> All for One - One for Luna
>  by Wodahseht
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prelude: Lunar Hallucinations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	She burned. That fact was the only thing she was sure of. The dizziness and headache would have been more than enough to make concentration difficult, but the heat! Oh Celestia, the heat! She felt as though she would catch fire at any moment.

The room was dark, balcony doors closed and thick curtains blocking out every bit of light which might otherwise have come through the windows. Only the tiniest sliver of light slipped beneath the bedroom door to keep it from true darkness. She tried desperately to focus on something other than the relentless burning, but it was a lost cause from the start. The sensation was so far beyond anything she had ever experienced and it only grew worse as the day continued.

It is day, isn't it? Yes, it must be day... Now, why must it be day?

She opened her eyes to look for some clues, but the darkness would have provided none even if her vision wasn't so unreliable at the time. So, why must it be day? The burning pain seemed to suddenly increase, and she writhed madly in her bed searching for some hidden oasis of cold to ward it off. Somehow she knew that the burning was tied to the day. She burned, therefore it was day.

These thoughts didn't flow logically. They couldn't even be considered full thoughts really, just random fragments flailing wildly for purchase in the chaos which currently ruled her mind. It had been days-

There's that word again...

-days since she could fight to keep even a semblance of her usual schedule, but the heat! Why the heat? It was maddening! The days were lost to her when the heat had become too much to ignore. Walking, eating, and sleeping...these were impossible tasks to perform given the torment that had taken hold. And then there were the hallucinations... Take this one for example: Princess Luna, standing in her room. Why would Luna ever be in her room?

It'd be nice if she were here.

She turned her painfully light-sensitive eyes away from the brilliant aura which surrounded the blurry princess and weakly tried to dig into the covers to get away from the greater burning which accompanied the light. Tears of pain soaked into the bedding and a buzzing filled her ears.

Heat! Too much heat! I'm going to burn up!

She turned her face back toward the image when she thought she heard her name, but all was dark again, the hallucination vanished. A ghost of a wish that Luna hadn't left darted through her mind, but was quickly lost.

Oh, there she is again...

The light-bathed princess was approaching her bed, and she winced expecting the burning to increase once again - though how it could get any hotter she had no clue. Relief washed over her as the heat didn't grow, it even seemed to lessen. Or perhaps she was just growing used to it.

"...Twilight..."

There it was again. Was it Spike looking in on her? That didn't feel right though, hadn't she told him to do something? She couldn't focus enough to remember.

It felt like her bed was shifting, or was she the one shifting? Maybe it was both. And there was the glowing Luna again. Definitely a hallucination, she thought while taking in the sight of her fellow princess glowing from within. She was completely oblivious to the fact that her thoughts were forming more easily as Luna settled against her and draped a wing lightly over her - all she knew was that the heat was fading in the cool, soft light washing over her. It didn't matter that it wasn't real, just so long as that torturous heat was held at bay.

My own glowing Luna!

She giggled into the larger alicorn's side and mumbled in her delirium, "Glowing Luna, Luna moona. My own glowing, little Luna. Luna, moona, widdle Woona..." It quickly became too difficult even to move her lips in the lassitude taking over. She snuggled deeper into the wonderful hallucination as the heat rapidly vanished in the soft glow and let sleep, glorious sleep, finally sweep her away.
> 01: Almost Too Late
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia always enjoyed receiving letters from Twilight Sparkle, so when one arrived during breakfast she paused with a smile to read it. The smile didn't last.



Dear Princess Celestia,

I need your advice concerning an illness I have come down with. I have been unable to find any information on it in my new library, the medical ponies here in Ponyville don't know what it is or how to treat it, and even Zecora is stumped.

The first symptoms appeared a few days after the battle with Tirek, though I didn't recognize them as such at the time. It started with a slight headache and a feeling of being overheated when in the sun. Those symptoms became more pronounced each day until I could no longer ignore the headache, felt overheated even indoors, and burned as though standing too close to a bonfire if I went out in the sun. Dizziness and light sensitivity also began to be a problem.

It is almost as though I have developed albinism, but that isn't a condition a pony can spontaneously develop. And an albino wouldn't continue to have symptoms when inside and in the dark. It has been so bad lately that I've had to lock myself in my room, unable to do anything during the day. Strangely though, I feel perfectly fine most nights if I am outdoors or near a window.

If you don't have any suggestions on what else I can try, could you let the archivist know that I plan to visit your library in Canterlot tonight if the symptoms fade enough for me to travel? Perhaps I can find something there to explain what this is or how to treat it.

Ever your student,
Twilight Sparkle



Feeling rather as though she had just been doused in ice water and thrown into a blizzard, she read through the letter a second time. And then a third. She knew one thing that fit those symptoms, but she also knew that there was no way for that particular condition to affect ponies. Regardless of that fact, that is what it sounded like and it would be unwise to ignore the possibility until it had been ruled out. Which meant that there was no time to waste.

The thought of breakfast completely forgotten, she teleported into her sister's room and rushed toward her bed, "Luna, wake up! You must travel to Ponyville immediately!"





Luna's mind was busy as she followed Spike on the way to Twilight's room. She knew he wanted reassurances about Twilight, mostly because he kept asking, but she couldn't give him any answers. She needed to see Twilight first. She knew what her sister thought it was and had to admit that she didn't know anything else that fit the symptoms, but it didn't make any sense.

Of course, it doesn't matter if it makes sense or not. If she's right, then we may already be too late.

She shook herself out of those thoughts and took in that Spike had stopped. She was fairly certain he'd asked another question, but she hadn't been paying attention and there wasn't time to ask him to repeat it. Instead, she simply opened the door they had stopped beside and walked into the dark room.

It took a few seconds for her eyes to sort out the various objects in the room and locate Twilight in her bed...and she felt her insides twist. Bloodshot, uncomprehending eyes met hers in the brief moments that Twilight faced her way before turning away and trying to dig weakly into the covers.

Even without a diagnostic spell it was obvious that Twilight was not well. She had visibly lost weight, her ribs were beginning to show, her fur lacked any luster, and feathers on her wings were ragged. When Luna did cast the diagnostic she could see that Twilight's own body was attacking itself, exactly as with that.

How in Equestria did she develop an Ursa condition?

Now wasn't the time to be thinking, it was time to be doing. Luna looked to Spike standing beside her with a grim expression on her face. "Spike, I need you to see to it that no pony enters this room for any reason. And please arrange for the others to meet me in the throne room after moonrise."

The little dragon didn't move, asking instead, "But what's wrong with her? Is she going to be okay?"

Luna looked back at the newest princess and her first true friend since her redemption. There wasn't time for explanations, but Spike deserved some sort of answer. "There is not time to explain, but I believe she will be fine - if no more time is lost. Please see to my instructions and fear not, I will care for Twilight." Spike was given no chance to respond as she levitated him out of the room and shut the door.

As soon as the door was closed she allowed the moonlight to begin flowing through her, once again revealing Twilight. And Twilight was once again watching her. Luna chose to look at that as a good sign. She made her way toward the bed speaking softly, "Friend Twilight, how is it that you have come to this state?" Twilight's ear twitched at the sound of her name, but otherwise just continued to watch Luna's approach passively.

With only a moment of hesitation, Luna climbed onto the bed and settled next to Twilight, spreading a wing over her as the purple alicorn leaned closer. Luna was searching for words of comfort to give, but became distracted when she felt Twilight giggle into her side. She could feel lips moving against her fur and strained to hear what was being mumbled.

"Glowing... Luna... moona... Woona..."

Woona!? She felt her cheeks heat slightly. That was a nickname she hadn't heard for a long, long time. Since she and her sister had defeated Discord and become rulers of Equestria. She'd always hated it, but now being reminded...she found she missed it. She and Celestia had been so close back then and she'd often curled up against her sister as Twilight was doing now. She sighed. Things just weren't the same anymore. Yes, they still loved each other, but there was a gulf of time and experience between them that couldn't help but change matters.

Slowly it dawned on Luna that Twilight had fallen asleep, snuggled as tightly against her as possible. With a small smile she wrapped her wing more securely around her friend and lay her own head down to rest. After all, the night would bring duties she could not ignore, and she was already late to sleep.





Twilight woke feeling rested for the first time in over a week. That surprised her. It surprised her even more to have fallen asleep at all. But neither of those things could compare to the surprise of rolling over to see her balcony doors open, framing the Princess Luna in the process of raising the moon. Oh, and she was glowing.

Her eyes hadn't been particularly reliable of late, so she closed and rubbed them before looking again. Sure enough, there stood Luna, but at least she wasn't glowing now. As moonlight filled the room she realized that all of her windows were uncovered as well.

"Princess Luna? What are you doing here?" Suddenly becoming aware of her own unkempt appearance she started apologizing, "Sorry! If I knew you were coming I would have made sure I was more presentable, and had the room cleaned, and..." As she was rambling on, she was also using her magic to brush her hair, organize piles of books, and make the bed.

"TWILIGHT!"

Oh, maybe she should be listening... She stopped and looked at Luna to find that she was being watched with a worried expression.

"To answer your question, I am here because of the letter you sent to my sister." Luna glanced briefly at the nearly clear sky as though concerned about something. "You should be alright while I go speak with your friends. Please pack while I am gone so that we may leave for Canterlot without additional delay."

"Why do you need to see my friends? And why are we going to Canterlot? Oh right, the library visit. But why did you come to escort me? I'm perfectly capable of getting there my-"

Luna turned a hard look at her and stomped a hoof sharply on the stone floor, stopping her speech cold. "I did not come to escort you to the library. I am here because you were dying. I don't know how you acquired the condition you have, but I am the only one capable of keeping you alive while we try to find a cure. You are coming to Canterlot because I cannot stay here while we do so. So pack. I shall return with haste." And with that, Luna walked out and closed the door behind her.

Twilight found herself staring frozen at the door, having trouble processing that burst of information. Dying... The torment of the past few days played briefly through her mind in a new light. Then she registered the other part of what had been said. No known cure.

She shivered and turned to pack.
> 02: Explanations …and Embarrassment
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The trip to Canterlot was by cloud, a method Twilight wouldn't have even considered as an option before experiencing it. Luna had simply grabbed a decent sized cloud from those in the area, gotten them both settled on it, and pushed it along with her magic. It was relaxing, and altogether too much like a dream. In fact, Twilight was considering that possibility as she stood alone on Luna's balcony.

