The North Ridge Turbines (Chapter 1)

Twilight's birthday: 200 years old as of today.
 Letter to the princess 
Subject: The North Ridge

Good morning, Princess,

I'm afraid it may actually be late afternoon by the time you read this as, unfortunately, this far away Spike's messaging system is delayed. Today we got together our temporary living quarters at the North Ridge wind turbine center. They are massive as is, and there is still much to do in the construction phase of this process. With a 60 foot base of solid concrete, and a height of 300 feet, I'm not sure these things could ever fall victim to the harsh winds here.

I am also very happy to report that the spells we have used to keep the other elements alive are working perfectly, with the exception of Pinkie Pie. Though the others got over the initial illness quickly, Pinkie Pie has remained sick. We have become quite worried about her, but your unicorns seem to be keeping a good eye on her.

I thank you for sending me on this trip Princess; studying the fine work of the crews that are working to create your dreams has been an exciting experience for all of us. We have already passed through the highway system they are creating and it is making wonderful progress. The production plant is our next stop, so I will soon be able to issue a report for that as well. However, we both know the wind turbines are a top priority and thus we will be staying here for four years to supervise the construction of these amazing creations.

One last thing, if I may. I wish to see Princess Luna at her earliest convenience. Can you please send her my way?

Thank you again for this trip, on behalf of your 5 loyal subjects and your student.  
-Twilight Sparkle

[-----]

4 months after Twilight's 200th birthday.
 Letter to Twilight Sparkle.
Subject: RE: The North Ridge

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I am terribly sorry for the delay. Things here at the castle have been busy since you left. Your brother and I are working furiously on some local projects, so I have not had time to reply until now as I did not feel it worthy of you to have an air reply on my behalf.

I thank you for keeping up on your reports, and I trust you are now carefully supervising the initial construction of the wind turbines. Your work has been of great use to us as it ensures a proper building standard for the construction of what is sure to be one of the most important phases of this massive construction effort.

Furthermore, as you requested: My sister is on her way, she will meet you in your room sometime soon. Her time of arrival is subject to weather conditions. I trust you have found your room more than enough for one pony? By now I'm sure all of your friends have discovered the many perks of their new rooms, including the shower that Rainbow Dash requested.

On another important note, I wish to see a report on Pinkie Pie's full condition. We cannot afford to lose an Element of Harmony, and it is a shock to me that she has been sick for this long. Finally, my sister will not be needed back at the castle for some time, so feel free to take her with you on your trip. She could use the company of the only true friends she seems to have. Please take care of my sister, I'm afraid she's taking her return with great difficulty.

Your teacher Princess Celestia

[----]

Twilight set down the letter with a frown, looking up at Rainbow Dash. She sighed as if incredibly frustrated by something. "Four months I had to wait for a reply, this isn't like her at all," Twilight said in frustration.

"She's very busy you know," Rainbow replied, taking the note and skimming over it herself to see if Twilight had left anything out when she had read it aloud. "At least she's sending Luna here, you didn't even expect her to do that."

"Yeah..." Twilight said looking down at the floor for a moment. "I know she's busy, but she used to send back letters within minutes of getting one.. And now I have to wait months? I wanted Luna here four months ago," she said with some depression in her voice.

"I'm starting to wonder who your favorite sister is now,” Rainbow teased with a smile. "Why do you need her here anyway?"

"Rainbow don’t you feel any different? I mean... Spitfire, Soarin... They're all gone now and, you don't feel weird about that? I just need to talk to someone who's used to this, used to immortality."

"Of course it feels weird," Rainbow said with a frown. "The trick is to focus more on who will still be around, and not who we will lose... We've already lost 2 rounds of friends. I'm incredibly lucky that Celestia has taken pity on me and given the spell to Scootaloo, or I don't know what I would have done..." she sighed, looking down. "Twilight, I know I'm not the best to talk about this. I think before you head back to your room tonight and possibly run into the princess, you should talk with Fluttershy. She's been helping all of us, especially Rarity..." Rainbow said as she trailed off for a moment, thinking about everything that Rarity had been put through with Sweetie belle.

"Thanks Rainbow," she said standing up, reaching over wrapping her hooves around Rainbow Dash in a tight hug knowing the mare might need to now that they had just gotten over this depressing topic.

"Fluttershy is hanging out on the scaffolding for wind turbine 28. She’s going to be there for a few hours, so no hurry," Rainbow said before turning around to the door, leaving without another word, making for an awkward silence in the room as Twilight debated what to do next. She quickly decided it would be best to talk with Fluttershy now rather than later, knowing if Luna was to be at her room when she returned, she would not want to keep her waiting.

She made her way over to turbine 28, a good walk from Rainbow's room as the turbines had massive wing spans that forced them to build each turbine very far apart. As she made her way up the scaffolding of turbine 28, she soon caught a flash of yellow and pink. Fluttershy was over 100 feet in the air, sitting at the edge of the scaffolding, looking out at the construction zone below her.

"Hey Fluttershy. How are you?" she asked in a careful tone, making her way over to the mare sitting next to her, following Fluttershy's gaze out toward the ridge.

"Something you need Twilight?" she asked curiously, looking over at her friend with a frown. "You look kinda worried..."

"Kinda... Luna is coming soon and I was telling Rainbow about how immortality is affecting me and... I don't know, things got sad quickly."

"Rainbow nearly had a break down with Scootaloo before Celestia assured her she would get the same spell. She's very lucky" Fluttershy looked down with a frown. "We’re all affected by it Twilight. We saw what happened with Rarity and we can't let that happen to the rest of us. Perhaps Luna can help us with this? She's thousands of years older than us after all."

"How is Rarity? She won't let me see her," Twilight frowned. Rarity had been angry with her ever since she refused to force Sweetie Belle into accepting the spell.

"Still creating dresses, making designs, but she doesn't talk much. She’s still very upset. Don't worry about her, you need to deal with your own issues." Fluttershy said.

"My own issues?" Twilight asked.

"You're waiting on Luna to get here right? I'm sure she's here by now. You should talk about this with her. I'll tell Rarity you said hello."

"I... alright," Twilight frowned. "I'm sorry to trouble you like this," Twilight said with a sigh, walking over to the edge of the platform looking down. "How's the wind today? Think I can fly down?" She asked, having not done much wind training with her wings.

"You should be fine, you need to be more confident with your abilities Twilight. Your flying is as good as your magic," Fluttershy commented with a smile.

"Maybe you can check on Pinkie Pie for me and get a report from the unicorns watching her? Celestia needs a report on her to help her out," Twilight said, making sure to get her concern across before dropping off the ledge and making her way down to her room. Stepping up to her door, she frowns with a heavy sigh, thinking for a moment before using her magic to unlock the door. Stepping inside, she saw the Princess of the Night standing at the window, the sun beating down on her as she turned back to greet Twilight.

"Oh, there you are little one, how is my favorite princess doing?" Luna asked with a gentle smile.

Princess Twilight Sparkle (Chapter 2)

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"Your favorite princess?" Twilight questioned, walking over beside Luna. She was happy to see that her age had increased her height and she was now only a few inches smaller then Luna, but she never did mind the height difference.

"Yes, of course," Luna smiled down at her. "Now child, what did you need me for?"

‘Weird, she's not using third person anymore....’ Twilight thought as she examined the princess for a moment. "I don't know... Usually when something is wrong I talk to Celestia about it, but in this case, Celestia is the problem." She frowned looking down, hoping she didn't sound rude.

"Why is that darling?" Luna asked, stepping forward toward the sulking mare.

"She puts off my letters for months. Are you honestly going to tell me that she can't take 10 minutes before going to bed to answer me? I know she can be busy, but four months? Four months to answer my letter, that's just..." She let out a sigh, not wanting to finish her sentence.

"Twilight, she's put off your letters before, in fact she's left some of your letters unanswered. Why are you mad now?" She asked, her hoof gently resting on Twilight's shoulder fiddling with her mane. "Are you mad because she didn't send me until now?" Luna asked, as if already knowing the answer.

"Yes..." Twilight frowned with a nod. "I don't feel comfortable talking about immortality with Celestia, it just feels like she's gotten so used to it that she doesn't even care."

"Twilight, darling, you've only lived 200 years. You have only begun to see the traumas you will experience as an immortal." She frowned for a moment before pulling Twilight over to a couch where they sat down and she continued to explain. "When I got back from the castle, I kept wandering down the halls calling out names that had not been repeated in the castle for 900 years. I had an aid named Melidous. He was a colt, oddly enough. I have a hard time remembering anything from before I was put on the moon, but I do remember a conversation in which he told me that immortality is the curse given to those who don't understand how difficult it is to live. Of course, he was right. I only really found that out when I got back from the moon to find out he was gone..." she frowned looking down.

"I'm sorry.." Twilight said, avoiding Luna's gaze. "I shouldn't be complaining, I know."

Luna shook her head, her hoof still resting on Twilight's shoulder. "No, it's not that darling, I'm just trying to say that things get harder. And you have to realize now rather than later that immortality is hard, and you're going to have friends that you will lose with every year that passes. You need to be careful," she sighed. "You can't save everyone."

"I know... how Rarity acts now is a constant reminder of that," she frowned. "Couldn't save Sweetie...." she said simply.

"What happened with Sweetie Belle is absolutely not your fault. It was her own choice, and it might have even been a good one for all I know," Luna admitted with another heavy sigh.

"I know, but Rarity acts like it is my fault," Twilight said hopelessly.

"Darling, if you want advice on your friends, you are looking at the worst mare to talk to," Luna giggled.

"I'll send Celestia another letter, I suppose... one that won't be answered for months."

"I'll make sure she knows it's important," Luna insisted with a kind smile.

"Thanks princess... can you go visit Pinkie Pie please? She'd love to see you again," Twilight said, reluctantly taking Luna's hoof off her shoulder and walking over to her desk.

"Of course. I hope you don't mind, but I planned to sleep here for a bit until I get a room of my own. Is that okay?"

"I would prefer if you live with me. I would like to have somepony like you around as much as possible." Twilight bit her lip in a bit of nervousness, unsure if she could ask that of the princess.

"Yes, of course Twilight. I better go see Pinkie Pie," she said simply before walking out and leaving Twilight alone to write the next letter to the princess.

[-----]

4 months after Twilight's 200th birthday. Letter to Princess Celestia Subject: Princess Luna

Your sister has arrived, I'm very thankful you sent her my way. After Applejack and Dash got together I've been... searching, I guess, for a partner as well, but there are no other immortals either interested in me, or that I'm interested in.

I was hoping you might be able to help me with Luna. I've liked her for some time, but never contemplated the idea of "being" with her. I have mentioned this to you before and you have told me I can try but.... do you think she will go for it? She's thousands of years older than me... I'm afraid she only views me as a child and that might prevent her from thinking anything more of me.

I know it's a sly way of going about things, but could you talk with your sister about relationships in general? See if she is even interested in having one? I don't want to approach her about it if I'll just be shot down... it will make talking to her in the future awkward if she says no.

Please reply soon, I know you are busy but everything here is just a chaotic mess for me. Pinkie Pie is still sick, and the report on her will be sent you soon. The towers are rising up faster than I can inspect them, but I'm yet to find a single problem. Now Luna is here, and it's only making my anxiousness about her worse. I do want her here, it makes things easier for all of the girls, but I would just like at this point in time one thing that makes sense in my life.

If it is at all possible, please discuss this sort of thing with her. I would like to go into this with some background knowledge on what I should do.

