some beautiful dresses from Luna's wardrobe called yukata and then Rainbow won the joust and she said before everybody-
Sorry, Celestia. I'm was getting too far ahead. Anyway,the festival was for the time the moonies were freed from Nightmare Moon's influence and became their old true selves again. There are many stands with food and games and a black dragon which gets followed by children who try to tease him till he spits out delicious candy. Buffy has given some to me which she had collected earlier so I can tell they're really yummy. Right, I forgot to tell you about Larry, Jerome and Buffy. Larry had been the leader of the nightmare shadows when Nightmare Moon was gone and the mastermind behind Rarity's ponynapping and transformation. He's now the mayor of the moonies and well-liked by his people. Jerome was the shadow creature who was our warden in our prison on the moon. He was the first to be changed back into his real form. Buffy was the rabbitbat baby Fluttershy had found and taken care of on the moon, she had given her to Larry and Jerome and both raised her as their daughter. She helps out in the hotel and is a very adorable girl. I love her to pieces.
Looks like somepony is getting into the *I want children*-phase, smiled Celestia to herself. A couple years ago the princess of the sun had been afraid that her student might stay a studious wormbook forever, caring more about books, science and spells then about friends, other ponies and one day having a family on her own. But all those fears faded the more and more she saw the little filly grow into the wonderful pony she was today and she had her friends to thank for that. And Rainbow deserves the double amount of thanks to capture her heart and hold on it.
She continued to read.
But the best on the festival were not only the stands and people and games, but there was also a joust hold by Luna's thestrals guards and it was breathtaking,so intense was every fight. Rainbow entered the tournament for what I thought was the need for an adrenaline kick. I knew she was good but I didn't expected her to not only do so well against pros but also to win the tournament in the finals against Luna's guard captain who had been undefeated in every fight till then!
And then when Luna wanted to hand over the prices, she refused them: Land, title and even the possibility to kiss Luna.You remember the hard time we had before the wedding because of some old laws that anypony I marry has to become nobility and that no noble pony could be a Wonderbolt for reasons of a past age? (I still think those laws needs some changes)
"You'd be surprised how stubborn politicians can be, dear Twilight," chuckled the white alicorn, remembering the time before the wedding, it hadn't exactly been a stressless one for her former student.
Anyway, Rainbow told me before half of the townfolk that she didn't give up her dream to become a Wonderbolt, I became her dream. I was so happy.
"Smooth, Rainbow Dash, smooth."
Doesn't mean, she gave up flying for me and I wouldn't want that either. We talked about creating our own aerobatic flying team and who knows, the Wonderbolts might get some might competition from the Lightdashes. But that was during the dance of the bonfire, the ending part of the festival, before that we watched a huge fireworks with the others and tossed our masks into the fire. I'll tell you about the symbolism in pony, just so much I missed and the next day I wondered what would have happened if I had hit instead. But that wasn't everything.
The next day we went to the beach, a real beach with sand and a sea and tropical warmth on the moon, and we had tons of fun there with everybody till something happened I should have seen coming a mile ago. You see, Luna had warmed up everything significantly with her spells and instruments so that the moon would turn into the warm and bright place she wanted to draw ponies from Equestria to the moon. However the moon wasn't made for a tropic weather, the warmth let the ice melt and create that big sea but before that the ice had hold the continental plates together which rifts the water was extending the past months.
It happened what had to happen, the plates awoke of their slumber and moved again, causing the first moonquake the moonies had ever experienced. And said moonquake caused a tsunami which was one hundred metres high.
"Whaaaat?!" shouted Celestia loudly, causing two guards to charge into the room ready to defend their princess before any danger. As they saw as the perpetrator was just a piece of paper they apologized and left the royal bedroom as quickly as they had entered it.
Celestia had never heard of earthquakes and tsunamis on the moon, natural disasters which even the weather and season changing ponies of Equestria could do nothing against. The princess felt worry cross her heart as she readed the next sentences, hoping for the best and fearing the worst.