She had imagined sitting on a cloud and watching the night sky with Luna before, so it was easy to accept that a dream might include that feature. They hadn't spoken on the journey either. Twilight because she was lost in thought and reveling in the lack of pain, and Luna... she looked to be lost in thoughts of her own. The lack of burning and feel of being rested were what made it feel so surreal. Feeling normal again, after the experience of the past few weeks, didn't feel normal and left her with the sensation of being disconnected from her body.

Luna had dropped her off, asked that she wait here, and flown off to another part of the castle. Figuring that "here" included the room from which the balcony extended, Twilight turned to walk inside as she tried to organize and focus her thoughts. First, something was making her ill during the day. No, that wasn't accurate. It was worst during the day, especially if she became exposed to sunlight, but night wasn't always a sanctuary. Second, Luna seemed to know what it is and said that it could kill. Third, there isn't a known cure, but-

Pain! Burning!

Twilight jerked back in shock at the sudden recurrence of the pain. It stopped almost as quickly as it had come, and she stood trembling in the aftermath. She consciously willed muscles to relax which had tensed in that brief moment, then carefully reached forward with one hoof. When nothing happened, she cautiously stepped forward - and scrambled backward as the burning shot through her again. She moved back out to the center of the balcony and stared toward the invisible barrier.

Why would there be wards inside the room instead of at the balcony doors?

Twilight knew there was something obvious that she was missing, but having faced that burning again had undone the efforts to organize her thoughts. Though, one thing she was fairly certain of now is that this wasn't a dream.





When Luna returned to her balcony she was greeted with the sight of Twilight sitting and staring into her room with unfocused eyes. She thought about asking Twilight if something was wrong, but decided it was probably just a case of having a lot to think about.

Landing next to her friend snapped her out of the daze and drew her attention. "My apologies for the delay Twilight, but I needed to arrange matters with the servants and collect a few books for you." She nodded her head at the pair of books floating along beside her. "I am sure you wish for some answers. Let us get comfortable and I shall tell you what I know."

She made her way into the room, using her magic to simultaneously open the curtains over the windows and placing the books on a low table, and settled onto a body-sized cushion. She looked around and was surprised to see that Twilight hadn't followed her.

"Twilight? Are you not coming?"

A flicker of something that looked like fear crossed the younger alicorn’s face as she asked, "What about the burning?"

"You need not fear that while I am here. Please, join me."

Twilight finally moved forward, but paused and took slow steps at one point before resuming her usual pace. Luna chose to ignore the strange behavior for the moment and waited for Twilight to get settled. She had just opened her mouth to speak when three knocks sounded from the door. She closed her mouth and waited for the second, quieter, set of knocks shortly after and opened the doors to the outer chamber. Deciding against moving from where they had already arranged themselves, she floated in the meal trays from the table where the servants had left them.

"I do not believe you need my encouragement to eat something, do you?" she asked of her companion.

A rumble from Twilight's stomach was answer enough, but the suddenly blushing purple pony also shook her head before digging in. While Twilight ate heartily and fairly quickly, Luna took her time and tried to determine if she had forgotten anything. She had checked the weather schedule, instructed the servants on the change in meal structure, announced that night court would be temporarily suspended, and left a note for her sister on what she had done so far. She couldn't think of anything else at the moment, and Celestia would no doubt inform her or take care of anything she had forgotten.

She brought her attention back to Twilight, who was staring quietly at her empty tray. "Do you wish for more food?"

Twilight's head jerked up as though she had forgotten she wasn't alone. "Oh, no. Sorry. I was just thinking."

"Very well." Luna returned the trays to the outer room and closed the doors. "Perhaps now is the time to explain what I do and do not know of your condition."

With Twilight watching her closely, she began, "I suppose the place to start is explain what your condition is, or at least what it seems to be. Ursa are, as I am sure you are aware, creatures of the night. What you may not know is that daylight is fatal to them. They require moonlight or starlight to function and remain healthy. Early in their life each Ursa develops the ability to produce their own starlight - just enough to support their self. A newborn Ursa cub is unable to produce its own light and relies on its parent...or parent surrogate."

She trailed off as her memories took hold. Twilight brought her back to the present with a quiet, "Princess Luna? Are you alright?"

She smiled at Twilight - a royal smile her sister called it, all show and no heart - and replied, "I am fine. And please, just call me Luna. After all, you are a princess as well, and more importantly a friend."

Twilight looked down in embarrassment. "Sorry. Habit, I guess." She took a deep breath and looked back up, "So what I have is related to the Ursas? I've never read anything like what you're talking about, and I studied them when we had the incident with the Ursa Minor in Ponyville."

"Right, the Ursas." Luna shook her head and continued, "Celestia and I call it lunar dependency. And it does seem to match the condition you have developed, though we thought it unique to the Ursa. We discovered it by accident in our youth, and no pony has researched the matter since to my knowledge. I do not particularly blame them given the dangers of attempting close study of them."

Luna's gaze wandered to the books she had brought with her. "Those books are the most complete I am aware on the topic of Ursa. Even though they do not cover this condition, perhaps there is something that can be used to figure out why you now have it. It is something like having an allergy to the sun and a dependence on the moon at the same time. Constant exposure to moonlight, or strong enough starlight, is essential or the body begins to attack itself. However, direct exposure to too much sunlight can be fatal, even if enough moon- or starlight is available to normally allow survival."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Twilight asked, "Why do you think it's the same thing?"

"The symptoms you listed in your letter. I also cast a diagnostic spell on you when I first arrived at your castle. Your body was attacking itself in the same manner that Celestia and I saw in the Ursa, and you responded to the same treatment."

"Wait, you tried treating an Ursa? What happened?"

"That is not a story for tonight."

"Oh." Twilight looked disappointed for a moment then seemed to snap back to herself. "You said treatment! What treatment? I thought there wasn't a cure?"

"There is no cure that I know. As for treatment, I exposed you to moonlight. Do you not recall?" A blank stare provided the answer, so she began to channel moonlight through herself once more. She couldn't help letting slip a giggle as Twilight's eyes widened and jaw dropped open.

After a short while Twilight snapped her mouth shut and turned slightly away with a mumbled, "I see." Luna thought her cheeks looked a little pink, but she could have been mistaken. Having answered the question, she cut off the moonlight and adjusted herself on the cushion.

"Have you any questions to ask? If not then I should be about my duties."

"No. Well, yes, I have questions, but I think I'll read first to see if what I want is there."

"Very well." With a glance through the windows at the moon and clear sky, Luna rested her head on her forelegs and closed her eyes. "The weather schedule called for clear skies all week, so you should be fine while I check in on the dreamscape. If I am needed, just call my name."

She was about to invoke her magic when she heard Twilight stand and begin walking in the direction of the doors. Raising her head she asked, "Twilight? Do you need something?"

Twilight turned to face her with the books held aloft in a purple glow, "No. I was just going to my room to read while you work."

Luna sighed and shook her head, "I'm afraid you can't do that. You need to stay nearby in case the moon gets blocked and I need to provide moonlight for you myself. And we don't know how you got this condition and if it is contagious. I would be unable to help all who were in need if too many ponies developed it. We cannot risk exposing others until we know more. That is why the servants left the food instead of staying to serve it."

Twilight turned completely toward her with a look that she couldn't interpret. "If you're worried I'll infect others, what about you?"

"I can produce my own moonlight. Even were I to become affected I could care for myself. And, I have to be near you to keep you alive."

They held each other's eyes for a minute or two before Twilight gave in to the inevitable and returned to her cushion.





The sudden closing of all the curtains in the room shook Twilight from her reading trance. Looking around she saw Luna standing by the doors to the balcony, glowing once again as she lowered the moon. She let that image drift across her tired mind for a few moments before standing and stretching out the kinks of extended inactivity.

Luna closed the balcony doors and reclaimed her cushion before turning her attention to the tray of food beside it. Twilight, who had been completely oblivious to the one beside her up to the point, immediately dug in as well. Again they ate in silence, but it was a comfortable silence as each allowed their mind to rest.

When both had been returned to the outer room, Twilight stood and started for the bath chamber. She was surprised when she arrived at the arched doorway to find that Luna had followed her. "Oh, sorry Luna. You can go first, I'll wait."

Unaccountably the blue alicorn blushed before responding, "I already took care of matters for myself before lowering the moon. Twilight... The lunar dependency means that you have to have constant exposure to moonlight, especially during the day. I have to be with you any time you're somewhere the moon's light can't reach..."

Now it was Twilight's turn to become a pony of a different color. "You mean...?"

"Yes... Everywhere..."


*****


It really didn't matter that Luna had faced away in an attempt to give her some privacy while she took care of necessities. In Twilight's mind, that was one of the most uncomfortable experiences she could remember. And it certainly hadn't helped when she'd realized that Luna facing away from her meant she had a perfect view of her crush's flank.

It was just a silly crush that would never amount to anything and she knew it, but a visual feast like that did not help her resolve to keep that in mind. At least it was over.

For now. Her all-too-observant mind piped up.

She sighed to herself as she arranged herself on the opposite side of the sizable bed from Luna. She was certain that Luna couldn't have been comfortable being there either, but she was being a good friend and helping her through this mess. So, as a good friend it was Twilight's job in return to keep her hormones in check and find some way to fix things as quickly as possible.

I just hope I can...
> 03: Frustration, Conversation, and Observation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight was frustrated.

Last night, or day rather, had been wonderful, horrible, and blissful-yet-stressful. It was wonderful to be able to sleep without pain. At least, it was wonderful until she tried pulling a blanket over herself and was shocked back to full consciousness by the burning pain from blocking out Luna's moonlight. Blissful-yet-stressful? Well, that was when Luna moved to lay next to her and wrapped her in a wing. It felt so good to be held by the beautiful mare, but it was so hard to convince her heart and stomach to calm down - it was just a friendly gesture after all, nothing more.

So, she didn't sleep as well as she'd hoped. Additionally, she'd finished the two books Luna had provided with nothing useful to show for it, and now Luna wouldn't let her visit the library to search for more.

Twilight was frustrated. And now she found herself almost yelling at royalty.

Well, I'm royalty too, so maybe this doesn't count.

"I'm telling you I need to visit the library myself, I don't know what specific books I need yet, that's what I need to look through them for!"

Luna appeared to be getting frustrated herself, though she was much better at hiding it. "And I have told you that we cannot risk the possibility of infecting others. If you could just write down what it is you are looking for we can have the archivist search for likely books."