Finally, Spike is having some problems with his age spell as well. Not major ones, but he seems to still be growing and we are quite concerned that he may eventually simply grow too big for us to handle. Could your unicorns please look into this for us? He is, after all, the fastest way of communicating between us and the castle, and that will only be more crucial as we move farther away from our home.

Your student. Twilight Sparkle.

[-----]

“Princess,“ Luna commented over Twilight’s shoulder, making her jump from her chair, covering the letter with her hooves. "How long have you been standing there?!" she said in a panic.

"Only long enough to see your concern for Spike, and that despite my sisters objections you still sign yourself as Twilight Sparkle, without the title Princess." Luna frowned at her with a sigh. "I know it's annoying and pretentious, but she likes it, and you should try signing it that way every so often if nothing else but just to please her."

Twilight, still wondering if Luna was lying and had seen the first part of the letter, quickly tucked it away in her saddle bag. "Well, I should get this to her right away," Twilight commented, attempting to leave the room to avoid any awkward confrontation about this.

"Twilight, darling, do you wish for me to add anything to the letter myself? It might be easier to deal with one letter rather than two. She is very busy after all."

Twilight frowned biting her lip. "Sorry Princess but there's some... private stuff I had to ask her. Is it out of line to ask for privacy with this?" she asked, motioning toward the letter in her bag.

"Of course not, I'll simply send my own letter. Can I use your desk?" she asked looking down at the well crafted desk that Celestia had given Twilight many years earlier. Surprised she had taken it with her, Luna was distracted by it for a moment and barely heard the answer.

"Yes, of course" said Twilight before she quickly fled the room to find Spike, and hopefully get a quick reply from the princess.

Permission my sister? (Chapter 3)

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Letter to Princess Luna 
From: Princess Celestia 
Subject: Finding a princess

  Hello sister. I'm sorry it took a little over a week to reply to your letter, but I have some concerns I wish to voice, and it has been hard to think of how to word these concerns.

I think it's time you went searching for a princess. I myself have been looking for a colt, a prince, but only so many colts are brave enough to get flirty with me. That is a story for another time, in this instance we must talk about you. It's been nearly two hundred years since you returned from the moon and you are still yet to find a partner.

I know it is hard for you to make friends, and it's even harder for you to find mares that are not afraid of you, but if I may be so bold, perhaps you can find somepony in the friends you already have? I leave such choices up to you, but I think it's time you found somepony to make you happy.

With that, I thank you for sending me the report on Pinkie Pie‘s condition. It is important that if she does not recover from her condition by the time you make your way down to the factories ten years from now, you must send her back to the castle. No exceptions, no arguing. She must be sent back here immediately if she does not get better.

Thank you for helping out my student, and for helping the elements. 
Your sister, Princess Celestia.

[-----]

Letter to Princess Celestia
 From: Princess Luna
 Subject: (RE) Finding a princess

Are you suggesting I develop a relationship with one of the elements? Are you sure that's a good idea sister? We were the last hosts of the elements, what if they don't like that? You know as well as I do that the elements are sentient. They remember us. I already sense a strange feeling when I am anywhere near the current elements of harmony, let alone Rainbow Dash and her element of Loyalty. The only element that seems to be comfortable with me is Twilight and her Magic, and you know why that is.

It is not necessary for me to find a mare, the issue remains that I would need to find a mare who I would actually want to spend the entirety of my existence with. I do not want to give a pony the gift of immortality, let alone give her the status of an alicorn/princess if things would not work out between us.

You know as well as I do that finding a princess is much harder than finding a prince. I wish it was as easy as it is for you, but I would only consider pursuing a princess who has already been given the title, and at the moment the only princess without a partner is Twilight Sparkle. However, she remains your favorite student and that would simply be over-stepping my bounds by attempting to develop a relationship with her.

Furthermore, I understand your concern for Pinkie Pie and I have spoken with the elements about it. Fluttershy requests that if Pinkie Pie is to be returned to the castle they she return as well to take care of her. She's afraid without her friends Pinkie Pie may only become worse, and wishes to request that she come with Pinkie Pie in ten years time should her illness not subside. I may be overstepping my authority in this, but I have told her she may go with Pinkie Pie if she pleases. I don't believe it is up to us to decide where Fluttershy spends her time, especially if she intends to spend her time taking care of another element.

Thank you for your quick reply.
 Your sister, Princess Luna. 

[-----]

Letter to Princess Luna From: Princess Celestia Subject: (RE-RE) Finding a princess  I only have a moment to make up this letter, so I will keep this short. I'm glad I can reply to this message within a few hours of receiving it, as I'm sure the great time lengths between replies has been annoying both you and my student.

As for my Twilight Sparkle, you more then have my permission to pursue a relationship with her. I do believe that based off your previous interactions with the element of Magic, she may very well be the best possible choice for you. As well, I know Twilight has developed a great fondness for you. She has spoken with me in the past about you and I assure you she would be happy to have a chance to interact with you in that fashion.

Best of luck with my student, and your search for a mare. We all need somepony to take care of us, even the great princess of the night.

With hope you write back soon on you progress with Twilight Sparkle. I must end this letter here as I have a very busy day in front of me.

  Your sister,
Princess Celestia.

[-----]

"Wow," Luna said, biting her lip while looking down at the letter.

Twilight looked up at her in curiosity as she had just finished reading the letter she had gotten from Celestia. "What?" she asked confused.

"Nothing just, getting permission for something I didn't think I would... it's nothing, don't worry," Luna said with a sigh.

"Something wrong?..." Twilight frowned sitting up.

"No no, just kinda stressed about this is all... it's been a long time since I even thought about the possibility of finding a mare and now I'm getting pressure from my sister," she said, trying to avoid eye contact with Twilight, making sure she didn't give her any hints.

"Who does she want you to set up with?" Twilight asked nervously, having noted in the letter she had received Celestia mentioned giving permission for Luna to attempt a relationship with her. She wondered if Luna was actually considering her or not.

"No, just, she wants to see me with somepony, she thinks it helps my... condition."

"Your condition?" Twilight frowned.

"Just the... Nightmare thing, having ponies around in the past has helped with her, but now that Nightmare is gone I no longer see the need."

"Oh..." Twilight said with a bit of depression hanging on her voice.

Luna heard the sadness in Twilight's words and knew the last thing she wanted to do was to push Twilight away. The sadness in her voice was a good sign, but something Luna did not wish to see. "Doesn't mean I'm not looking," she smiled with a bit of a giggle. "But it's hard to find anypony to tolerate me."

"I know the feeling," Twilight said with a frown. "The last time I went out with a mare it ended horribly. Granted it was years ago, but that doesn't help," she said, her frown still holding.

"Aww," Luna said sympathetically, sitting up and patting the spot beside her with a frown. "Come, sit here, no need for us to be distant like this," she insisted, hoping it didn't sound as obvious as it did in her head.

Twilight, being the social butterfly she was, didn't even notice Luna's intentions as she walked over sitting down right up next to the somewhat larger princess. "What about you? What happened the last time you went out?"

Luna gave a sigh. "Her name was Valley. The date went great until the end, when I mentioned I needed to be careful of my choice in mares. Being a princess, much less a immortal, means I need to be very careful about my partners, because all of them will need immortality as well. It's hard because we don't have as many princesses as we used to, and I cannot simply go on a date with a princess that would easily be converted into an immortal," Luna explained looking down at Twilight.

‘Those damn eyes of hers,’ Twilight said to herself, trying to keep her eyes off Luna's. The princess's soft gaze always made her feel nervous. "Just don't go off with Cadance now," she giggled, trying to make the moment a little less awkward. Meanwhile, her mind raced to think of a way she could make it apparent that she wanted to see if things between them could work out.

"Well, I do need a princess," Luna said, smiling at Twilight's laughter. She decided to be blunt about her wishes. Placing her hoof on Twilight's shoulder again, she gently rested her hoof on Twilight's neck showing her interest. "So maybe if that princess is taken, perhaps I need to take a look at another princess?" she said, leaning closer with a nervous little smile.

Twilight immediately felt the blush on her cheeks as she felt Luna's hoof on her neck, the princess pulling herself closer as she listened carefully to her words which only made her blush worse. "Y..You mean me?" she said, her muzzle now a dark red.

"Yes," Luna said simply, pulling Twilight a little closer, letting her hoof drape down around Twilight's shoulders. "I have to admit.. I've been thinking about it for a while.... I can only hope you wish the same?"

Twilight quickly nodded, still trying to avoid eye contact with the princess knowing she couldn't properly contain her emotions at this point. All her pent up emotions for the princess had developed to the point where she wished she was closer, but knew it would not be appropriate and so she held back with her eyes centered on Luna's chest.

"Twilight, I'm very sorry to be so blunt about this but... I hope you can understand that a thousand years on that moon has made me crave the touch of another more so then I have my entire life. Could you come a little closer?" she asked, not wanting to force her desires on Twilight should the young mare not be ready for it.

Twilight once again nodded, giving into her own desires by pulling herself against the princess, nuzzling into her neck as her blush held steady on her face. Her hooves wrapped around Luna's neck as she finally looked up into Luna's eyes. "I...I'm just not sure what to do," she frowned nervously. Despite her over two hundred years of life, she had still never properly been with a mare.

Luna simply smiled, glad to have an inexperienced partner for once. She let her hoof wander up and down Twilight's neck, playing with her mane as she leaned down kissing Twilight's forehead. "I'll show you," she said with a smile. "Tomorrow," she said just to tease her, knowing she should not overwhelm Twilight so fast.

"Yes, we should get to bed," Twilight said, hoping to avoid further awkwardness, though she did not feel any at this moment. However, despite her determination to get some sleep after this long day, she couldn't seem to bring her hooves from around Luna's neck. She looked up at the princess with nervousness flooding her expression as she felt herself unable to pull away from Luna's embrace.

Luna, however, did not seem bothered by the continued contact. Her hoof continued to wander around Twilight's neck and mane as she took in the feeling of holding a mare like this again. "Come on, we really must get you some sleep," she insisted, pulling her hooves away to let Twilight stand up.

Twilight quickly followed the princess's wishes, her eyes darting about the room as she watched Luna stand up, glancing over at the bed they had been sharing for the last few days. Twilight was now unsure if it was still appropriate to share beds at this point as she watched Luna climb into the bed, her magic turning down the lights and her head lifting up looking confused over at Twilight, who was still standing next to the couch.

"No need to be nervous, darling," Luna said sitting up, watching Twilight walk over to the bed, laying down as well. Looking up at Luna from her spot on the bed, she bit her lip in nervousness, but to her surprise Luna did not come any closer. She took her spot on the other side of the bed and cuddled into her pillow closing her eyes.

Twilight had read many books about this type of thing, attempting to give herself a higher chance of being able to find a mare for herself, but everything she had ever read about ponies and bedrooms always ended in less than PG scenes.

Knowing full well that Luna would not even get close to doing that tonight, she edged her pillow over a bit, pulling herself closer to Luna as she debated if this was even appropriate. Luna smiled, opening her eyes and looking over at Twilight, who by now was right in front of her. She giggled a bit, reaching out a hoof placing it on Twilight's side. "Well, seeing as we often wake up this way there is no need to wait until morning. Come on darling, no need to be shy," she insisted.

Twilight felt Luna pulling them together. Their chests were now pressed together with Luna's hoof wrapped around her waist. "T...This is all going rather fast." Twilight bit her lip nervously as she said this, hoping not to anger Luna, but suggesting they shouldn't be doing this.