I wasn't quick enough to do anything against the moonquake but I was able to stop the tsunami just in time thanks to the "Earthquake and Tsunami" emergency case I had packed together with some of my own modified spells. I have to show them to you later! All in all we were really lucky as nobody had died. Rainbow and I worked the rest of the day helping Luna, the moonies and thestrals to look through the destroyed buildings and casted our spells on those which weren't destroyed yet to make them moonquake-safe. Moving away the rubble, getting everybody out of the debris of their houses and treat the injured took the whole day but with our combined power we managed to did all of that in a single day. The moonies and thestrals are as helpful and great as the ponies in Ponyville and Equestria.
A relieved sigh escaped the white muzzle of Celestia, it had gone out well. And that Twilight was able to stop a tsunami was something she couldn't remember even Starswirl could vaunt of. Those spells of her will be most certainly very helpful in the future. She smiled as she readed through the last sentences again, showing the humble side of the newest princess of Equestria.
Hopefully many ponies will take Luna's offer and see for themselves that their fears and doubts are unfounded, consented Celestia with Twilight's observation.
We then got sent on a picnic on a mountain on the dark side of the moon, where we watched the starry space and ate some sandwiches. It was a really beautiful sight, more breathtaking than any stargazing done on earth. I had never seen so many stars and figures even with my telescope on earth. By the way, earth looks gorgeous from the moon, am sure many ponies will love that sight. Anyway, that calm and private moment with just the two of us let me be honest with Rainbow about something I didn't had the courage to tell her yet because I was afraid it would hurt her or she would dislike what I started to long for the past weeks ever since I proposed to Rainbow.
You see, I had acted quite weirdly around her on the moon after seeing Larry, Jerome and Buffy. And before that on earth too on occasions though there I didn’t quite understood myself why yet. It was about founding your own family. Even though I knew I could trust Rainbow with everything, I couldn’t tell her that I wanted children on my own. To be fair, I didn’t have this wish before the wedding and before another of Pinkie’s possible “I’m pregnant!”-confession.
I hope you're ready to become a godmother because Rainbow and I decided we will get children and have already done some steps to make it happen. You should really put a more awake librarian in place of guarding the "Experimental Adult stuff" section. Even an amenable to suggestions filly could have entered the place and read books not befitting her age. Not like I did anything like that, just saying.
"Oh-uh." Celestia decided to have a serious word with Dusty Scrollkeeper about sleeping in working hours. First Sunset Shimmer who read about the mirror and other world behind it and now Twilight who had looked into books about explicit spells. What's with me and having students reading books behind my back which they weren't for ready yet?, wondered Celestia head-shaking. Her eyes wandered back to the letter's last paragraph.
Oh, and I should deliver to you from Luna that she had the idea to change the moon into a winter vacation hotspot which I believe will be way less risky than a tropic one. The cold will keep the ice in the rifts between the plates and instead of snow, the fine white moon sand can be used as snow. Rainbow will test the lanes on the mountains and I will help Luna to plan this through to keep all possibilities and dangers this idea might have in mind.
Thankfully the hotel only had minor damages, so they don't need to rebuild everything. The guests from earth can do so much here besides skiing and ice skating just like Rainbow and I have so much to do before we return home! Imagine it, I'm writing you just minutes away to ride on some meteorites!
And we still haven't tested the pools and the massages and the casino and the bar in the hotel or the theatre and casino and restaurants in town or the hikes on the moon! Jerome wants to show us a cavern system where there are “dreamstones”, the only place on the moon where you can find them! I and Rainbow have some great and exciting honeymoon up here and we will definitely return with our friends here on our next vacations. Hopefully you can find the time too to come with us.
Yours truly,
Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash
PS: Haha! I won, Sister! Luna racks! I await the usual on what we bet when I return.
“It's called rocks." Celestia grinned at another modern stumble of her vintage sister. She felt a bit peeved that she had lost the bet, but she was happy that her Luna had a good time. For this she could survive a month on no sweets while being forced to watch Luna eating all the ice cream, donuts and cakes till her belly bursted. It gonna be a torture for the white alicorn. She readed through Twilight’s letter another time, before she looked envious through her balcony at the shining moon.