Twilight was pacing, just to be doing something, while Luna simply reclined on her favorite cushion. "I don't know what I'm looking for. This isn't like anything I've encountered before. I need to research, and the best way to do that is hooves-on. And we're not risking infecting other ponies: the library is always empty at night - I know, I've spent plenty of time there. Just have a servant or guard check before we go, then have them make sure others stay out while we're there. Besides, it's unlikely that this spreads through normal means, if it can spread at all. If it could, nearly all of Ponyville would already have it considering how many parties Pinky threw that first week after defeating Tirek."

She finally stopped pacing and just watched as Luna lay staring out the window, apparently thinking things over. Twilight was rapidly coming to the conclusion that it is very difficult to stay annoyed with someone while simultaneously appreciating how beautiful they are. It's just not fair, she thought sadly.

"You have made your point. I will send a scroll to the guards that we will require the library to be cleared within the hour. Though your point is a good one, we still don't know how you became affected and aren't going to risk contact with others based on the fact that nothing bad has yet happened."

She ran over and hugged Luna, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You are welcome," said Luna as she briefly returned the hug. "It does not make me happy to lock you away like this, nor to be locked away myself. I am just worried by what has happened to you and what could happen."

"I know," Twilight said quietly as her eyes turned to the moon. “I am too.”





Luna was frustrated.

It hadn't even been two full days and she already could feel the stress of being restricted in what she could do. She had hoped to never have her independence restricted again. She owed much to Twilight and would have done much more than what she was if needed, but the restrictions still chafed. Then there was the semi-argument over the library visit, and having to sit around with nothing to do while Twilight rapidly scanned through the books for anything of potential use.

Most of all, she hated not being able to hold her night court. As more and more ponies were coming to accept her for herself and not see her as Nightmare Moon, her courts had been attracting larger numbers. She enjoyed that time getting to know and help her subjects. Instead she was spending more time in the dreamscape - something she preferred to do only when truly necessary.

Luna was frustrated. And it didn't help that she worried what would happen to Twilight if they couldn't figure something out. They could not just stay in this room forever.

She extracted herself from the dreamscape and opened her eyes to find Twilight was floating in their dinner and smiled gratefully.

"Excellent timing, I am quite famished. Have you had any luck in your hunt?"

"Nothing yet," Twilight replied absently as she set the trays down. "Right now I'm just looking for anything to give me an idea what to look for. It makes things go slowly without a specific target."

She simply nodded in response and yawned lightly before starting on her meal.

Between mouthfuls Twilight asked, "Tired? Isn't going into the dreamscape basically sleeping?"

"Entering the dreamscape does mean going into a sleep state. However, navigating and interacting with it uses energy, and manipulating it uses magic. It is necessary to rest the mind as well as the body after such work."

"Oh." Twilight stared at her plate, not really seeing it. "Do you see all dreams?"

"Not at all. I could enter any dream if I needed to, but I don't like to do so." She frowned briefly, recalling some of the reactions she'd witnessed to ponies learning she could dream walk. "I generally only enter the dreams of the young."

"Just the young?"

"Yes." Seeing the questions in the back of Twilight's eyes she continued, "It's because entering a pony's dreams takes away their privacy. I can see their hopes, fears, desires...things that shouldn't be seen by others. Dreams reflect what is most important to a pony at that moment. Sometimes it is love, sometimes it is hate, and sometimes it is a reluctance to face something they need to. The young do not always have the knowledge or experience to know how to deal with the latter, so I step in to help guide them. Those who are older are both more capable of finding the way themselves, and more likely to react negatively to somepony sticking their nose in - even if it is a princess."

Luna thought that Twilight looked both relieved and sad at the explanation, but didn't understand either of those reactions.

It was quiet while they finished eating, but as Twilight returned her tray to the outer room she spoke up again. "You said the older are more likely not to want help, but what of those that do?"

Luna floated her own tray out and closed the doors. "That is what the night court is for. Business matters and matters concerning the kingdom are rare there, but it is a place where ponies may seek advice or help with something that is troubling them. With the night court unavailable I am having to seek out in dreams those who would otherwise come to me on their own. And that means seeing more than they or I would prefer I see."

Luna noticed that the sky was growing pink with the dawn and stood, beginning to glow. "Let us put aside this topic for now. The day comes and we must rest."





Normally Twilight wouldn't have been all that surprised in a dream to find herself sitting with Luna on a cloud under the night sky - she'd had them before. It didn't feel the same as the dreams she'd had in the past though, and Luna was only just holding back tears while looking at something down below.

"Luna? Are you okay?"

Luna jerked in surprise and looked over at her, "Twilight?! Why are you-" She paused and her eyes lost focus briefly before snapping back. "It really is you. How did you... Never mind, I must have accidently pulled you out of your corner of the dreamscape to join me."

Twilight processed this as Luna turned back to whatever was happening below. So I am sleeping, but I'm in Luna's dream?

She was trying to figure out if there were rules to follow about being in somepony else's dream when Luna broke her train of thought. "I could return you to your own dream if you like, but you wished to know how my sister and I learned about the Ursa..." The sadness was back on her face. "You may watch if you want to."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Perhaps you will learn something that will help. But I warn you, it may not be easy to see, or forget."

They held eyes as Twilight tried to imagine what she might see, but all she could find was that sadness. Finally she simply nodded and shifted closer to the edge of the cloud next to Luna, and looked down.

Celestia and another Luna stood below. The former determined and confident, the latter scared and seeking reassurance. "What do you think we can do here sister?" the Luna below cried, "It's an Ursa Major! Do you truly think we have the strength to turn it back?"

"We will turn it back because we must Luna. We have no choice or the entire village may be lost."

"But no pony has ever had magic enough to turn back an Ursa Major. We could probably do something if it was an Ursa Minor, but-"

"Relax. I do not intend to use force at all. They shun the day, so I shall use sunlight to turn it back."

Rumbles, snaps, and cracks had been rapidly growing louder during the conversation, and from the higher vantage-point Twilight could see a massive Ursa Major pushing through the forest as easily as a pony might trot through a wheat field.

The two alicorns below stood their ground in a small meadow directly in the Ursa's path, and as it passed the tree line Celestia's body burst forth a blinding light. Golden light so much brighter than Luna's moonlight turned night to day on that meadow and the Ursa let forth a roar of pain so loud that Twilight slapped her hooves to her ears in a useless attempt to muffle the sound. The great form fell to the ground in a mighty crash and writhed madly in a way that Twilight immediately sympathized with.

Celestia had reduced her brilliance, but had not completely stopped it as she and her sister watched the Ursa's dark, blue-purple body dimming quickly to black and its stars fade out. When all its light had faded, the massive body went still and dissolved into nothing more than motes of shadow which rapidly scattered in the wind. The sister stood, mouths hanging open in shock, staring at the empty space before them.

The Luna beside her on the cloud could hold back her tears no longer, face buried in her hooves as sobs wracked her body. Twilight ignored what was happening below to instead try to provide comfort. With a leg over her shoulder and wing across her back, Twilight countered Luna's chants of "We killed her" with "It wasn't your fault" and "You didn't know." She didn't know if it helped at all, but she tried.

Eventually Luna managed to stop sobbing and simply lay with her head at the edge of the cloud, again watching below. The sight wrenched Twilight's heart, but she didn't know what more she could do for now and turned back again to the scene playing out below.

The dream, or memory, alicorn sisters were now standing across from a large cave entrance watching a black bear only slightly larger than Celestia and with a tiny, star-shaped splotch on it's forehead laying just outside it under the night sky. Given the trail of destruction, this must be were the Ursa Major had come from. Remembering the conversation she'd had with Luna upon first coming to Canterlot, Twilight realized the black bear must be an Ursa cub, not even large enough to be called an Ursa Minor yet.

The sisters simply stood and watched, unsure of what to do, as the bear played with logs and rocks on the ground around it. At one point it rolled into the shadow of the cave and let out a pitiful growl of pain. When it did, its body flickered with tiny specks of blue-white which went back out just as quickly. The cries of pain from the cub shocked the young Luna into motion and she rushed toward the youngling, the cry of "No Luna! Stop!" unheard or ignored.

Acting perhaps on instinct, upon reaching the cub Luna began to shine forth moonlight. Dimly at first, then stronger as the small Ursa calmed and nuzzled against her. She turned to her elder sister and said simply, "I will stay with it."

"Luna, you know you can't. It's too dangerous."

"No," Luna replied. "We owe a debt for what we did. You know we do."

"That was my fault, not yours. If anyone should stay, it should be me."

"You cannot call the moonlight for it, and we have already seen what the sunlight will do. I may not be able to help it in the end, but I must try. Now go, reassure the ponies."

Celestia looked like she wanted to argue more, but knew it would be no use. Instead she nodded and said, "I'll be back tomorrow night to check on you."

Then both turned away from each other. One to fly home, and the other to lead her charge into the darkness of the cave.

The scene faded away leaving Twilight with a grief-stricken Luna, and a lot to think about.
> 04: Seeking Understanding
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight woke first that evening. For a short time she simply lay still and enjoyed the feel of Luna's side pressed against her and the wing over her back, but slowly the memory she had seen demanded her focus. She tried to think of any historical references to an Ursa threat so that she could place when or where that confrontation had occurred, but came up blank. While she could recall reading of cases where individual ponies had angered an Ursa, it was usually only the Ursa Minors which would follow the unfortunate individual any great distance. An Ursa Major was usually content to chase the pony, or ponies, out of their immediate territory.

She shifted slightly so that she could see Luna's face. She looked tired, even while asleep, and perhaps a bit haunted. The glow of moonlight from her made it difficult to read the smaller signs of the face though. That glow...

She really is quite beautiful when radiating moonlight, but I think I like her better when she's not. 

Twilight had been in awe when Luna first showed her. The dark blue, star-speckled mane and tail framed her form like the night sky around the moon. It truly was as though the moon itself had come down and taken pony form.  But, as lovely as the sight remained, it made Luna seem just that much more unattainable.

Which may not be a bad thing given how much trouble I've been having keeping my imagination in check lately... 

It was clear enough that Luna harbored no such feeling toward her. The straightforward reply of "no point risking another rude awakening" in response to Twilight questioning the bedtime cuddle Luna had initiated said that. As if to enhance that point, Luna woke and flipped her wing closed, then stood and made her way toward the balcony to raise the moon. All without looking at Twilight or saying a word.

Twilight heard the knocks signaling their breakfast and, sighing internally, rose to bring in the meal while Luna stood at the balcony bringing up the moon.