"I know, I'm sorry Twilight, but I promise we will go no farther until you feel comfortable," Luna apologized, cursing herself for not remembering other ponies did not have the two thousand years of experience she did.

"I feel comfortable," Twilight commented with a light giggle. "I'm just nervous is all..." she admitted, looking down at Luna's chest, avoiding her gaze.

"I promise we will take our time with this. Just... tonight, for the first time in over one hundred and fifty years I'd like to feel somepony against me... iss that alright?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Yes, of course Princess," Twilight replied, cuddling in next to Luna.

"Luna please, darling" she insisted, but this prompted no response from Twilight and she decided she could finally close her eyes, more than happy to sleep at his point.

The Previous Elements (Chapter 4)

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Twilight was smiling, leaning up against Luna's side, looking down at the lobby far below them where a cart was pulling up. "Is that Scootaloo and her friend?" Luna asked, looking down at the cart as it pulled to a stop.

"Yeah, apparently they are not just friends anymore," Twilight smiled as they climbed out. Scootaloo helped Applebloom out from the cart as Rainbow ran over, wrapping her hooves around Scootaloo's neck. They talked for a moment, sharing a few more hugs before Rainbow looked up at Twilight's room far up at the top of the hotel, waving her hooves around in the air, telling them both to come down and greet the arrival of Scootaloo and Applebloom.

Applejack had Applebloom off to the side, petting her mane with a smile, seeming very happy to see her little sister again. Big Mac had refused the immortality spell, and thus died off over one hundred years ago, leaving only Applebloom and Applejack to carry on the family. "The yellow one is cute," Luna said looking down in curiosity.

"Yes," said Twilight with some sarcasm. "The yellow one, Applebloom, is cute," Twilight tried to subtly remind her that she needed to use names, as sometimes Luna strayed from social consciousness.

"Should we go see them?" Luna asked.

"I believe that's what Rainbow wants, yes," Twilight answered, motioning toward the door as she stepped away from the window. Luna followed soon after, her wings flittering restlessly for a moment before settling down. "Something wrong?" Twilight asked looking back at Luna's rather large wings.
"No no, just been a while since I preened them. I should get on that tonight."

"Or ......." Twilight mumbled, worried Luna might have heard her.

"Or what, darling?" Luna asked, looking down at her as they stepped through the doorway into the hall.

"Nothing I just... I once had Rainbow preen my wings for me and it well... to be honest it was a mixture of embarrassment and pleasure." She said it like a confession, as if it was a wrong thing to do.

"Having another pony do it for you is always a more pleasurable experience. Unfortunately, my sister would not allow me to use my servants for such acts.... they are now deemed inappropriate apparently," Luna scoffed, having missed the experience.

"Well, I'm not very good at it, so both Fluttershy and Rainbow have offered to do it for me. Needless to say, Fluttershy does it the clean and simple approach. Rainbow however...." she giggled. "Well, that's what's the inappropriate part" she joked.

"I don't understand how," Luna said in confusion.

"Well it's just... Rainbow likes to, um, use her tongue a lot more than usual."

"Oh really? Perhaps I should ask her to help me," Luna said, with another flitter of her wings. "I could use that kind of treatment after so long of having to do it myself."

Twilight, who was a bit jealous at hearing that Luna might be resorting to someone other than her for what she had learned can be a very intimate process, immediately spoke up in a rather concerned tone, something she did not intend on using. "Princess, can... can I do it? I'm not as skilled as Rainbow Dash but..... Seeing as we’re..." she hinted, but did not say what she wanted to.

"Seeing as we are what child?"

"Well I..." she stopped for a moment in the hall they were walking in, Luna stopping right beside her as she looked over at the princess with a serious look and tone. "Can you not use the word child please? I know it's natural for you and I'm not taking offense. I just... it's kind of weird to be reminded I'm with a pony who's more than two thousand years older than me."

"With?" Luna asked confused.

Twilight's paranoia immediately set in, afraid she had thought something different of last night then Luna had intended. She immediately lost control of her ability to control her nervousness around the princess and bit her lip stepping back a little. "I mean like.... last night you... I thought you meant we were getting together... dating?" She asked looking away now, all her confidence now quickly stripped from her voice.

Luna frowned, noticing Twilight's nervousness in the way her tail was now twitching slightly. "Oh, darling, of course, forgive me. I simply misinterpreted what you were trying to say," Luna said, placing her hoof on Twilight’s neck. She pulled the mare into a hug for only a moment before letting go and looking back down at her. "There is no need to panic like that," she frowned, having quickly grown great concern for Twilight in seeing how she reacted.

"I know, I'm sorry," Twilight said holding her head down. "I was just afraid that... I don't know I'm sorry, I just get like this sometimes," she sighed, turning back to the doors a few feet in front of them. "Come on, we have to go see Rainbow and the others," she said trying to get away from this conversation.

Luna nodded, keeping a hoof around Twilight's shoulder as she led the mare to the elevator where they sat in silence for a moment as it rode down. "What did you want to do?" she asked thinking back at the conversation before Twilight had panicked.

"Oh," Twilight blushed, biting her lip again. "I just meant... I could preen your wings for you? I might not be as good as Rainbow but... I would like to have that honor." She tried to make it sound as professional as possible despite several other intentions.

"Of course darling, but not until late tonight. Today we must deal with our guests," Luna motioned to the elevator doors which would soon open to the lobby full of friends waiting for them to arrive.

"Luna, there are two things I need help with today," she said simply, looking up at the princess.

"Oh?" Luna said in a questioning tone.

"First... Rarity is very angry with me and I don't know how to fix it, can you please speak with her? She's going to be here and... she hasn't even seen me in more than a couple weeks. She won't even talk to me," Twilight said in a stressed voice.

"Of course, I'll pull her aside tonight at some point," Luna assured her. "And the second thing?"

"How do we tell the others about what's going on with us?" Twilight asked, having never dealt with relationships before, let alone one with a pony as influential as Luna was, which she knew would create a lot of attention for them from the media.

"If they ask, tell them," Luna said simply, both of their eyes now trained back on the door. "Or if you simply want to flaunt your relationship with me, you can just blurt it out," Luna said, holding back a small laugh waiting to see what Twilight might say.

Twilight bit her lip as she let out a small giggle, swaying her body to the side giving Luna a light shove as if to tell her to behave. "Maybe I will," she said with a surprising amount of energy in her voice.

As the doors opened to the elevator, and the view of the room set in. Luna got her first real glance at how the ponies were interacting with each other now. Pinkie with metal bars used to hold her hooves at a straight angle. Applejack with a hoof around her younger sister, obviously even more protective over her then previously. Scootaloo, who had grown somewhat taller than Applebloom at this point, was now at the same height as the rest of the group, with the exception of Twilight, Luna, and Rainbow who had all gained extra height from their immortality.

Everypony in the group immediately turned to greet them, but as Twilight dove into the group to greet everypony, Luna held back to watch. She carefully examined how Twilight was acting. First, Twilight had greeted the two young mares Scootaloo and Applebloom, who were by now adults and had both grown up to be quite beautiful mares. She quickly turned her attention to Applejack, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and finally when she came to Rarity, she stopped for a moment looking down as he bit her lip.

"Hey, Rarity," she said nervously.

Rarity had no reply. She looked around the room as if Twilight was not there attempting to make conversation. Her gaze fell on Luna rather quickly where she quickly received a concerned gaze from the princess. Twilight held silently there for a moment before turning away and returning to the group, bringing her mood back by interacting with Scootaloo and Applebloom instead.

Luna decided her presence would only stop Twilight from having fun with her friends, so instead she made her way over to Rarity, who sat somewhat outside the group. She stood next to Rarity looking down at her with a frown. "Child, can you come with me for a moment?"

"I am not a child," Rarity said with a rather venomous tone.

"Would you prefer subject?" she asked, knowing Rarity would like that even less. "Come with me." This time she demanded it, making her way to the front lobby doors hoping Rarity would be behind her.

As she made her way out to a shaded area of the garden that had been created out front of the castle she turned around, glad to see Rarity had indeed followed her and took a seat carefully watching Rarity as she too sat down.

"What is your issue with Twilight?" she asked with a frown.

"Oh come now, you know the story, already must I really repeat it to you?" Rarity said, as if trying to speak as officially as Luna had once done.

"I just don't understand how it escalated like this," Luna replied with a concerned look.

"She let my sister die," Rarity replied, looking down at the floor.

"She tried everything she could to get Sweetie to agree to take the spell. I'm sorry, but your sister simply knew better then to take it."

"Knew better?" Rarity replied confused.

"Rarity, you've only lived for around two hundred years, so I do not expect you to understand, but when you have lived as long as I have you will come to understand your sister took the easy way out of this. She made the right choice in deciding that she was better off living a short and good life than a long and grief-stricken life."

"Yes, but in leaving us behind, she gave us grief," Rarity replied in frustration.

"I know, and I realize losing her like that was not how you intended things to be. You did not expect to outlive your sister nor should you have. You did not plan for this, I understand, but you can absolutely not punish Twilight for your sister’s choices."

"I don't know what else to do," Rarity said, looking very fragile now.

"And I can't tell you what to do.... but Twilight is my responsibility now, and her happiness is now my concern. So I need to somehow help you two fix this."

Rarity ran her hoof across her eye, not cleaning away a tear but seeming to just need to freshen herself up from all the emotions running through her at once. "This isn't very generous of me is it?" she asked with a frown.

"Which is why I need to help you, you can lose your element if you are not careful."

"Lose my element?" she said confused and worried.

"It's what happened with all of us, the previous hosts of the elements. In your case, Generosity. Sombra held that element for some time until Starswirl fell victim to mortality, which ironically is the problem here as well. After Starswirl, who was a good friend of Sombra died, the confidence Sombra had fell away and he ran off to his kingdom to essentially hide. Somehow during this time, he lost himself and turned into a tyrant. This, of course, is the opposite of generosity and his element abandoned him in search for another host."

"You mean we can just... lose our elements? Just like that?" Rarity said concerned.

"Unfortunately, yes. Celestia was not as honest with you as she should have been, and Twilight was told not to share her knowledge of the elements past what she needed to."

Rarity sighed, looking back at the door for a moment, still confused as to what she had to do. "So you're saying if I don't forgive her for this, then I could lose my element?"

"It's unlikely," Luna said honestly. "But... as I said, her happiness is now my concern, and if you become a source of distress for her, I will need to send you home. I simply cannot allow you to put stress on her like this."

"Okay.... I understand," Rarity said still holding her head low.

"I think it would be best if you returned to your room to think. Think about all that has been said here and figure out where you want to be. I can only hope where you want to be is with your friends," Luna said with a frown, giving Rarity a respectful silence as she walked away from her back into the main lobby of the hotel, leaving Rarity to think about what she might do next.

Purple Heart (Chapter 5)

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Scootaloo sighed, turning around and flopping down on the bed. Applebloom smiled, jumping up on top of her, laying down atop Scootaloo's chest and burying her face in the soft orange fur at her neck. "It's good to be back with Rainbow and the others," Applebloom said with a smile.

"Yeah, it's been a while since I saw any of them. I'm just glad we get to stay," Scootaloo said, hugging Applebloom tight against her.

"How long do we get to stay?" Applebloom asked.