Luna had decided to rest on the balcony this night. There wasn't anything else that currently required her attention, and she was tired. But more, she was scared. Now Twilight knew. Would she decide to no longer be her friend? Twilight hadn't said a word to her since they woke, and she was afraid to say anything herself without having an idea about how the purple alicorn would react. Breakfast had taken place in silence and afterward Twilight had immediately begun working through a pile of scrolls from Ponyville which had arrived with their meal.

What if she only stays here because it is necessary?

"Luna?"

She looked over to see Twilight had come to join her on the balcony, though she remained standing. She seemed hesitant about something, but Luna could read nothing in her face and feared to hear what she would say.

"Do you think-? Could you tell me what happened?"

Well, that wasn't quite what Luna had been expecting. "The Ursa?"

Twilight nodded and finally sat down facing her. "I missed parts and still don't understand when or how it happened. I can't recall any mention of it in the Equestrian history books I've studied."

A tinge of amusement crept in around her fear as Luna noted that Twilight looked almost insulted (at least thoroughly annoyed) that her beloved books had failed her. There was an urge to smile and tease her about it, but Luna didn't have the heart for it at that moment. Instead, turning to the moon for calm, she replied, "There are reasons for that. Primarily the fact that if it had been known it might have resulted in a war with the griffons."

"How would knowing that you defeated an Ursa Major have started a war with the griffons? From what I know of them, they would have respected such a show of might."

"True enough, and they did. However, I meant that it may have provoked our own ponies to demand war. You see, it was a griffon that had provoked the Ursa into its rampage. We were in the middle of negotiations for peace between our two nations, but many griffons felt that we were weak and should look to them as betters, not equals. So, one of the envoy's entourage learned of an Ursa within our lands and decided to drive it into a rage. He thought we would be helpless against it and then the griffon army could step in to save us, proving that we were the weaker."

Luna finally tore her gaze from the moon and back to Twilight, who was sitting with a look of shock on her face. She could understand that, a similar look had rested on her own face when they learned these things after the fact. "The plan backfired though. We defeated the Ursa without even one pony or village taking harm, without calling out the army, and without using the elements. Just two ponies had succeeded where their entire army would have struggled. They agreed to peace so long as we did not enter their lands, and we kept the matter a secret so that no pony would know that a griffon had nearly been responsible for major catastrophe."

Twilight shifted out of her state of shock into one more akin to excitement. "You mean the First Griffon Peace Compact? That explains so much! None of the books ever explained how the deadlock had been resolved, just that after extended talks the agreement was finally formalized." She started clapping her hooves together, "Do you think that any of their history books would explain in more detail? I wonder how hard it would be to get them to share them. Oooh, I should get other of their history books too, who knows how different–"

"Twi-light," Luna drawled slowly – trying, without much hope of success, to break the trance. According to her sister, when Twilight got this way it could take a few tries to get her attention back.

Surprisingly, just the once was enough to draw the babbling alicorn's gaze. Almost as soon as her eyes met Luna's, Twilight's jaw snapped shut, her cheeks turned a mid-crimson, and she became very interested in the surface of the balcony. A smile finally broke through to Luna's face as she heard an almost inaudible mumbling she took to be an apology of some sort.

I can see now why my dear sister refers to these bouts as 'adorable.'

Minutes passed while Twilight got herself back together, and Luna pondered how difficult it might be to acquire a photograph of post-bout Twilight. Of course, knowing Celestia, one might already exist - though that didn't necessarily mean it'd be easy to get...





"There's something I still don't understand." Twilight had finally gotten herself organized again, and the history lesson had failed to explain something rather important in her eyes. "Why did you get so distraught from the memory? It's not like killing the Ursa was intentional. Neither of you knew what would happen, but it was important to stop it somehow. It's sad, but you were devastated."

Luna winced almost as though struck, the small smile she'd had vanishing in an instant as she sucked in a breath that was almost a sob. Immediately Twilight cursed herself for blurting that out so bluntly. She couldn't help herself though, there had to be something beyond what she'd seen in the memory to explain why it affected Luna so.

She moved to lay beside Luna and covered her with a wing, deciding to let the matter drop and simply do what she could to provide comfort. She didn't get a chance to say anything though as Luna began to answer.

"I know," she whispered. "I know that the mother's death wasn't really our fault. Celestia could have tried a weaker exposure first, but I don't blame her for that. She didn't know. Neither of us knew. We still had a responsibility though. Intentional or not, we orphaned its helpless cub. We stood together against the mother, though I was never required to act, and so the responsibility belonged to both of us to care for the cub. Celestia was the one with the power to stop the mother, but I was the only one with the power to keep the cub alive."

"And you did, I saw."

Luna shook her head and tear-filled eyes met Twilight's. "You saw me accept the burden. Did you see me complete it?"

Twilight thought back to the dream-memory and had to admit she didn't. "But you wouldn't have just stopped caring for it... would you?" The last was a whisper of her own.

Luna buried her face into her hooved and Twilight had to strain to hear the whispered reply. "I did. I did not intend to, but..."

Twilight couldn't make sense of it. She knew Luna, or she thought she did at least, and the Luna she knew wouldn't do such a thing. The thought suddenly struck her, she didn't intend to. Something must have happened to make her, but what?

"What happened?"

The response was so long coming that Twilight began to wonder if Luna had changed her mind or fallen asleep. Finally, "Just over one thousand years ago, not long after a peace treaty was signed with the griffons, a young alicorn gave in to her dark side and tried to bring about eternal night. For this she was imprisoned in the moon, locked away from Equestria for a thousand years."

Luna rolled her head to the side so that she could look at Twilight without lifting it from its resting place on her hooves. "Do you see? It wasn't simply jealousy for my sister which allowed the darkness to take me over. Her sunlight had killed. Unintentional, but it had killed. My moonlight was keeping a creature from dying. Jealousy and self-righteousness. Ponies adored her sunlight which brought death, and ignored my moonlight which brought life. It sickens me now, but such were my thoughts at the time. I thought that eternal night would make the world a better and safer place. I was wrong of course, but worse: because of my actions, that helpless cub - which was my responsibility - was left to die. The blame for that can be considered no one's but my own."

Luna turned away and the silence of the night embraced them. Twilight lay against her searching for words to say, but none would come.





Luna startled awake to the sound of the dinner knocking and was somewhat surprised that Twilight still lay beside her with a wing over her back. She thought perhaps her fellow princess had simply fallen asleep as well, but the scattered books and scrolls spoke otherwise. As she stretched and yawned Twilight folded back her wing and she immediately missed the warmth, the night was cool.

And, she admitted to herself, it was nice being held like that. She and Celestia rarely had time for such things any more.

Twilight brought in their food and whisked the books and scrolls inside at the same time. As with the majority of their meals there was little discussion, though Twilight did ask whether she'd been working in the dreamscape. When she replied that she'd just fallen asleep Twilight actually seemed relieved and let the subject drop.

Later, once the day had begun and they were preparing to sleep, Twilight spoke up again, "You know. I've been thinking all night trying to come up with something, anything, to say about what you told me that would help you feel better." She gave an exasperated shake of her head. "Nothing. I couldn't think of anything. But I just remembered something Princess Celestia once told me. She said: 'Regret is an anchor that keeps you from moving forward. It's okay to remember the mistakes you've made so that you don't make them again, but the past is past and cannot be changed. Don't waste time wishing you could change it, instead focus on making a better future.'"

Luna was staring at her pillow and felt Twilight gingerly rest a wing over her again. "Please don't let memory hold you back either Luna. I can't talk away what happened with the Ursas. I learned the hard way that we can't change the past, but the Luna I've come to know would never make those same mistakes again."

She was emotionally too tired to censor herself, too tired to care why she should, and so the words spilled out without conscious thought, "I'm just scared. Scared of being feared again, scared of being hated..." The tears returned and she could barely get the words out through a tightened throat, "...scared to be trapped and alone again."

Twilight pulled her closer and pressed a cheek against her own damp one. "You won't be," Twilight assured her, "I promise, you won't be."

"Twilight... Thank you." Then she closed her eyes, leaning into her bedmate's embrace, and cried herself to sleep.
> 05: Taking a Risk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Luna woke feeling slightly stiff and a bit woolly headed - not uncommon after crying oneself to sleep. However, finding herself curled up under another's wing, head tucked between their two bodies like a filly hiding from an imagined monster, was most certainly unusual. Her sister was the only one she could remember holding her as such - perhaps their mother had, but she couldn't recall - and she was a bit embarrassed doing so with Twilight. And yet...

Twilight was perhaps the closest friend she'd ever had outside her sister, and she felt just as safe letting down her guard with either. And it was certainly comfortable. Briefly she considered putting off getting up, but quickly set the thought aside to straighten and stretch.

Surprisingly, Twilight had awakened before her again. Possibly by a fair margin given the number of books sitting open to various points on the bed in front of her. As Luna gave signs of being fully awake, Twilight flipped her wing back and shifted the books away.

"Good morning... err, evening… I guess." Twilight rubbed the back of her head with a slightly sheepish look on her face. "I'm still not used to that."

Luna smiled. "It is fine. Many common phrases to not convert well to a night schedule in any case. Had you trouble sleeping?"

"Oh no, I slept great. Really great..." If she hadn't been so close to her fellow alicorn Luna might have missed the slight blush that appeared on Twilight's cheeks, and she wondered at what had caused it. "I guess I'm just not used to so much sleeping. I usually run short and just sleep in late once or twice a week to make up for it. I woke an hour or two ago, but you looked so comfortable-" and Luna felt her own cheeks heat "-that I didn't want to disturb you. So I just decided I'd read a bit here. How are you feeling?"

"I... You are right that I was comfortable. I do feel better now." She briefly wrapped her own wing around Twilight and nuzzled her cheek. "This morning helped. Thank you."

Twilight's blush deepened and she opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the meal announcement - which also reminded Luna it was time to take care of the moon. That broke the moment and they slipped into what had begun to feel like their regular routine of getting started for the night.





Saved by breakfast.

Twilight couldn't believe she'd almost spilled the beans on her crush there. All this alone time was really eroding her control. Luckily the arrival of breakfast had snapped her out of the trance Luna had put her in with that nuzzle and she used the morning routine to get her guards back up. Which was a good thing: she was certain to need her wits about her to talk Luna into going along with her plan.

She wasn't mistaken. As soon as she mentioned her desire to study live Ursa she was met with an exclamation that put the Royal Canterlot Voice to shame - or maybe it was just because they were indoors instead of outside it sounded so loud. Either way, Twilight's ears were ringing and she fully expected all the guards on duty in Canterlot to be swarming the suite at any time.

There was, in fact, a sharp knock from the outer door and a muffled, "Princess?"

To Twilight's relief, Luna maintained enough presence of mind to keep the guard out with a quick call back of "We're fine. Hold your post."

Hoping to keep things from getting out of hand, Twilight remained quiet as Luna calmed herself. She was startled to see a smirk form shortly after. Directing the knowing smirk directly at her Luna commented, "Ah, I see now. It was a joke. Very amusing, I quite fell for it for a moment."

Twilight felt her jaw drop. "Wha-? Bu-..." Deep breaths Twilight, deep breaths.

As Luna looked on in curiosity, and a bit of amusement, Twilight carefully went through the breathing exercise Cadence had shown her. Three times.

"It wasn't a joke. I need to study a live Ursa. No one has ever studied what I need to know, so I have to find it for myself."

The amusement died in a flash. "You can't do that Twilight! There's a reason such things haven't been studied. It is far too dangerous!"

The argument lasted for some time, Twilight fully expecting the guards to interfere again at several of the louder points. Finally, she simply got tired of trying to argue the reasons why it was necessary to study an Ursa herself and blurted out, "Why does it matter if I risk my life to study them!?"

Luna looked like she'd just been struck in the face. "What do you mean? You're a princess, my sister and I's friend, and an Element of Harmony. You cannot risk your life pointlessly."

"It's not pointlessly." Twilight stared hard into Luna's eyes, willing her to understand. "I'm dead if I don't try - you must see that! We can't live like this forever. At some point you will have to take back up all your duties and without your support I will die. Unless we can find another solution, and to do that I need to study an Ursa. So what if I might be risking my life by doing so, when I’d be forfeiting my life if I don’t?"

She continued to hold eye contact as Luna opened and closed her mouth several times as though about to speak. It was Luna who finally looked away with a quiet, "You win, Twilight Sparkle. It's just... I dread the thought of something happening to you and facing my sister with that news."

Twilight sighed, a bit in relief and a bit sadly. 

"Luna..." She waited for those beautiful eyes to meet hers again, "I have no plans to die. Between the two of us I'm sure everything will be fine. Teleportation magic is useful for running away." She tried a shaky smile and received an equally shaky one in return.

"Very well. I suppose the next step will be finding out where an Ursa lives then."

Twilight chuckled involuntarily. "That's the easy part - one lives not far from Ponyville."
> 06: Field Trip
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight went over her checklist one more time to be sure nothing had been forgotten: Reference books? Check. Scroll outlining research plan? Check. Blank scrolls? Check. Quill and Ink? Check. Extra scrolls? Check. Extras quills and ink? Check. Luna?

She looked over at Luna and struggled not to giggle at the constant shift of emotion playing over her companion's face. Concern and uncertainty fought with curiosity, impatience, and a tiny bit of amusement. It was as though Luna couldn't make up her mind whether to try calling off the field trip, or to urge Twilight to hurry up already.

Finally, she tucked away the pre-trip checklist and indicated to Luna that it was time to go. The plan was to make use of her larger alicorn magical reserves to teleport the two of them the entire way to the location of the Ursa's cave. Twilight would be prepared to immediately teleport them the much shorter distance from there back to Ponyville if the Ursa was awake, which was a possibility they had to consider. Luna would provide the necessary moonlight once they entered the cave or, if they had to flee, she could provide a backup source of magic in case the first teleport had used too much of Twilight's reserves.

Twilight nodded to herself one last time from her position next to Luna. Everything was accounted for. Nothing had been forgotten. A magenta sphere surrounded the two as Twilight shaped the teleportation spell - and away they went.

They had forgotten something...

A thick layer of clouds hid all traces of the moon, and a shriek of intense pain tore through the night as they arrived at their destination. The forecast in Canterlot was for clear skies, but neither Luna nor Twilight had thought to check the forecast for Ponyville. Nor had they considered how fickle the weather could in the Everfree.

This turn of events was so completely unexpected that it took a few seconds for Luna to realize she needed to act. Before she could, however, Twilight herself began to glow.

The two alicorns stared at each other with jaws open in shock. "What-" Twilight began before the glow stopped and she shrieked again.

This time Luna was ready and bathed Twilight in the moonlight she needed. Twilight laid there moaning and trembling in reaction to the unexpected experience, trying to get herself calmed back down and in control. Unfortunately, she wasn't given enough time.

Two heads turned in unified horror toward the massive cave opening beside them as a deafening roar blasted from within and vibrations could be felt through the ground. Panic tore through Twilight's mind. There was no way she could cast even a simple light spell in her current shaken state, let alone the teleportation spell that was supposed to be their escape plan.

A tiny corner of her mind which refused to be distracted from the scientific noted with interest the size of the dark purple head which had appeared. The Ursa Minor which had run through Ponyville had been as large as many of the building there, but this head on its own was two or three times that size. Twilight had planned to study the Ursa Minor, but in her haste to study it she had forgotten that an Ursa Minor lived with its mother until it became an adult itself.

Two things forgotten then.

A massive, clawed paw was reaching for her when a semi-transparent blue blur suddenly came between them. She stared in fresh shock as the Ursa Minor protected her and Luna. Part of her wondered if she'd ever get her mind back in a functional state given the constant surprises, but another noted that very question to be a sign she was well on her way to equilibrium already.

The Ursa Major seemed startled as well at the interference of its young, drawing back to look them all over. Red eyes travelled from the cub, to Twilight's curled form, on to Luna's glowing one, and widened suddenly. A growl like boulders crashing down the side of a mountain rolled over them and it took Twilight a few seconds to realize that the growl contained words. She looked over at Luna with wide eyes as the words registered and saw Luna's jaw drop at almost the same time.

Mama Luna!?





Sometime later Luna found herself laying on one of the Ursa's humongous forelegs. Twilight sat on the limb opposite her, and Mina lay cradled between in Majora's paws. The fact that they had names was nearly as big a shock as learning that Ursas are capable of speech. It was common knowledge that Ursa were simply wild beasts - highly magical, but driven only by instinct. Common knowledge was obviously flawed as Twilight had been in deep conversation with Majora for some time.

Luna wasn't really paying much attention though. She was still in too much of a daze and constantly replaying the night's events. First she had been absolutely paralyzed with fear for Twilight when they were confronted with having accidentally awakened the two Ursas. Then there was the shock and confusion from when Mina intervened (it turned out that she remembered Twilight fondly from the Ponyville incident). Finally, she’d been completely flabbergasted when she found out that the cub from so long ago was alive, well... and not a cub anymore. She could not find words to express what she felt, though the greatest was a sense of relief so intense that she had been unable to keep herself from collapsing on the spot. Now, at long last, she could put aside the anger she had been feeling toward herself for her long ago actions.

Of course, the question had still remained as to how Majora had survived. The answer to that one had turned out to be a simple, "Auntie 'Lestia took care of me. She said you had to go away, but you'd come home again someday." That Celestia had safeguarded her powers during her exile had completely slipped Luna's mind. She could have asked about the cub when she'd returned, but the answer had seemed obvious...and she hadn't wanted to reface that pain. Twilight was the only one she'd ever spoken of the events to.

But why did she not tell me? Luna thought. There's certainly been opportunity enough over the past year.

Majora's voice as she conversed with Twilight sounded much like distant thunder on a summer night: danger held at a distance, but somehow soothing. Additionally, it could be felt like the purring of a large cat through the physical contact. Luna found herself drifting in a half-asleep state, exhausted in the aftermath of the emotional assault from the last few days and nights. It was only a sort of internal alarm which finally snapped her back to full awareness.

"Twilight!" she cried out, a bit more intensely than she'd intended, and found herself the focus of three sets of eyes. She could feel herself flush slightly at having cut in as she had, but continued, "It's time for the dawn. We must return to Canterlot at once."

"Oh." Twilight replied absently. Then blinked once, and again, "Oh! I didn't realize how long we'd been here!" She jerked to all four hooves and began cramming her supplied back into saddlebags.

"Mama Luna is leaving again?" Majora rumbled with an obvious look of sorrow on her face.

Luna was quick to reassure her, "Not like before. Not for a long time. I'll visit again soon, I promise, but we have to leave for now."

Goodbyes were rather rushed at that point, but they were already running late. A teleportation spell later and they were back in Luna's chambers where she quickly went about setting the moon and sealing the room. Luckily she'd only been a few minutes late getting the moon down, and it would be unlikely that anyone other than her sister would notice.

Settled on cushions with their cold dinner, Luna found herself mentally adrift once again. Not so Twilight, who seemed overly energized given it was about the time they'd been going to bed. She was almost completely ignoring the food in favor of her scrolls of notes, books, and mutterings.

Luna rested her head on her forelegs and watched Twilight through half-lidded eyes. It was much nicer to see her enthusiastic and happy like this. Her lips slowly formed a small smile at the sight and her eyes slowly closed of their own will. She couldn't imagine what would have happened if Mina hadn't intervened or Majora hadn't recognized her. She could feel her smile falter as she relived that moment of terror once again.

She realized with a stirring of surprise that she hadn't actually been worried for herself at all in that moment, only for Twilight. There was something about that fact, something important…if only she wasn't so tired. It was right there, teasing at the very edges of awareness.

But she lost the thought as sleep finally took over.
> 07: Moonbeams and Other Things
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Luna woke stiff and slightly disoriented. Mentally noting that sleeping on her lounging cushion is much less comfortable than lounging on it, she rose and drowsily made her way to the washroom to refresh herself. Then a sudden clear thought shot through her mind as she splashed water on her face.

Twilight! It's the middle of the day!

In her sleepy disorientation she'd completely forgotten that it wasn't still night and had left Twilight without a source of moonlight. She dashed back into the room expecting the worst, but instead skidded to a shocked stop at the sight of Twilight passed out and glowing with moonlight of her own.

Part of being royalty is learning not to show emotion, even unexpected emotion, unless one desires to do so. However, nothing could have prevented the slack-jawed stare on Luna's face as she fought to process the relief, amazement, curiosity, and awe she was feeling.

Twilight must have passed out while writing, as she lay sprawled out on her cushion with her head partially resting on a half-filled scroll, a quill not far from her mouth. A tiny background portion of Luna’s mind labelled that as “adorable,” but the focus of her attention was elsewhere. Soft moonlight poured out from Twilight and her dark hair shimmered as it shifted back and forth in a non-existent breeze. Slowly, one half-step at a time, Luna made her way back to Twilight. She couldn't seem to get her mind to function and had to check half a dozen times to ensure she wasn't dreaming herself.