"As long as we wish," Scootaloo said happily, her hoof gently tracing across Applebloom’s mane, giving her bow a small nudge. "I was hoping we could stay with them during the whole journey until they return to ponyville?" Applebloom asked as if she needed permission.

"I'm fine with that. Ponyville was getting.... depressing without them," Scootaloo nodded. Their time at Ponyville since Twilight and the others had left had only been getting worse and worse. It was strange to have friends that would be lost so soon, but they had learned quickly to keep to themselves in order to keep from getting hurt by the loss of another pony.

"It's funny... I never expected to remember things that happened as long ago as they have," Applebloom said with a frown. "I wonder how much longer I will remember those things before I forget the simple things like... my brother's name." She frowned, closing her eyes snuggling up to Scootaloo with a slight whimper.

"I promise you won't forget something so important, we don't just forget ponies like that," Scootaloo assured her.

"I'm saying this because I forgot how old I am... how do I forget my own age but expect to remember my family?" she said with another whimper.

Scootaloo sighed. "Applebloom, you're one hundred and eighty-seven years old. Don't feel bad about it, I don't remember my age either. Yours, however, has stuck in my brain," she giggled, hugging Applebloom tight.

"That means you're one hundred and eighty-eight, right?" Applebloom asked, looking up at Scootaloo, knowing she was younger than her orange companion, but not by how many years.

"Yeah, I think so," she giggled again. "We should quiz each other on this stuff every so often to make sure we remember," Scootaloo suggested jokingly.

"Okay." Applebloom sat up on Scootaloo's chest, looking down at her with a smile. "Let's start with a hard one, when did we get married?"

Scootaloo gave her a weird look before giggling, giving Applebloom a light shove. "That's not a hard question, we got married at nineteen years old."

Applebloom nodded, seeming to relax a little. "Okay, what about... when did you ask me to marry you?"

"What is this, twenty questions?" Scootaloo asked jokingly, reaching her hoof up playing with Applebloom’s mane. "On your eighteenth birthday, but you took a year to get anything done about it," she teased smiling, pulling Applebloom back down onto her chest. "Speaking of love," she said in a teasing voice, "Twilight and Luna?" she asked, having not asked too many questions when they were talking about it earlier.

"Oh, yeah, they've apparently hooked up now. They weren't really sharing any details, but they do stay in the same room," Applebloom said suggestively. "So I guess things are going well."

"Well, it is a good match," Scootaloo said, taking a moment before sitting up, making sure Applebloom was sitting comfortably next to her by the time she had fully sat up. "Hey, would you mind if I step out for a bit? I wanted to talk to Fluttershy earlier but we were busy."

Applebloom nodded, removing her hooves from around Scootaloo's neck. "Sure. You missed her, huh?" she said with a giggle.

"Well, she used to take care of us remember? I just feel like she knew us well enough that she deserves some recognition."

Applebloom nodded, watching Scootaloo stand up. "Do you know where she is?" Applebloom asked curiously.

"No. I'll go ask Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo said as a simple reply, noting it was getting dark outside, and guessing Fluttershy would be somewhere outside messing around with what little animals were around this part of the world. She hastily made her way over to the main lounge area where Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity were sitting and talking.

All three mares fell silent the instant they saw Scootaloo step into the room. Their conversation stopped until Rainbow stood up with a smile, watching Scootaloo walk over to them. "Hey kid, what's up?" she asked with a smile.

"I'm looking for Fluttershy, do you know where she is?" Scootaloo asked simply before giving Rainbow a hug, which she assumed she would want.

Rainbow took a moment to give Scootaloo a tight hug before pulling away and answering her. "Yes, she's up on wind turbine twenty-eight. I would recommend checking almost at the top of the tower, about a third of the way up, where she normally is."

Scootaloo nodded, giving a quick smile to the other two mares before heading off again, not wanting to waste much time and knowing they were in a conversation before she arrived.

She quickly flew up to turbine twenty-eight, scanning the floors for the familiar yellow pony. She smiled as her eyes locked on Fluttershy, who she quickly flew down to, landing next to her with a great flap of her wings. Fluttershy glanced over at her with a light smile. "Your wings have grown strong," she said.

"Yup, that's what happens when you use them for a hundred and eighty years," Scootaloo smiled, walking over to Fluttershy and locking her in a tight hug. "How are you, Fluttershy?" she asked, pulling away from the hug to see Fluttershy’s face as they spoke.

"I'm okay," she said simply at first. "I don't know... things are settling down, but there's some infighting going on between Twilight and Rarity.. it stresses me out to see them like that, so I kind of drift off, I guess," she said, looking down from the tower with a frown. "Never was very good at dealing with conflict... but keeping away from them like this is strange for me."

"I'm sure they will work it out eventually." Fluttershy leaned over the tower for a second before looking up at the floors above them where the rest of the scaffolding was. "They are up there right now, I can hear them."

"You can hear them over all this wind?" Scootaloo asked impressed, looking up seeing if she can find the two mares.

"From time to time, when one of them raises their voice," she said, shrinking back toward the main platform.

"They will work it out, don't worry," Scootaloo assured her with a frown.

"Maybe... why did you come to see me?" Fluttershy asked.

"I don't know, I just wanted to talk to you is all... they said you were handling immortality the best of all of us."

"I don't think so, you and Applebloom seem to be dealing with this quite well. The others still have little breakdowns every so often."

"What do you mean?" Scootaloo asked with a frown.

"You weren't there when Rainbow was asking Celestia to give you the immortality spell, but she was crying... she nearly broke down before Celestia assured her you could have the spell. It was strange to see Rainbow like that, she's normally so good at keeping her head held high, but she was very weak when she thought she might lose you."

Scootaloo frowned looking down. "I've seen her cry over me... it's strange for me to have somepony care for me like that. I've actually taken to calling Rainbow mom at this point, seeing as I never had one."

Fluttershy nodded understandingly. "She might as well be, it's a good match really," she insisted with a smile. "I have to go see how the girls are doing up there. You should go see Rainbow, she missed you a lot."

Scootaloo nodded, giving her another tight hug before getting ready to jump into the air again. "What's the next stop on the trip?" she asked quickly.

"In a few years, the factories out on Copper Fields, but our next location may change again so don't confirm anything yet," Fluttershy said flicking her wings about.

"Alright, thanks Fluttershy," Scootaloo said with a smile before jumping off the tower and taking back to the air, flying down toward the hotel.

Fluttershy took to the air soon after, flying up a couple floors before landing again and walking up the stairs until she came to the floor below where Rarity and Twilight were talking. She laid down on the floor with her head on her hoof, listening to their conversation as best as she could with all this wind.

"You had too much respect for Celestia to disobey her orders and save my sister, that's why I'm angry with you..." Rarity admitted with a frown.

"Your sister told me to step down, not Celestia. Your sister had decided she wanted nothing to do with immortality and I'm not sure if she made a bad choice in that."

"Twilight, we have gotten over this immortality thing, why couldn't she?" Rarity asked.

"None of us have gotten over this, even Celestia and Luna have not gotten over this. You think this is all just one big gift? Living forever? Rarity, this is a curse not a gift," Twilight frowned, looking at Rarity as seriously as she could. "This is not a gift, and Sweetie understood that."

"Yes, but in avoiding losing others, she made me lose her. I don't understand why you couldn't see the flaw in that judgement," Rarity insisted.

"There was no flaw in that judgement. Rarity, you've been cooped up in your shop or in your room for years upon years, you don't understand yet what it's like to make friends and to watch them die. You had one generation of friends die and you shut down, every year I've lived I've made and lost friends. I deserve a damn medal for all my wounds and what do you have?"

"Oh, I've lost friends alright," Rarity said with a light growl to her voice, her eyes locking on Twilight’s with anger.

"Oh come on, put your ego aside for a moment and realize what happened to your sister is not my fault." Twilight said in a lower voice clearly a bit nervous now.

"I know it's not your fault, but I don't know what to do now!" she said in frustration. "I used to wake up every morning and take care of her, or at least have her come home every night and tell me about how things were going! Tell me about how Scootaloo and Applebloom were getting into this new relationship or how there was a colt in her class she was interested in! Now I come home and all I get is silence..... I wake up and all I get is silence," she whimpered looking down at the floor. "There's no one waiting for me anymore.... I'm alone."

Rarity was crying now and Twilight could see it, but she no longer knew if Rarity was okay with her being near, much less giving her a hug to help her mood. "What happened to you and Fluttershy?" Twilight asked with a frown, knowing they were getting very close before Sweetie had died, at which point Rarity broke off from all of them. It was one of the reasons Fluttershy was hiding away most of the day. Separating from Rarity just before they got serious encouraged her to stay away from others so the same thing did not happen.

"I just... lost touch with her I guess," Rarity said with a sniffle. "What does it matter, as evidence has just shown, I'm too much of a bitch to be with somepony like her.... and Celestia has said she didn't want any more immortals, so I can't just find any random colt or mare and beg for them to have the spell."

"Then keep going after Fluttershy," Twilight suggested. "Rarity, I know it hurts for you right now, but the way you left her is hurting her too. I think you two would have made for a good couple, you just need to work on it. Perhaps we can bring you both back to reality that way," she insisted, giving Rarity a concerned look. "She likes having you around, don't ignore her because of that."

Rarity nodded finally clearing her eyes as she stood back up. "Then... what do I do next?"

Shelter as you go (Chapter 6)

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Twilight made a growling noise as she pushed a cart aside storming out toward the edge of the scaffolding, cursing to herself as she kicked a tool off the edge, a hammer one of the workers had left up here. She glared off toward the other wind turbines for a moment before she finally attempted to relax, sitting down to stare at her hooves in frustration. It had been more than a year since her and Luna had gotten together but still they were having problems.

She heard steps behind her; heavy, firm and confident. "Princess, please..... I need to be alone for a moment," Twilight pleaded, keeping her head down.

"Last I checked, I didn't earn the title of princess, darling," Rarity said in the softest voice she could as she stepped up behind Twilight.

Twilight was surprised to say the least. Seeing Rarity coming to her aid today was the last thing she expected. "Rarity? What are you doing up here?" she asked, turning her head but not leaving the spot she had taken up next to the edge.

"I came to see what's wrong... Twilight, darling, can you step away from the edge? We don't all have wings you know, and I'd prefer to talk to you a few feet away from certain death," she tried to joke, but she failed to improve Twilight's mood.

Twilight nodded, standing up and moving a few feet back from the edge before sitting down again, facing Rarity. "What is Luna doing?" she asked concerned.

"She's talking with Rainbow Dash. It comforts her to talk to her previous element," Rarity explained, watching Twilight carefully for her reactions, making sure not to anger her.

"How do you know about that?" Twilight asked, confused.

"Luna told me, she was afraid that if I continued acting how I was I would lose my element.... so she told me how she lost hers," Rarity said with a heavy frown.

"I was afraid of the same thing... that's why I was keeping away from you, I didn't want you to lose the element... I was afraid if you lost it Celestia would no longer see you as important and maybe take the spell away."

Rarity smiled. "Oh come now, Celestia is not even close to that cruel. But I thank you for your concern."

Twilight nodded before speaking. "Are you still mad at me?...." she asked in a retreated tone. "You don't really talk to me all that much."

"Oh dear, I just need some time," Rarity explained. "It's just... I don't think I've yet earned the right to act like all this never happened.. like I didn't hate you for so many years," Rarity said in a depressed tone.

"Rarity, there is no amount of time you need wait to have me forgive you. It's not necessary to torture yourself over this. It's been a year since you gave up your feud with me, you can act like it never happened. We have bigger problems now anyway."