Upon reaching Twilight, she was able to make out the small smile on her sleeping friend's face and it brought one to her own. Luna was used to thinking of Twilight as cute, both in appearance and personality, but she thought that Twilight asleep and glowing with that small smile on her face was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She’d seen herself in the mirror when channeling moonlight plenty of times, but seeing it like this – seeing Twilight like this – was completely different. Without conscious thought, a hoof reached out and stroked from just behind Twilight's ear down to her shoulder...

...and suddenly cute and adorable were fighting for priority as Twilight released a sound somewhere between a murr and a purr. Suddenly snapping back to herself, Luna blinked and fought back a series of giggles.

Did she really just purr?

Repeating the gesture did indeed get another purr.

I can’t wait until Tia finds out about this,  she thought as she let slip a giggle. Assuming she doesn’t already know… It’s just too adorable for words!

Spellbound by Twilight for a whole new reason now, Luna continued petting Twilight's neck. Caught up in her giggles at this unexpected facet of her friend and imagining her sister’s possible reactions, she failed to notice that the purring had stopped until she heard a sleepy, "Luna? What are you doing?"

Snapping back to herself once again, Luna felt her face heat up as she locked eyes with Twilight. "Ah... Twilight... I was just trying to wake you so we could move to the bed. It'd be more comfortable than sleeping on the cushions."

"Oh-kay..." Twilight glanced toward Luna's foreleg which was still rubbing the base of her neck.

Luna's face grew even hotter and she jerked her leg back. "My apologies. I got distracted."

"Distracted?"

"Uh..." Ack! Think of something! Glancing away from Twilight's eyes she realized she did have a way out of this one. Best to have an excuse prepared in the future… "Look at yourself... You’re providing your own moonlight."





The next few nights were very busy. Twilight had determined that channeling (not producing, as it turned out) moonlight was actually a very simple matter once one realized it was possible. It was essentially a self-sustaining effect and would continue on its own until cancelled – or until something interfered with her magic flows. A fact which explained how Luna had been able to sleep without fear that she'd stop providing moonlight for her.

No, channeling was the easy part to figure out. Harder to explain was how she could do it in the first place. Channeling moonlight required Lunar magic according to Luna, and Luna was the only one with it. Even Ursa didn't channel moonlight. Instead, they fed on moonlight and produced starlight from it. Which basically means that she has a medical condition which should only affect Ursa and an ability to channel moonlight which should only be doable by Luna.

Makes perfect sense...

Twilight sighed and rubbed at her eyes. Luna was back to holding her night courts again - with a few precautions in place to ensure nopony got too close. She still didn't want to take chances of contamination even though Twilight was fairly certain it couldn't be passed on through ordinary means. Granted, she had to admit that Luna had a point when she said that they really don't know yet what constitutes "normal means" for whatever this is.

Flipping through her research notes on the topic only served to further frustrate her. She'd learned a great deal about Ursa recently: a second trip to see Majora while Luna was at night court had answered a lot of questions and filled in a lot of blank spaces from the few books available on the subject, but nothing seemed to answer the question of how she’d gotten into this situation or how to get out of it.

There were only ever two Ursa in existence at one time, a major and a minor. If a minor died, the major would condense some of its consumed moonlight to birth a new cub. Twilight thought that it was a combination of moonlight and shadow involved, but couldn't be sure without witnessing the process. If a major died, then the minor would reduce its output of starlight and convert moonlight to mass instead, until it grew large enough to be considered a major and could birth a new cub. Majora had implied that if both died that the stars would guide the birth of a new Ursa, but couldn’t (or wouldn’t) give any further explanation. 

Cubs were born unable to generate starlight. More accurately, they had no spare moonlight to expend on the creation of starlight. For the first few weeks, months, or years (getting accurate times was proving difficult) they would be placed in a location exposed to moonlight as much as possible by the mother. During this time, they were not in danger of pain or death when not exposed to moonlight or starlight, but still couldn't face the sun. After enough feeding and growing, excess moonlight would begin being converted to starlight and the cub would gain its signature forehead star. This is the point that failure to be exposed to appropriate levels of moonlight or starlight could become fatal. It still couldn’t produce enough starlight to sustain itself for some time after that point though, and the mother had to provide for it.

Twilight knew there had to be something obvious she was missing here. Whatever the condition was, it didn't affect newborn Ursa. That seemed to point to it being passed on from the mother at some point. But how?

I'd probably have it figured out for now if it weren't for Luna, she muttered internally.

She was even more distracted by Luna than ever of late. Two more times since the first, she had been awakened from dreams of Luna by the same stroking of her neck. She couldn’t deny that it was a very pleasant way to wake up…if only it actually meant what she wanted it to mean. Twilight had to struggle to hold back the desire to blurt out her feeling each time, as Luna would just give her the reason for waking her and move on with things. It was just so new and felt so nice that she just wanted to believe that, just maybe, Luna...

No! She shook her head sharply. You've been over this plenty of times. She's just a friend. Just a friend...

She gave a ragged sigh and buried her face in the cushion. She didn’t want to face that fact, and Luna's tendency to shift in her sleep to nuzzle into her neck didn't help her resolve at all. They both channeled moonlight as they slept now. Twilight insisted that she was fine doing it herself, but Luna wanted to be on the safe side just in case. After all, there was no reason that Twilight should be able to channel it in the first place and she could lose the ability just as inexplicably.

She slammed her hoof into the cushion beside her head in frustration. It just didn't make sense. If she still had Luna's power from when Tirek attacked it would make sense, but she didn't. Tirek had taken it all, and then the Tree of Harmony had restored all the stolen magic directly to the rightful owners afterward. Celestia certainly wasn’t left with any of Luna’s magic after returning it. The only way she could think of it being possible for her to use an ability tied to Lunar magic was...

She jerked up in surprise as a number of tiny details suddenly clicked into place and a new hypothesis was formed.

It’s just barely possible…and it would explain…

She had to verify! She quickly scribbled a note to Luna in case she was late returning, and vanished in a brilliant flash of light.
> 08: Answers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	An hour or so after midnight found Twilight using her magic to go over the remains of the Golden Oak Library. Due to the partially cloudy skies and the possibility of overhanging objects blocking the moonlight, she'd chosen to play it safe and channel her own. It was serving double purpose for her as a light source to search by as well.

Though she'd been through the ruins a number of times already while searching for books and belongings which might have survived the explosion, it felt much different going through it in the silence of the night. Ponyville was completely silent but for the sound of night insects and birds.

The town felt like it could be deserted as quiet as it was with everypony asleep. In the quiet of the ruins Twilight suddenly felt a stab of loneliness and wondered how all her friends were doing. She'd had a few letters from them, but it wasn't the same as getting to chat with them about their days. She shook her head and resumed her investigation.

At least I don't have to worry about being interrupted at this hour by somepony wondering what I'm doin-

"Hey Twilight! Whatcha doing?"

"GAH!" Twilight screamed and leapt straight in the air at the near-scream right in her ear. Turning on the culprit she huffed out, "Pinkie! Don't sneak up on me like that. You scared the bajeebers out of me!"

"Why'd you have bejeebers in you in the first place?"

Twilight groaned and rubbed at her forehead. Of course Pinkie would show up.

"Never mind. What're you doing here?"

"Well-ll-ll... My Pinkie sense woke me up and told me that you were back in Ponyville, and I thought it was strange that you hadn't let us know you were coming back, and since I'd missed you and wanted to see how you were doing I decided to go to your castle and find out, but then I saw light coming from over here and came over here instead, and here you are." All this came out in a single rushed breath before Pinkie made an exaggerated gasp for air and grinned at Twilight before continuing. "How are you doing that anyway? You look like a night light, but I thought that was your dad..."

Twilight took her usual few seconds to sort through this rush of Pinkie-speak. "I didn't let you girls know I was coming back because this was a last minute decision and I'm not really back in Ponyville yet."

"But you're right here, and this is Ponyville isn't it?" Pinkie looked around as though expecting to find herself somewhere else.

"Yes, this is Ponyville... I mean that I'm just checking on something. I'm not back to stay yet."

"Oh, so you're still staying in Canterlot. That's good, I thought I was going to have to move everything."

"What?"

"No-thing!" Pinkie gave an innocent grin that Twilight didn't believe for a second, but didn't have the patience to pursue the topic. She didn't have time in any case as Pinkie continued, "So, if you're not really back, why are you here?"

"That's complicated. I'm pretty certain I know what's going on with me now, but I need more evidence, so I'm searching for traces of Tirek's magic. At least I've worked out how it spreads and don't have to worry about other ponies getting it. Now I have to figure out how to get rid of it."

Pinkie grin vanished and she seemed to deflate a bit. "You're still sick? Aww, I hoped you were all better."

"I'm okay," and Twilight embraced her pink friend. "I'm sure I'll have the answer soon, and I'm really not in any danger right now. Promise."

Pinkie immediately perked back up, "Okie-dokie-lokie! If you say so. Guess I better get some sleep if I'm going to have everything ready for tomorrow."

"What's going on tomorrow?"

"No-thing... bye Twilight!" And with one quick hug Pinkie zipped away before Twilight could say or do anything else.

Twilight stared after the dust trail for a few seconds and commented to herself, "Same old Pinkie." Then she brought her attention back to the task at hand.





Luna twisted her neck side to side in an attempt to relieve tension as she walked back to her chamber from the Night Court. She'd decided to end it early given the lack of petitions. Few enough ponies even knew of the Night Court, and cancelling it for over a week had interfered with its slowly increasing popularity.

She mentally shook off the matter and focused instead on possible plans for the rest of the night. Perhaps she'd see if Twilight felt like another trip to see Majora and Mina. She smiled at the thought and completed the remainder of her journey with a hop in her step. Throwing open the doors she immediately called out, "Twilight! I have returned early. Shall we away on another field trip?"

Getting no response and noting the absence of purple pony on the usual pillow, she made her way toward the bathing chamber. "Twilight? Are you in there?"

Her smile began to fade as she noted that her chambers were empty but for herself. She also took in that Twilight's books, scrolls, and writing materials were all placed neatly to the side rather than out and in use. Finally Luna noticed a small slip of paper on her own pillow as it moved in a slight breeze from the balcony.



Luna,
I think I've figured it all out. Gone to check. Back soon.
Twilight




*****


The last hour before dawn found Luna pacing back and forth along her balcony. She'd gone to Majora and Mina's cave assuming that was where Twilight had gone, and learned that Twilight *had* been there, but had left well before she'd arrived. Twilight had asked Majora if she could cast a spell on both that wouldn't hurt them, done the spell, gotten excited, and left.

Luna assumed that Twilight would have returned to Canterlot after that, and returned herself, but there was still no sign of her and Luna was getting rather worried. Not that Luna thought Twilight couldn't take care of herself under ordinary circumstances, but-

There was a flash of purple light and Luna spun without thinking and launched herself at Twilight as she appeared, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Twilight! Where have you been? I've been worried sick!"

Twilight somewhat awkwardly returned the hug. "Relax Luna, I'm fine. I left you a note."

Luna released Twilight and fixed her with a glare. "A note? 'Gone to check'? Gone where? To check what? Why couldn't you wait till I could go with you?" Her voice got quieter, "What if something had happened?"

Twilight tucked her ears back in shame and looked down at her hooves. "I- I'm sorry... I didn't really think about that. I was just so excited when I thought I might have figured out how all this happened." She looked back up with a sheepish smile that quickly changed to one of pure joy that gave Luna's chest a brief flutter of warmth. "And I did figure it out! I know how this happened and why I can channel your moonlight."

Luna tore her gaze from Twilight's smile and focused on the words before blinking dumbly, "You figured it out?"

"Yes! And it's so simple... well, not simple, but it makes sense once all the facts are accounted for."

Luna stared for a minute or so at the grinning alicorn. "Well? Are you going to tell me?"

"Oh!" Twilight snapped out of her joy-haze. "Right. But... Maybe you should lower the moon first, then we can meet with Princess Celestia since she'd want to know too and it'd be easier just to tell it all once."

Reminded of her duties, Luna realized that she was again a few minutes late with the moon and quickly lowered it before sealing the room against sunlight. At Twilight's reassurance that she knew how the condition spreads and that there was no danger from close contact, she sent a message to her sister requesting she join them for their morning meal.





Twilight could hardly contain her excitement as they waited for Celestia. She'd figured out the problem, had a good idea how to fix it, and wouldn't have to be locked up anymore. Though she was going to miss the excuse to spend so much time with Luna. She deflated for a moment at the thought, but just then her former mentor entered the room.

"Princess Celestia," Twilight cried out in joy as she ran to embrace her.

"Now Twilight, how many times do I have to tell you that you can just call me Celestia? You're a princess too now after all."

Twilight, looking up and noting the teasing look in Celestia's eyes, just smiled and responded with a simple, "Sorry, habit."

Celestia chuckled and moved on to embrace her sister. "And it's good to see you again as well Luna. I've missed our daily get-togethers this last week."

"I've missed you too, Tia."

"I must say, that is a lovely shade of moonlight you two are wearing."

Luna and Twilight shared a quick grin, but before they could say anything the servants entered the room with their food and the three settled about the table which had not previously been used during Twilight's stay.

Once they all were settled with food and drinks and the servants had withdrawn, Celestia commented, "I am a bit curious about how you are managing that Twilight. I'd always been under the impression that was a skill unique to Luna."

"You are well aware that there are exceptions," Luna drawled with a gleam in her eye, "Auntie 'Lestia."

Celestia coughed into her tea, and Twilight noted with interest that her cheeks turned a very obvious pink. It was the first time Twilight could recall ever seeing her mentor lose composure. Even when Chrysalis had overpowered her she'd managed to keep emotionally collected.

Celestia daintily cleaned up her tea and wiped her mouth with a napkin before refilling her cup. "And what, may I ask, prompted that particular jab dear sister?"

"Oh, I think you know Tia." Then her tone turned pleading, "Why did you never tell me about Majora? You must have known how much it would mean to me."

"I'm sorry Luna, I was going to tell you when she next woke. She wasn't due to wake again for another five to ten more years, and I knew you'd want to go see her as soon as you knew."

"Oh..."

"Luna... I don't think I really understood how much it meant to you. I never expected you'd go looking for her."

Twilight took that opportunity to speak up, "We didn't go looking for her exactly. We went looking for the Ursa Minor I'd encountered in Ponyville, planning to study her while she slept, but I ended up waking both Majora and Mina."

"I see. It seems that you two have had quite the busy week, and not quite in the way I'd expected."

Luna looked sharply at Celestia, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing at all. Shall we move on to Twilight's explanation of her condition?"

"Could we maybe eat first? It's been a busy night and I'm kind of hungry."

Luna had been considering her sister through half-closed eyes, but spun her gaze to Twilight at mention of a busy night. Twilight felt her face warm a bit and looked down at her plate remembering how much she'd made Luna worry.

Celestia looked back and forth between the two for a moment. "Of course. Food sounds like a wonderful plan."


*****


After they had eaten and were relaxing with their drinks of choice, Celestia prompted, "May we now hear what you have discovered Twilight?"

Twilight nodded began with the delayed explanation, "Well, when Mina came to Ponyville and I had to calm her and return her to her cave, I actually didn't have enough magic to do so on my own. I didn't realize it until I was thinking back about it this week, but I actually borrowed magic from Mina. An Ursa is made up of magic and shadow, with no actual physical substance, so given my special talent I ended up tapping into that instinctively instead of draining myself dry."

Twilight now had the full attention of both princesses. "The lunar dependency is something that Ursa are born with. It's something like a magical parasite that exists within the shadow bit of their substance. It remains dormant until the Ursa first learns to generate starlight. The parasite feeds on the Ursa magic to keep the light from destroying the shadow. Ursa magic is produced by feeding on moonlight, so the moonlight doesn't directly deal with the parasite, it just ensures there's enough spare food that the parasite doesn't interfere with the Ursa's ability to function. In the case of an Ursa, if the parasite eats more magic than is produced, then eventually it will have no magic left over and die. The brighter the light it is exposed to, the more rapidly it will go through available magic trying to keep itself alive...and will more rapidly end up killing off the Ursa, as happened with Majora's mother."

Luna lowered her head at the reminder and Celestia jerked a bit, "You told her about that?"

Twilight wrapped a comforting wing over Luna's back, "She didn't tell me. I saw. I got pulled into her dream when she was reliving it."

Celestia reached a hoof across the table toward her sister. "You never mentioned nightmares about it Lulu. If I'd known about that I'd most certainly have told you about Majora earlier."

"It's okay Tia. What's done is done, and I do feel much better since learning of Majora's survival. If you would continue Twilight?"

"Right." Twilight continued, but left her wing draped over Luna. "In my case, I picked up the parasite and Ursa magic when I borrowed Mina's magic, but it stayed dormant because I couldn't produce moonlight or starlight - until Tirek. When you all gave me your magic and I had to use lunar magic to lower the moon, I activated the parasite. It grew in strength slowly over the week after the battle because I only have a little Ursa magic and am not composed entirely of it."

Luna broke in, "That explains why you have the condition, but what about the moonlight? You gave us back our magic."

"Actually, I didn't. The Tree of Harmony did. That's the other part I checked on tonight."

"Either way, we got our magic back, so how do you still have lunar magic?"

"That's where it gets a little complicated. You both know that magic takes many different forms. In its natural state there is elemental magic, illusion magic, dark magic, healing magic, and so on. The different pony races channel and manipulate the magic in specialized ways and it is then referred to as earth pony magic, pegasus magic, or unicorn magic. Then the specialization is taken an additional step further when a pony gains their cutie mark. At that point the way in which they use and manipulate magic becomes unique to them and nopony else."

Celestia and Luna just nodded acknowledgement of this.

"I went to a few places where Tirek used his magic - in particular what's left of the Ponyville library - and discovered that his magic is type-less. He steals magic and converts it to raw magic which can be shaped however he pleases. On the other hoof, the Tree of Harmony's magic is an almost perfectly even blend of every type of magic. When it stripped the stolen magic from Tirek and returned it to everypony, I believe that it used each ponies subconscious memory of what their magic had been to ensure they were restored to what they were instead of having to get their cutie marks all over again."

Twilight shifted her gaze between the two, "That's the reason why I still have lunar magic. I also checked and found traces of solar magic as well. When Tirek took my magic, I had all of yours as well. So the 'memory' of my magic included yours."

Celestia smiled at her, "That is quite the conclusion Twilight. But how can you be certain that it's not just your innate skill for magic allowing you to mimic solar and lunar magic?"

"I can't be entirely certain at this point, but it's not just mimicking. I actually have traces of your magic. It's also the only way I can explain having Ursa magic after Tirek should have stripped it away."

"Well, I am content to leave the matter in your capable hooves. Have you figured out how to cure yourself as well?"

"I think so, but I'll have to wait until tonight to try."

Twilight basked in the warmth of Celestia's smile. "Excellent. And it seems Pinkie's timing is excellent as well."

Twilight and Luna traded confused glances.

"She's requested the use of the lesser ballroom for tomorrow's 'We've Missed You Twilight' party."





Celestia basked in the company of her sister and former student, proud of how both had grown. She hid her smile in her teacup at how closely they'd sat for the entire meal and at Twilight's wing still draped over her sister's back.

Deciding it was time to leave the two alone, she stood and nodded at both and said in a carefully neutral tone, "I'll see you two tomorrow then. I should probably check with Pinkie Pie to see if she has any ideas for the wedding."

"What wedding?" both Twilight and Luna asked together.

Making her way out of the room she answered over her shoulder. "Don't play coy - you two really are such a cute couple."

Then she took off at a full gallop with a laugh as an angry shout of, "TIA!" followed in her wake.
> 09: Relational Revelations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna made her way back into her chambers after attempting to run down her sister for that final jab - a futile effort as always. Her mind was busy trying to think up ways to get her back for that one, but the sight of Twilight making a rather impressive attempt to melt into the floor redirected her attention. Her face was hidden under her fore hooves, and there was a definite red sheen over her entire body, visible even through the moonlight that she was emitting.

That is some impressive blushing. Luna thought with a smile. I suppose she's not seen us at our games before.

She stepped over and rested a hoof on Twilight's wither, only to have her twitch and try to press herself harder into the floor.

"Twilight..." No response.

She lowered her head nearer to Twilight and spoke in as reassuring a tone as she could manage, "Twilight? There's naught to be embarrassed about. My sister and I play these games from time to time. Teasing me about my lack of partner is a common theme, though she has never done so in company before. She meant nothing by it."