"You mean with you and Luna?" she asked concerned.

"No, with the factory. Next year we leave for the factories and I'm afraid with how little Celestia has communicated with us. I'm afraid not everything will be set up as it should be. "

"I'm sure it will be fine Twilight but.. we should solve this problem first," she pointed out.

Twilight looked away with a frown. "She tried to kiss me so I pushed her away... literally."

Rarity looked at her with a mixture of confusion and concern. "You've been together for a year Twilight, kissing is still an issue?"

Twilight slinked back as if nervous. "I... I don't know, I'm so scared I'm going to mess something up. I don't even try to get any closer I mean... what if I do something wrong?"

"Do something wrong? Twilight, darling, she's lived for thousands of years. I promise you she's seen every inexperienced pony there is. She will not be angry with you if you mess something up."

"So what do you suggest I do then?..." Twilight asked with heavy concern in her voice.

"You have time, all the time in the world, but she knows that better then you do. So perhaps going at her speed will be better for you both? If she wants to get closer, why is there a problem?"

"Am I just being paranoid?" Twilight asked.

Rarity giggled before moving over and giving Twilight a hug. "Yes you are, but that's not always a bad thing, honey," she insisted with a smile as she pulled away from the hug but stayed close. "My advice is to shelter as you go, do you know what that means?"

"No," Twilight answered simply.

"It means get comfortable with where you are, create a shelter, before moving on to some place new. You are comfortable where you are correct?" Rarity asked.

"Yes, of course."

"Okay, well before winter comes, move on and become comfortable there. So when winter does come, you're not stuck without a shelter. Moving to the factory areas for another 4 years will be tricky on its own; you don't want to stress your relationship."

"That's a strange metaphor," Twilight smiled with a light giggle.

"I must get going, darling, Fluttershy wants me to cook tonight, so I better get working on it now." she smiled. "For such a gentle pony, she sure has an appetite."

Twilight nodded with another giggle. "Yeah, she's a strange pony."

Rarity stood up getting ready to leave. "She's my kind of strange, and I'm sure you can say the same about the princess," Rarity smiled as she stepped toward the main stairwell. "Are you coming down with me or are you going to stay up here for a bit?"

"I think I just.... need some time to breathe," Twilight explained.

"Alright dear, would you like me to send Luna up?"

Twilight thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Yes I... I shouldn't be ignoring her when I do something wrong. And perhaps I need to start work on that shelter too."

"Twilight, it might be far out of my place to suggest this but... If she wants to kiss you, let her. You won't regret it."

Twilight blushed a bit but she nodded. "What is it like to be that close to somepony?"

"Find out darling, it may be out of my place but.... I think you two need to stick together. I... I think you're the best possible thing for each other."

Twilight blushed heavier now as she sat at the edge of the scaffolding. It was nearly an hour by the time Twilight had given up waiting for Luna to arrive, but as she stood up to leave, she heard steps behind her prompting her to turn around. Luna was now standing right behind her.

"Hey...." Luna said with a frown, not meeting Twilight's eyes. "I'm sorry for trying to force that on you."

Twilight cut her off quickly. "No, no, this isn't your fault, I'm just.... I'm just paranoid of screwing up."

"You're not screwing up anything, Twilight. It's me, I'm not patient anymore. I've lived for so long that I now just, hate waiting for things like this."

"I don't want to wait anymore either," Twilight said as bluntly as she could. "I don't want to wait to get closer to you, I just... I need to you to make me do it.... because I won't do it on my own."

"So.. what do you want me to do?" Luna asked with a frown.

"I have problems, princess, and I can't seem to solve them on my own... what I need you to do, princess, is teach me how to be with you.. really be with you, not just be here with you, but be with you. Can you teach me how to do that?" Twilight pleaded.

"Of course," Luna said with a smile, placing a hoof gently on Twilight's cheek. "Anything for my princess."

How many times (Chapter 7)

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Twilight's birthday: Two hundred and fifteen years old as of today.
Letter to Princess Celestia.
Subject: The Factories

Dear Princess,
It has been three years now since I have received a letter from you, but I shall continue to send letters to report on our situation as often as I can. This letter will take six hours to reach you due to how far away we now are, but somehow I don't think that matters.

We are now four hours from arriving at the factory and the others are very excited to see what work has already been done. Luna continues to retreat from us, acting as if she cannot freely speak in front of anyone here. Perhaps that is my fault.... the more I think about how I left her, the more I wish I did not do it.

All of this is so much for me to take in. Immortality aside, any relationship is made with the purpose of attempting to find somepony you want to spend your entire life with. I've had a hard time figuring out... what I want.

I would ask you for help but... I guess I'm learning quickly that you're not interested in talking to me anymore...

[-----]

Twilight made a frustrated grunt, tearing up the paper and throwing it out the window of the cart. Her friends glanced over at her in concern as she made a growling noise and started ripping at her entire stack of paper whipping it all out the window. "Why can't I just write a simple letter!?" she yelled in frustration, burying her face in her hooves as her friends stared her down.

"Are you okay sugarcube?" Applejack asked concerned.

"Hardly.... I'm just, I'm losing touch."

"What can we do to help?" Fluttershy asked.

"I don't know... nothing maybe?" Twilight sighed. "All of this is just so overwhelming to me it's the... it's the breakup with Luna, it's the princess never answering me and it's Pinkie getting worse.... I don't know what to do anymore."

"You're not the only one who's lost Twilight... all of those things are damaging Luna as well," Rarity pointed out.

"Did any of you get the chance to speak to her today?" Twilight asked. She had often been relying on them as a source of information for how Luna was doing. She felt face to face time with her was too awkward for the both.

Her friends looked at each other confused for a moment before all shook their heads. "Sorry, sugarcube, I don't think any of us has."

Twilight frowned, looking down at the seat below her. "I'm afraid she might want to go back to the castle... and we'll be alone again."

"We’re more than a month's worth of travel away from the castle... we’re already alone," Fluttershy said in a rather depressing tone.

"Do you guys... think I made a mistake?" Twilight asked.

"I think you need to be careful about who you select as yer partner. As it is now, we’re going to live forever and... we need to be careful about who we choose to spend that time with," Applejack replied. "No, I don't think you made a mistake. I think you weighed your options and figured out that you have the time to test things out before you step into anything big."

Twilight nodded. "Thanks..." she said half-heartedly. "Luna has been saying she wants to talk but... I keep ignoring her. I think I'm starting to make her angry... she said she wanted to talk in the cart, but I ignored her to be in this one with you guys."

"I'm surprised she hasn't used her magic to drag you over there."

Twilight sighed. "Oh, she wants to... I can feel her magic doing something, but it's not directly on me."

Before Twilight could explain any more, a light flick of bright lights trickled through the center of the room, soon replaced with Scootaloo and Applebloom, who had been riding in the cart with Luna in front of them. "Hey..." Scootaloo said, trying to keep a good poker face going but failing. "I think you're in trouble," she admitted.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked concerned.

"Well... she sent us out of the car because she said she was going to make you 'quite angry,' so I'm assuming she's mad at you?" Scootaloo replied.

"Make me angry?" Twilight asked. "How is she going to make-" she stopped mid sentence only to have her eyes go wide. With a heavy growl, her magic kicked up and suddenly she was gone from the car. The others all looked sideways at Scootaloo and Applebloom as if they would have an explanation, but they did not.

Twilight’s magic crashed into the other cart, placing her directly in front of Luna. Visibly furious, Twilight glared at her. "What the hell makes you think you can touch my stars!" she growled in anger as her magic attempted to fix the constellations hanging in the night sky above them.

"It was the only way I could get your attention," Luna insisted.

"Get my attention?! Do you even know what kind of damage you could have caused!?" Twilight said in fury, glancing out the window up at the sky above them to take a second look at her corrections.

"Twilight, I am thousands of years old I assure you I know what I'm doing-"

Twilight’s magic whipped a suitcase in her direction. Barely missing Luna, it smashed into the window next to her creating a massive crack in it. "Yet you act like a four year old throwing a tantrum!" Twilight screamed. "You want my attention? Fine, you have it! But don't you ever touch my stars again!"

Luna tried to interrupt, but was obviously shaken from having all this anger thrown at her. "Yes, okay! Maybe it was reckless and maybe it was childish, but I had to get your attention!" Luna was starting to cry now as she tried to explain. "I'm sorry! I had to get your attention..." she had broken down into sobs at this point as she struggled to keep her composure. "You've just been completely ignoring me! I mean you just... you just left me," she said between tears.

Twilight’s anger was gone now, replaced with guilt and depression. "I... I didn't leave you," she managed to say in a repressed tone. "I just... I wanted time to think about everything I was doing... so many things are happening to me at once. I'm so overwhelmed, I... I'm sorry."

Luna was sniffling as she struggled to keep as calm as possible. "I'm sorry I moved your stars, I just..."

"Had to get my attention," Twilight said with frown. "You have it," she said looking away from the princess.

"Twilight, we’re coming up on the factories now. We're going to be here for at least four years. Twilight, I'm done sleeping alone.... I used to find comfort in the moonlight that came through my castle bedroom windows, but that's just not enough for me anymore. Twilight, I only have two choices," Luna said with a heavy frown. "I can either try desperately to make things work between us or... or I have to leave and try to find somepony else. But I can't stay here anymore, at least. I can't stay here alone anymore."

"How did you know moving my stars would get my attention?" Twilight asked in confusion, knowing if she messed with Luna's moon it would not affect her.

"I didn't.. I just hoped it would. I didn't know what else to do."

Twilight sighed looking away for a moment closing her eyes. "I'm going back to the other cart... I'll be back in a few minutes."

"What are you going to tell them?" Luna asked clearing her eyes.

"I'm just going to tell them we need some time.. to sort through things," Twilight replied.

"How many times have we told them that I wonder..." Luna said with a sigh.

My New Teacher (Chapter 8)

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[-----]

I'm ready to talk now.

The door is open. -Twilight Sparkle-

[-----]

Luna watched the slip of paper fall down from the small hole in the door used for letters. She quickly rushed over to it, knowing Twilight was going to soon send her something about their conversation in the car on the way here to the factories. Their plans to keep talking after they got here were interrupted when they were given a tour through the facility. The tour took three hours, and it was such a massive amount of area to cover that everypony was exhausted upon returning to their new rooms. It was now the following night, and whereas most ponies were sound asleep after a long day, Luna lay awake and restless, waiting for Twilight to talk to her again.

She quickly flicked the paper to her view with her magic, scanning over the few words multiple times before putting the slip of paper back down and rushing out the door. She tried to regain her composure upon reaching Twilight's penthouse room at the top of the hotel next to the factory, but her rapid breath would give her away if she did not settle down. Thus, she sat down in front of Twilight's door in an attempt to not look too excited about this before she entered.

After a few moments of relaxing, Luna sighed and stood back up. She stepped inside, closing the door behind her, making sure to keep it locked up once she was inside. She looked over at the couch where Twilight sat with a blanket wrapped over her back, a glass of wine in front of her with another next to it. Luna could see Twilight was holding back a smile as she entered the room.

Luna let her magic drift for a second, taking off her official royal armor, along with her crown. Her hair now flowed down over her shoulders. The crowns her and Celestia wore were built to control their manes, otherwise they would flow freely in many directions. Luna never had a problem with this, but Celestia insisted she wear it. Forgetting about all this to focus on what she was here for, she made her way over to the couch where Twilight had clearly made room for her.

They didn't say anything at first. Luna took a seat next to Twilight, leaning over and gently kissing Twilight’s cheek, giving the young princess a gentle nudge with her muzzle. Twilight blushed, looking down placing a hoof on Luna's as gently as she could despite her nervousness. "A drink?" she asked, her magic lighting up one of the glasses, lifting it up a bit to make sure Luna knew she was referring to the wine.

Luna shook her head, keeping a sharp eye on Twilight’s actions as they began to talk. "No, at least not yet... I would like to speak with you with as clear of a mind as I can."

Twilight nodded, looking up at her. Luna was not much taller than her, but she still had to look up at the towering princess of the night. "I wasn't planning on doing much speaking tonight... I'm tired of trying to be what I assumed was civilized. The world works differently then what I was taught by Celestia. She was teaching me as well as an immortal could teach a mortal, but... my life is different now. I don't have a limit on what I can experience, I don't have a shortage of time. So maybe I don't need to think about things as carefully as I would normally."

"So.. you want to take risks?" Luna asked curiously, not quite understanding what she was talking about.

"Yes," Twilight replied simply without explaining further.

"What kind of risks?"

"The kind where I do something stupid without thinking about what could happen once it's done," Twilight said, her blush growing steadily. Luna could tell she was going to do something but she couldn't tell what yet. "I just hope you won't get angry at me..."

"Do as you wish, child," Luna replied very curious at this point.

"Only if you stop calling me child," Twilight said with a shy smile.

"Deal, so what are you going to do?" Luna asked sitting up a little, having slid into an uncomfortable position.

"Just.. help me please? I don't know what I'm doing," she laughed nervously, edging closer as she watched Luna nod in acknowledgement of her request. She blushed, heavily guiding her lips toward Luna's, closing her eyes as she did. She got most of the way there, but stopped due to her nervousness and turned away, closing her eyes tight. "I'm sorry, I," she said in a nervous and frightened tone.

Luna reached out her hoof, gently taking Twilight's cheek turning the princess’s attention back to her, locking her into a kiss. "Mmmph!" Twilight tried to speak into Luna's lips, but the warmth of the kiss forced her to relax against Luna, hoof pressed firmly to Luna's chest in her panic. Now in the full embrace of the princess, she was able to relax leaning into the kiss as Luna held her cheek gently, keeping her into the kiss for as long as it took for Twilight to become comfortable.

Twilight finally felt the gentle grip of Luna's hoof leave her cheek, and the warmth of the princess's lips part from her own. Twilight's blush refused to go down as Luna nuzzled into her neck and cheek. "Why did you want to wait for so long to do that?" Luna asked her as she too gained a blush.

"I was afraid that... whatever passion you had for me would go away the morning after," Twilight frowned, gently running her hoof down off Luna's chest onto the couch.

"Well... how about I stay with you tonight, and we find out?" Luna suggested with a smile, leaning down gently kissing Twilight's neck affectionately. "Can I have that drink now?" she said, glancing over at the glasses. Twilight nodded, she was about to have her magic reach for her glass, but Luna's magic took a hold of it first. Slowly, the glass glided over to Twilight's lips, allowing her to take a careful drink.

"Thank you," Twilight said with a small laugh. "I've never had anypony do that before."

"Mmm.... well how about you try now?" Luna asked, the glass still hovering next to her waiting for if Twilight wanted more.

"Oh no no no, I'll spill it all over you and ruin your coat and.. no, it's a bad idea," Twilight said nervously.

"I trust you," Luna said smiling, sitting up so Twilight would have an easier time working with the glass. "Come on, I think it's my turn to teach you something."

"To teach me how to help someone get drunk?" Twilight said with another small laugh. Despite herself, she found her magic gripping the glass, moving it over to them.

"No... I think I'll teach you romance," Luna said, smiling as she watched the blush return to Twilight's face. "I'm your teacher now, so let's get working."

Myraid (Chapter 9)

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"Why did you not wake me!?" Luna growled, waking Twilight as her anger made her raise her voice. "So what? You just locked down the entire floor?"

"And the two floors below you. We had to remove Mrs. Applejack and Mrs. Rainbow Dash, as well as Mrs. Fluttershy and move them down to Rarity's room," the mare explained, motioning toward a piece of paper laying on the table next to them. "These are only half of the guards stationed, the others will decide random locations that will not be mapped out to keep moles from getting past us."

"You're taking this over the top, you evicted Twilight's friends and now you've got the whole building on lockdown! Construction better still be going on!" Luna said with a heavy tone.

"Of course. We are focusing all our resources on the hotel, not on the job site," the mare responded rather sharply. "We know what we're doing."

"Clearly you do not or you wouldn't even bother coming. How the hell did you get here so fast anyway?" Luna asked in confusion. “The trip from Canterlot to them should have taken close to a month, even by teleportation."

The mare frowned with a sigh. "All of this happened a few weeks ago, we only got here now."

"And why did you not send a letter to inform me? Why did no one send a letter to inform me? Where is my sister?"

"She's fine-" the mare was cut off quickly.

"Yeah, that's great and all, but why has she not contacted us in any way for years!?" Luna demanded.

"I don't know. I haven't spoken with her in months as is."

They were interrupted by Twilight sitting up, looking concerned. "What’s going on?" she asked in a daze, quickly standing up off the bed, noting that the bed was still warm on Luna's side, meaning she left the bed recently.

"Princess Cadance has been found dead," the guard said, before receiving a light tap on the head from Luna's magic.

"Do not frighten her by being vague, explain."

The guard nodded looking a bit nervous now. "The princess was found dead five weeks ago in her bathroom. We don't know from what. So far Shining Armor is safe, as well as Princess Celestia. The autopsy was being conducted as I left so I don't know what killed her."

"But.. my brother is safe right?" Twilight asked, her voice dipping down into deep concern.

"I'm afraid I don't know princess... when I left, he was under the tight watch of Luna's personal guard. I assure you he will be kept safe, but since I don't know what killed his wife, I cannot guarantee everypony in the castle is safe."

"How many guards stayed behind to guard him?" Luna said, walking over to Twilight, gently kissing her forehead to try and relax her.

"Thirty-three exactly," the mare responded quickly.

"Why the odd number?..." Twilight asked confused. "Never mind, not important. I want him down here with us as soon as possible."

"I'm afraid I cannot just order him down here princess," the mare replied with a frown.

"Oh, you're not giving him the order, I am. Draft a letter on your orders for your guards, I will send it along with my letter to him. He's coming here or we’re going home. No exception."

"But Princess Celestia said-"

"Princess Celestia has said nothing to me in years, I'm done waiting on her. My brother is coming here or I'm going to him. Have your letter ready and to my door by the time we are ready to sleep, understood?"

"Princess, I'm afraid I don't take orders from you," the mare said, hoping to not have to explain this to her fellow guards.

"You do now. As far as you're concerned, her orders are mine," Luna said with a frown.

"Understood, Princess Luna, I'm sorry. I meant no disrespect. I was simply informing her-" she was cut off once again.

"I know Myraid, you're doing fine," Luna assured her, walking over with a light smile. "Just make sure you get the letter to Twilight by the end of the day, okay?"

Myraid nodded, looking up at the princess, seeming to quickly become very upset. "I'm sorry princess. I tried to get here earlier but..." Myraid sighed, pressing a hoof to her face.

"Relax, child, you're doing fine. I know it's been a few years since you were even trained for this sort of thing. Don't worry, okay? You're doing fine. I'm going to make your job a bit easier. Please move all the other elements up to our room. Tell them to keep their belongings in their rooms, we can get them as they need them."

Myraid nodded again. "Thank you princess, I'll bring them up within the hour. I'm afraid I won't see you until later tonight, I must draft that letter for Twilight," Myraid shook her head quickly. "Sorry, Princess Twilight."

Twilight giggled a little. "I never did adjust to the title princess, feel free to ignore it."

"Understood, princess" Myraid responded.

Twilight rolled her eyes. She walked out of the master bedroom into the living area of their hotel suite where she was greeted by around fifteen guards spread about the room standing silently, waiting. "Are they going to be staying in here or...?" she asked, assuming the two mares had followed her.

"No, half will dispatch outside your door, the rest on the balcony. I will be the only guard roaming about your room from time to time. Try not to make too much noise, they will not hesitate to storm in if they hear anything suspicious."

"Understood. Thank you, Myraid," Luna said with a smile, nodding down to her. "You may get the other elements now. Thank you for your help."

Myraid nodded, looking over at the other guards before heading out. The guards quickly separated, making their way to their own posts. Once Luna and Twilight were alone, Twilight frowned, turning to her.

"Why the guards? Do they think she was killed?" Twilight asked in a repressed panic.

"They don't know what to think. Her horn was hollow when they found her. What could have done that? I don't know..." Luna sighed. "Whatever it is, your brother is safer here with us."

"I know... I hope he gets here soon," Twilight sighed as her magic started up, the pencil across the room starting to work on the page. "It will take him four weeks, he's a strong unicorn.”

"Are you.. talking while you write to him?" Luna asked with a laugh.

"Yeah, I don't have to think about what I'm writing to write what I want. It writes itself by now,” she said, the pencil still working away.

"That's interesting. Well, knowing Myraid she'll be back in roughly two to three hours with your requested letter. She's a good soldier, hence why we also made her immortal."

"Oh, she's an immortal? Interesting."

"Sister thought it would be better to keep our best guards around. Your brother was immortal from the day he became captain of the guard," Luna explained.

"What? He never told me that!" Twilight said with a frustrated frown.

"No, no, I mean, he would have gotten the spell sooner or later. He might as well have been guaranteed it," Luna explained.

"Alright... it was bad enough dropping out of contact with him for so long back before he got married, I was afraid I didn't know as much about him as I thought."

"You know everything there is to know about him. Why have you not been sending him letters to communicate between you and the castle? He would never miss your letters like my sister has been doing."

"I didn't want to use him. If I send him a letter I want to be for something important. Something for him, not for the princess."

"The other girls will be up here soon. We better get the living area ready for them to sleep in," Luna said looking around. "Seems easy enough. You finish your letter, I'll handle all this."

"Sure you don't want my help?" Twilight asked, standing up now, pencil still digging away at the page.

"Just get your brother down here, and send a letter to Celestia while you're at it. Inform her of your wishes and make sure to add a footnote that this is a request from us both,” Luna said, her magic pushing furniture about the room.

"Alright. It's gonna take me a second, but I can write both at the same time. I just can't talk while I do, so, um, can you focus on this while I finish these up?"

"Of course, go ahead darling," Luna smiled, walking back over and kissing Twilight's cheek. "Take your time, this is important to you."

"Alright, thank you," Twilight responded, walking over to the desk where she picked up a second pencil, getting ready to write.

"We're here for the party!" Pinkie’s weak voice picked up from the door. "Or at least, me and Fluttershy are," she giggled, limping into the room.

Luna turned to them. "Ah, hello girls. Please take a seat. Twilight is just writing some letters, try not to bother her for a moment if you can."

"Of course, princess," Fluttershy said, helping Pinkie move over to the couches nearby and sitting her down. "Pinkie is actually feeling a little better this morning. I think she's starting to pick back up," Fluttershy smiled.

"Mhm! I'll be back to party mode in no-" she was cut off by a few coughs. "Time!" she said finally, giggling as she did so.

"That's good to hear. I'm going to explain all this to you girls once the others are here. For now, I'm just getting your beds ready."

"Our beds?" Fluttershy asked, looking at the pieces of furniture about the room lined up as beds. "Oh, we have to sleep in here?"

"Yes, unfortunately. Myraid is here for protection detail. This makes her job much easier. You don't mind do you?"

"No, I'm just asking," Fluttershy said looking around the room. "This will be like our sleepovers all over again," she joked.

"A sleepover!? Awesome!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed from her seat next to Fluttershy.

"Mm, you are doing better," Twilight said, her pencils stopping for a moment. "I'll be joining you in a moment. Glad to see you're doing good, Pinkie," she smiled back at her friends before turning back to her letters. "Just need to get my brother here now and everything will be okay again."

Coalesce (Chapter 10)

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Twilight had been resting on the balcony for a few hours now. It was becoming night and the sun was setting. Luna was standing next to her, staring off toward her moon which by now was raising high into the sky. Twilight smiled, standing up and nuzzling her cheek into Luna's neck. "Did you want to raise the moon tonight?" Luna asked, looking down at Twilight.

"No, I'm sorry. It's just a bit too much work for me some nights," Twilight explained, resting against Luna.

"Princess, I have somepony sighted... I can't tell who it is," the colt above them on the roof explained. He had binoculars held with his magic in front of his eyes. "White coat," he said quickly after that.

"It's probably my brother, I'll go see," Twilight said, sounding rather happy.

"No, princess, you can't go without guards-" Before the colt could finish his sentence, Twilight had already teleported down to the figure far off in the distance. She stood a few feet in front of him, smiling upon seeing the familiar blue mane. "Shining! Where are your guards?" she asked running over to him, stopping a few feet short watching him slowly wobble side to side before collapsing onto the floor.

"Shining!" she yelled running over to him, her magic picking up her brother from the ground. His horn was glowing very lightly. He was using his magic, but for what she couldn't tell. She heard more guards teleporting in behind her as she turned his face to her. "Shining, what's going on?"

Shining was coughing; his magic had created a small barrier around his mouth and chin as if trying to create a mask. "No, no, Twilight, go back. Air...the air is sick," he said with a frown.

"The air is sick?" Twilight asked. "Shining, what are you talking about?" she frowned, greatly concerned by how he was acting.

"Guards," he coughed, tapping the blue magic covering his mouth and nose. "Mask..get the princess a mask," he said, starting to pant heavily now as if running out of breath.

She heard the magic of five ponies behind her starting up, and soon she was yanked away from her brother with the strange tingling of somepony’s magic coating her mouth. It was hard to breathe at first, but soon a rush of fresh air flooded into her mouth as the guards dragged her away from her brother, who had now collapsed fully onto the floor.

"No, what are you doing!? I have to help him!" she shouted at the guards pulling her away. Her eyes soon locked on Myraid, who was running toward Shining. She looked over her shoulder, shouting back at Twilight. "I'll bring him to your room as soon as I can, just wait there," she said in a hurry, running off to help him.

With another whisk of unfamiliar magic, she was teleported back into her room where Luna was waiting for her. "Twilight, you need to stay inside," Luna said in a panic, looking out the window as the guard’s magic locked down the windows. The other girls seemed just as confused as she was as they sat on the other side of the room.

"What's going on? What is this stupid mask?" she asked, her magic prying off the magic from her muzzle. "He said the air was sick, what is going on!?"

"I don't know, but we’re trusting him on this," Luna frowned, walking over to Twilight, her magic re-creating the mask around Twilight's mouth and nose. "I'm sorry, I know it's confusing, I don't understand either. He will have to explain when he wakes up," she frowned, running her hoof over Twilight's mane, trying to calm her.

"Wakes up?! Is he hurt!?" Twilight said in panic.

"I don't know. Myraid hasn't told me much, she just said we need to get everypony a mask. We can speak with both of them within the hour," Luna said with a frown, still trying to calm Twilight.

"I...okay..." Twilight sighed. "Just...he's going to be okay right?" she asked, still concerned.

"As far as I know yes, but we can't get in contact with any of his personal guards. He would not have made the trip on his own, never," Luna said, guiding Twilight over to her friends. "Please sit with the others while I figure out what's going on," Luna insisted. Twilight nodded, taking a seat next to Scootaloo and Applebloom, watching Luna walk out of the room in a hurry.

"So...we still don't know what's going on?" Applebloom asked with a frown.

"No...I have no idea. Shining is here, but he was talking crazy when I got to him. He said the air was sick...what does that mean?" Twilight questioned, her magic drifting across the room to her collection of books. "Maybe I can find something on this," she said standing up.

She stopped her rush for a moment when she felt a hoof on hers. "Wait," coughed Pinkie Pie. "You should sit with us for a bit, you need to keep calm," she said with a concerned smile.

"Thanks, Pinkie," Twilihgt said with a frown, pressing a hoof to her face. "Ugh, just...I haven't seen him and years and when I finally do he's too weak to stand."

"Don’t worry, darling. Relax for now and you can help your brother later," Rarity said from the couch across from them. Fluttershy was now wrapped in her hooves, looking quite tired.

"Is something wrong with Fluttershy?" Twilight asked walking over. "Does she...not have a mask on!?" she asked in a panic. Rarity looked down, moving Fluttershy so her muzzle was now no longer buried in her chest. "The unicorns must have missed her," Rarity said sitting up. "I don't know the spell!" she said clearly panicked despite not really knowing what could happen if Fluttershy was not wearing one.

Twilight looked over at the guards, calling one over who quickly put a mask on Fluttershy. "She should be fine ma'am, this is just a precaution," the guard assured her.

Fluttershy, who had been looking nervous and scared since Twilight had run over, finally spoke up in her whispered voice. "T..Twilight I'm not hurt, I'm just tired," she said, shrinking back. "S...Sorry."

Twilight sighed, sitting down on the floor in front of them. "No, no, I'm sorry, I just panicked..." she said shaking her head.

"Perhaps you should check those books of yours now sugarcube..." Applejack suggested.

"Perhaps.." Twilight sighed, standing up and walking over to her book collection. "He said the air was sick. I've never read anything about that before. And these masks, what is all this about?"

"Check diseases and cotangents," Applebloom suggested, quickly getting strange looks from the others in the group. "What? I trained with Zecora you know. Sure, only for a couple years, but I still trained with her."

Twilight took as many books off the shelves as she could about different types of sicknesses, and laid them all out on the floor. "I should cross off anything that's not airborne...that removes a good fifteen books," she said, tossing those books back on the shelves.

"Is there any specific name you can remember?" Rarity asked Applebloom.

Myraid stepped up behind Twilight with a frown. "Try Coalesce," she suggested with a heavy frown. "Your brother nearly got it, and it's spreading..."

Chemical ash (Chapter 11)

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"Myraid, why can't you tell me more about this thing?" Twilight asked with a frown. "What is it?"

"It's a chemical; you can't see it, you can't sense it, you can't feel it. Not at least until it shuts down your lungs, then works its way into your muscle tissue, and from there into your bones. It decays you from the inside out, but you need to be exposed for at least seven minutes before damage starts to take place. We found that the masks we devised provided such a pure amount of oxygen that it expelled the gas, vacating the lungs within a few breaths and saving your life. That is why you must never take the mask off, it is your only defense."

"Do you know where it comes from?" Twilight sat down with a frown, looking over at the door where she would soon be able to meet her brother.

"The changelings made it four thousand years ago, before Queen Chrysalis took power. Once she took power, however, and the princesses had gotten old enough to deal with the changelings themselves, they made a deal for the changelings never to use such a terrible weapon ever again. Queen Chrysalis revealed she had long ago rid her hive of the chemical, and outlawed its use in her kingdom. She called it barbaric."

Twilight gave her a weird look. "Queen Chrysalis gave up a weapon that could bring her world domination?"

"Yes, because it only killed ponies and sea ponies. It would leave the world without any affection for them to live off. When the princesses called it a weapon of mass destruction, she corrected them with self-destruction, explaining the loss of conscious life on the planet would leave her without a source of power for her hive. She assured the princesses the weapon had been eradicated decades before, and that she had never planned to use it. I guess that was our luck until now."

"Where is it? Is there any way to check with magic?"

Myraid took a deep breath. "We need Fluttershy’s help. Animals can smell the chemical, and they can tolerate it. If she trains one to help us, they can tell us where the infection is, without any harm being done to the animal. That I can assure you."

"It is not me you will need to assure," Twilight pointed out. "Fluttershy is quite protective of her animals."

"I understand. I will speak with her, but your brother requests your presence."

"When did he wake?" Twilight asked with a slight acidity to her tone, angry that no one had told her he had woken.

"About three hours ago. He was busy planning things with me and some other guards. He is waiting for you now in the room across the hall," Myraid explained, looking back at the door.

"Thank you," Twilight said calmly, though very nervous and excited behind her calm words. She quickly stood, making her way to the door, stepping through it and across the hall, her magic hanging on the doorknob as she hesitated. About what she was unsure, but she felt like she needed to ready herself for something.

She sighed, stepping inside and taking a deep breath as her eyes locked on Shining, who was standing facing away from her at a table with a few more guards. They were silent, which was odd. As she walked over, the attention of the silent room quickly snapped to her. Shining stood up, turning to her. "Ah, there you are Twilight. I need to speak with you." He paused for a moment after that, glancing back at the ponies dotting the table side as if silently telling them to leave.

And so they did, filling out the door until Twilight stood in the living room with Shining alone and in silence. "I'm sorry... I couldn't help Cadance," he frowned, looking down. The guards who had left obviously had him under emotional lockdown. Now that they were gone, Twilight hoped he would open back up again.

"That doesn't matter anymore...this chemical that is forcing us into lockdown, is this what killed her?" she asked, walking over to him.

"Yes...the chemical, when exposed to unicorns, hollows out the inside of their horn. It's the only thing that could do something like that, so we knew immediately what we were dealing with."

"And you didn't say something in your letter about it?" Twilight asked with a frown.

"No, I didn't wish to scare you. It was an isolated incident in my room, no one else died. We didn't know what to think of it. I did not expect we'd be attacked" Shining sighed, shaking his head.

"Attacked? Is that why you came alone? Where are your personal guards?"

"Dead. I tried to give them all masks, but they were fighting off something through the smoke and ash. I couldn't see, and my magic couldn't latch on fast enough. I teleported as far away as I could. The few guards I managed to haul with me were all exposed before I could help. They died a few hours later."

"So...who did this?"

"I don't know, but I can't get in contact with anyone. We're cut off from the outside world, letters will not get responses and guards sent out on missions never return...something incredibly strong is doing all this," he explained.

"Like Chrysalis?" Twilight suggested.

"No, please. That little bug was nothing. Whatever this is, I just...don't understand. It's like a god."

"There are no gods here, Shining, just us... " she frowned, wrapping her hooves around him in a tight hug. "You're here, and safe. That's all we need to think about at the moment."

"The workers Celestia had assigned to the building, my guards had tried to get them into a secure area, but something happened. We heard screams, and no life can be found in there. At least, not with our magic, and I'm not sending anyone out there...the door is wide open, there's blood...I don't know what's going on here Twilight, but we need to leave."

"And go where? I have to speak with the princess about this first," Twilight said with a heavy frown.

"Twilight, I just need you to gather your friends and meet me in the lobby. The way down is secure. You will be each given a mask and any unicorns will be given the mask spell. Do not bring Spike, do not bring Applebloom or Scootaloo. There is no room for children where we are going."

"No, Shining, they are not children. They are over a hundred years old! Sure, Spike is just the size of a baby, and I can understand leaving him behind, but I cannot leave Applebloom and Scootaloo behind. The others will be furious!"

Shining sighed, looking down. "You're right. I'm....I'm sorry Twilight. I've lost myself in all of this...I don't even remember how long it's been..." he took a deep breath. "Leave Spike behind. Most of the guards are staying here to build up a credible safe house for us to return to if the mission becomes too dangerous."

"Where are we going?" Twilight asked, watching Shining walk toward the door.

"I'll tell you once we’re on the move," he said, looking back at her.

"Brother...where are we going?" she frowned, walking over to him.

He sighed, looking down. "We're headed down to the other side of the construction zone, from there we head back to the windmills. We don't have a cart, so this trip will take us months...please, don't bring anything you don't have to. Meet me in the lobby."

Twilight spent the next half hour or so gathering her friends and the few things they could carry in saddle bags. Twilight assured them they would one day come back for their stuff and said her goodbyes to Spike, explaining to him that he would be notified as soon as it is safe to join them. Of course he was not happy, but the prospect of having a whole hotel almost to himself was enough to persuade him.

Twilight now stood at the front lobby doors. Big glass frames that were now the only thing holding back the deadly chemical. "Okay...let's go," she sighed, yet sounding eager.

"Never take off the mask, no matter what," Shining said one last time as his magic slid the doors open. They felt a rush of cold air, the feeling of something slick sliding over their coats as if they could feel the poisoned air pressing against them with the wind.

Twilight took a long deep breath as she felt Luna step up beside her. "Alright, Princess, let's get moving," Luna said, leaning down and nuzzling Twilight's cheek, as she was unable to do much with the mask.

"Ladies first," Twilight replied, watching her brother walk off toward the path through the smoke that was now billowing all around the hotel. Her friends followed in suit, Scootaloo and Applebloom staying back to follow the two princesses. Despite their age, they were always dependant on their elders for guidance. Twilight grew fond of this trait by now and happily led the two girls outside, following her brother through the dense ash. From where this came, they still did not know.

Notre Nocturnal (Chapter 12)

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Author's Notes:

Sorry that took so long. A lot of shit has been going on not just on this site but offline as well.

I have recently decided to leave Fimfiction due to how parts of the community are allowed to act. I will not go into detail, but I simply find such actions unaccpetable and if the mod team has no intention of fixing such horrible behavior then I do not wish to be a part of the site.

You can find me and all of my work on tumblr's that will be listed on each story description and in the comments of each story.

Unfortunately that will be the only way you will be able to read my stuff from this point foward, CE will be getting it's next update. Following that I will no longer be updating on this site and all future story's/updates will have to be found on their respected tumblrs.

It had been hours now as Twilight padded her way through the toxic wasteland that was the factory floor. Her breath was sharp, but the steady breathing of the great princess following behind her was keeping her calm. It reminded her of how nights in the castle with Celestia once were more than two hundred years ago. Back then she had often found herself hiding under Celestia's wings, cuddled up next to her. Celestia, much like her sister, held steady, slow, and confident deep breaths. This careful movement of Celestia's chest had managed to calm her down time after time, and Luna was no different.

"We don't need to do this, you know," Luna said with a frown, glaring off towards the door in front of them. The room behind it was hidden from them, a purging darkness blocking their view of what lay inside. The doors were stained with blood, giving her a terrible feeling as they stepped closer. She found that Twilight did not hesitate, now standing directly in front of the void of a room that was daring them to enter.

‘Something is wrong,’ Twilight thought to herself. ‘Something is in here, this is not darkness.’ she continued to keep her thoughts private as she slid a hoof into the door way. It soon disappeared from view causing her to pull away quickly. ‘What could create such violent darkness? It has swallowed the room up like a black hole...what has done this?’ She sighed taking a deep breath. "I'm going to see what's inside," Twilight explained, leaning forward.

Before Luna could stop her, Twilight peered through the doorway into the darkness. There was a single small candle in the center of the room, blood layered whatever part of the room she could see, but most was hidden from her view. She could hear Luna speaking behind her, but the voice was muffled as if she had stepped into water. She felt an urge. Where it came from she did not know, but it forced her forward into the room, her nervous hooves padding toward the candle off in the distance, Luna's worried cries muffled from the doorway now far behind her.

She stepped up to the candle looking down at it, but the candle offered no answers. ‘It's here...what have I done, why is Luna not following me?’ She cursed herself for her ignorance, her horn lighting up gently glaring off into the distance. "Who are you," she demanded to know, her eyes suddenly fierce and determined.

"Notre," a voice echoed through the room, the source of which would have remained unknown to Twilight if a light tap had not graced her shoulder. Her reaction was immediate. She turned around, her magic now only an inch away from a young mare’s forehead. However, this mare remained unaffected by this show of force. Instead, she seemed rather sad, as if disappointed.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Twilight demanded again.

"Notre Nocturnal, I am here to deliver a message from Tritonal Zedd," she explained, her magic gently floating a book out from her saddle bags. "It is not a message of kindness...you must understand this he says," she frowned floating the book into Twilight's view.

Words had been carved into the cover over the original name. "The book of truth, use it as you see fit. We are coming for you." Twilight frowned confused, and she grabbed the book out of the air with her magic flipping it open. Page after page the book was the same few select words.

"You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone." Over and over again, never ending. The book continued its ranting through every page.

"What is this?!" she growled, expecting an answer. "A threat?" Twilight asked, stepping forward towards the mare. She felt her vision blur, and the mare backed up, her features slowly disappearing. Twilight struggled to put out the next words she had for the mare. "I'll show you a threat," she growled again, her magic kicking up, making her horn glow fiercely.

Her vision fell away now completely, the feeling of emptiness surrounded her as if she had been dropped directly into the void. "No..." Notre's voice echoed again. Twilight felt a hoof on her neck as if somepony was trying to calm her. "Please tell my dear Luna you spoke with me, I have missed her so....tell her Vector is in danger. She is searching for you."

The darkness continued to cloud Twilight’s thoughts as she struggled to regain control over herself. "W..Why are you doing this? Why are you hurting all these ponies?" she asked in a panic, frantic to know answers.

"I did not harm a single soul is this cursed room. I am not the only creature hiding in this darkness" she frowned, her hoof slipping away from Twilight's neck. "I am merely the one who created it, to spare you the sight of such horror," she frowned, looking around the room. "These lives...wasted. Why?" she asked, as if she truly did not know the answer.

Twilight's vision was still black, her body still felt weightless and frozen. "I am truly sorry we have to meet like this, Twilight Sparkle....I wish I could explain more, but that bastard calls for me. I can only delay him for so long. Please, Twilight. Help me," she begged. Wrapping her hooves around Twilight, she gave her a tight hug before disappearing. Twilight's vision was finally returned to her, but the darkness around the candle still clouded her view. In the distance she could see the door, Luna was waiting anxiously behind the dark canvas that cloaked the doorway keeping her from coming inside.

Twilight ran over to the door, stopping only a few feet ahead to catch her breath and thoughts, trying to prepare herself to explain all of this. She calmly stepped out from the darkness of the room to which Luna quickly yanked her out and into a hug. "Twilight! What happened!? Are you okay?" Luna asked, looking up and down Twilight's body.

"Yes, yes, I'm just...you can't go in there, she warned me there were creatures inside." Twilight explained, pulling Luna away from the door as her magic locked the two large metal doors in place.

"She? Twilight, what's going on?" Luna asked in slight panic.

"Notre, some mare was in there named Notre."

"Notre? What is she doing here? Did she say anything to you?" Luna asked, seeming optimistic now.

"She said someone was coming for us, and she gave me a book, see?" Twilight explained, holding out the book to Luna for her to see. Her reaction was bland at first, but as she opened the book she quickly became worried.

"Twilight, what is this book?" she asked, looking angry and confused. "You need to get rid of this now!" she insisted.

"What? It's just a bunch of pages saying the same thing, I hardly find that a threat," Twilight frowned.

"The cover has been scratched off. This is not the book of truth, Twilight. This is the book of fears. Every time you open it, it will cycle through a new fear you have. Sometimes just going back to your worst fears over and over again. All it does is create chaos for the reader," she illustrated, grabbing the book. "And worse, if the book is not closed, the pages will stay the way they are. Allowing anyone to see your fears and exploit them...." Luna frowned looking down at the floor. "That's how Nightmare got me..."

"So...what does it say for you now?" Twilight asked curiously, her magic grabbing at the book. Luna slammed it close before giving over control of it. "No, you must not allow anyone else to see what this book does. It's poison to the mind."

Twilight nodded with a frown looking down at the book now in her magic grasp. "What should I do with it?"

Luna sighed looking around. "Put it on the floor here, we will leave and never look back upon it. This book is poison, do not forget that," she explained, resting her hoof on the book, pushing it toward the ground where Twilight released her grip on it with her magic.

"Yes, princess" she frowned looking away. "I'm sorry.. I should have gotten more information from that mare."

"Don't worry about it. Notre is a very strong mare. If we can find her, we can stop anything," Luna said happily. "I've known her for thousands of years, she's normally a gentle thing but you should have seen her when-" she stopped speaking suddenly, shaking her head. "Nevermind, this is no time for stories."

"Thousands of years? She looked only around seventeen," Twilight said confused.

"She is very strange, a childish but wise immortal. I have yet to meet another creature like her. She is the only one alive who can drift through dreams besides me," Luna explained.

"You can see into ponies dreams?" Twilight asked surprised, having never heard this about Luna.

"Well, it’s a hidden secret. Most ponies would be uncomfortable with that knowledge. Same with the knowledge that I can see all the moonlight touches." she said, turning around and leading Twilight away from the door. "Come, this room is dangerous. We must be getting back to your brother and the others."

Twilight nodded, catching up quickly, but determined to learn more. "So...all those nights I spent alone, all the dreams I've had. Have you seen them?"

Luna nodded. "I watched you closely once I returned. I left your dreams alone, not wishing to know too much about you, but the moonlight allowed me to see you; a view I assure you I grew very fond of," she smiled, stopping for a moment placing her hoof to Twilight's chin leading her up to kiss her. However, the masks got in the way so Luna resorted to a simple nudge of her nose. "I made sure to keep an eye on you every night, though most of this was at my sister’s request. I admit I did take some comfort in knowing at least one pony enjoyed the darkness I provide."

Twilight blushed with a small smile. "You really think this is an appropriate time to flirt?" she asked with a giggle.

"I'm afraid that soon, Twilight, our lives may be consumed by this terrible attack. I am hoping we can work on us now, instead of struggling to stay together later.”

"I already bailed on you once Luna, I promise I will not do it again. I will be here for you as best I can. I hope that is enough," she said with a disheartened frown.

"It is Twilight, no need to fret. Now come. We must find Nocturnal."

Letters To No one

by cutedementia

The North Ridge Turbines (Chapter 1)

Princess Twilight Sparkle (Chapter 2)

Permission my sister? (Chapter 3)

The Previous Elements (Chapter 4)

Purple Heart (Chapter 5)

Shelter as you go (Chapter 6)

How many times (Chapter 7)

My New Teacher (Chapter 8)

Myraid (Chapter 9)

Coalesce (Chapter 10)

Chemical ash (Chapter 11)

Notre Nocturnal (Chapter 12)