A completely incomprehensible mumble was her response, though Twilight did stop trying to actively disappear into the floor.

Figuring the crisis to be handled, Luna let humor into her voice, "I'm sorry, but was that for me or for the floor? I couldn't make you out, though I'm sure the carpet is well informed."

Twilight slowly, reluctantly it seemed, uncovered her face. She still wouldn't meet Luna's eyes, and Luna's small smile fell away at the pained look on her friend's face. "What's wrong? It was just a joke. Honest."

"I just.. What if..." Luna, seeing tears forming at the corners of Twilight's eyes, settled against her and wrapped her in a wing. Twilight first started to flinch away but, when Luna gripped her tighter with her wing, buried her face in Luna's side and began crying. Seeing Twilight in this state pained her. It was almost worse than when she'd been faced with the withered and dying Twilight a week before, because she didn't know what to do here. She couldn't understand why a bit of sibling teasing would provoke such a reaction, but she was determined to provide what comfort she could.

"'What if-?'" Luna prodded. Twilight just pressed her face harder into Luna's side. "Please Twilight... 'what if' what?"

Suddenly Twilight jerked back and burst out, "What if I wanted it to be true!" A look of pure horror, followed swiftly by utter embarrassment washed over her face at how loudly she'd shouted it. Then she suddenly went limp, as though giving up on some inner struggle, and repeated softly, "What if I wanted it to be true..."





Twilight felt Luna's wing leave her back as the other alicorn shifted away and croaked out a hoarse, "What!?"

Couldn't keep your big mouth shut could you? Twilight chided herself. Had to go and blurt it out and now she's going to... She couldn't even bring herself to complete the thought as she cringed away from her imagination and the recent past.

After minutes that felt like hours, Twilight felt Luna shift closer to her again, though the wing didn't return. And it was in a tone devoid of vocal clues that Luna addressed her, "What did you mean? Surely you don't speak of the jibe my sister made in parting."

Twilight nodded weakly, chin never leaving the ground. She decided that it was time to simply get it out given that it was already too late to take back what she'd said. At least she wouldn't have to pretend any more. Taking a deep breath to try and relieve some tension, she simply let the words flow uncensored.

"I've always thought you were beautiful. Even in your weakened state after we freed you from nightmare moon you were cute..." Twilight felt Luna shifting a bit in place, but couldn't bring herself to look up just yet. "It was your Nightmare Night visit to Ponyville though when I started to feel more. You were trying so hard to be what you 'should be,' but in trying to help you I got to see what you really were...and got to help the others see it too."

The wing finally was draped back over her, and Twilight decided to take the chance and lean into her companion again. She felt a wave of relief that Luna didn't shift away again. "Even though I'd only gotten to see you a limited number of times after that, I still felt my crush growing more and more - even though I tried to stamp it out." She shook her head. "I tried to keep it in. To get rid of it. I knew you only saw me as a friend. I thought that maybe I had it under control, then this last week happened and all this time close to you..." She sighed again and finished in a somewhat flatter tone, "Celestia must have known how I was feeling. Those comments during her visit... I've never known her to say anything, even a joke, without having some message or meaning behind it."

With that, she just stopped speaking. Twilight knew she should get up and leave - back to her own room since Luna was likely to send her away as soon as she got over the shock of this revelation anyway, but she couldn't bring herself to. Besides, if this was to be the last time she'd get to be close to Luna like this, then she was going to take every second she could.

And so she waited for the hammer to fall, the warmth of Luna's body against her doing little to stop the chill growing within her as the silence lengthened.





To say that Luna had been taken by surprise would be like saying that the night sky has a few stars - a massive understatement. Twilight was the best friend she'd ever had outside of her sister, but she never expected that there might be romantic interest there. She could see now that there were signs, but there had always been other explanations for those things.

As Twilight spoke, Luna wasn't precisely listening. She was still taking it all in, but she was also lost in memory and reliving the events Twilight was accounting. Her release from Nightmare Moon when she found herself both in awe of the young unicorn who had managed to free her, and also in terror that more punishment would be directed at her true self.

She felt her face warm and fidgeted a bit in place. I was embarrassed to be seen so diminished, and she thought I was cute...

By that Nightmare Night, she had fully reclaimed her magic from Celestia and was prepared to face her subjects again...so she thought. If not for Twilight, that night would have been an unmitigated disaster. She wrapped Twilight in a thankful wing as she remembered those events and felt the warm pressure as the younger alicorn leaned into her. Twilight had been the only one to accept her from the start with no reservations. Despite all her mistakes, despite her alternating aggressiveness and depression, and despite her attempts to give up. Twilight refused to stop until the others had come to see her instead of Nightmare Moon.

She has truly seen me at my worst. First as Nightmare Moon, and then as I was that night - I never truly appreciated how lucky I am to count her a friend.

Luna continued revisiting her memories as Twilight's words poured over her. The occasional visits she'd made to Twilight's balcony during a stargazing session, talking in the castle observatory when Twilight was visiting Canterlot for one reason or another, even the occasional letter Twilight had written her to see how she was fairing. She recalled her sister letting her read over many of Twilight's friendship reports and feeling an inner warmth at that glimpse into her friend's life.

And then there was this past week. She shivered remembering the terror she'd felt when she'd first seen Twilight's condition, the fear for Twilight and not herself when Majora woke, and her panic at not knowing where Twilight was or if she was safe just this last night. But then she warmed and smiled recalling the nights cuddled as she used to with her sister, the chance to share her nights with another, having Twilight there to comfort her when she was the one troubled by a nightmare, and learning that Twilight purred. She almost giggled at the thought and turned her head to look at her companion.

The warmth and smile left in an instant as she took in Twilight's face. Twilight was biting her lip, eyes squeezed shut, and looking to be on the verge of tears. And she was leaning her full weight into Luna as though she was the only solid thing in the world. Suddenly Luna's mind caught up and she realized that Twilight had stopped speaking some time ago.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, made a decision, and stood.





As Luna's silence had grown longer, the chill within Twilight had continued to grow until the only warmth she felt was where she was pressed up against Luna. It was everything she could do to hold back the tears that were demanding to fall. She wasn't even certain why she was fighting them, but she kept her eyes squeezed tight, bit her lip, and held them in.

Twilight fell over on her side as Luna suddenly stood up. The tears were briefly chased away in the scramble to straighten herself out, but then she found herself face-to-face with eyes like a stormy night and her vision immediately began to blur.

This is it. I guess this is the end.

"Twilight... I cannot tell you that I love you, or even that I have a crush on you."

Finally, there was no holding back the tears. She dropped her head as they fell, and it was all she could do to keep her whole self from falling with them. However, a blurry blue hoof forced her chin back up so that she was again looking at the distorted form of Luna's head.

"I can't say that I love you. But I can say that I find you cute, adorable, and beautiful. I can say that I enjoy talking with you, your quirks, and your company. I can say that you're not only my friend, but that you are my best friend - the best one I've ever had."

The tears stopped flowing and she held her breath as a tiny, warm spark of hope tried to light in her chest. She desperately blinked her eyes trying to bring her sight back into focus so she could look for clues in Luna's face, but Luna's words came first:

"I can say that I'm willing to give us the chance at being more than just friends, because I don't think I'll ever meet someone more deserving of the opportunity than you."

The spark instantly became a bonfire and, without thought, Twilight launched herself at Luna. They ended up sprawled out on the floor, Luna on her back and Twilight on top with forelegs tightly wrapped around Luna, face buried in her neck. Tears came again, but this time it was tears of joy. She couldn't speak, she just held on tightly as she felt Luna's wings and forelegs close around her in a return embrace.

Finally, after the tears had run out, Twilight managed to whisper two words: "Thank you." Luna simply responded by holding her tighter.

But that was enough.
> 10: Looking Forward, Looking Back
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna lay in her bed, eyes locked on the newly risen moon through the balcony doors, but she was not truly seeing it. Her attention was instead captured by the steady breathing on her neck as Twilight remained asleep against her. There was nothing particularly different about how they were laying now as compared to the last week, but it felt different. Whereas previously she would have simply gotten about her business upon waking, she found herself loathe to leave the warmth of Twilight against her - and was doubly loathe to wake her.

She rubbed a forehoof lightly against the fur of Twilight's back where it lay and felt a stronger exhale against her neck as Twilight snuggled deeper against her. An inner warmth seemed to spread throughout her body from the breath on her neck and she wrapped her own wing more tightly against her new marefriend.

Marefriend...

She knew that she needed time to think on precisely what this relationship would mean. Not to rethink her decision to enter a deeper relationship - far from it. The peace that cocooned her in this moment was enough of a sign of rightness of the choice as far as she was concerned. No, she had no intention to second guess her decision, but still needed instead to consider the difficulties to come.

They both came from different times and different experiences. That was certain to result in conflict and misunderstanding, though the events of that Nightmare Night were proof enough that they could work through those cases as they arrived. More difficult to work out would be how to carry on a relationship when one of them lived in Canterlot and the other in Ponyville. Not that travelling between the two locations was difficult given their combined abilities, but they each had duties which needed to come first. They also had very different schedules.

She closed her eyes and curled herself more securely around Twilight. Of course, with Twilight involved and having been considering a relationship like this for some time it was quite likely the perpetually prepared purple pony already had a shelf full of plans on how to proceed. A smile played upon her muzzle as she imagined a carefully segregated section of Twilight's new library full of charts, scrolls, and books on the topic of making long-distance relationships work - and prepared schedules for when they could most easily meet.

Absently, she moved her hoof up and began stroking at Twilight's neck, not only hearing but feeling the murr-purr as it started, and her smile grew.

At least I no longer need an excuse for this, she thought as she let go of all other thought and sensation beyond the two of them in this moment.

It was some undefined time later that the purring stopped and she felt Twilight shift against her.

"Luna?" The voice was barely more than a whisper, as though afraid of waking her if she were asleep.

She responded with a simple "hmm?" as she continued the gentle stroking.

Twilight burrowed harder into her. “This morning wasn’t a dream was it? You did… I mean, we…”

“It wasn’t a dream. I said yes.”

A relieved sigh accompanied the younger alicorn going limp as muscles which had tensed in nervous anticipation relaxed. They lay there like that in silence for a while before Twilight spoke up again.

"This feels really nice…” A pause. “Luna… stroking me like this this week... was it really just to wake me up? I kept thinking it might... I wanted to think it meant more."

Without pausing in the petting, her reply came out slowly as she considered how best to answer. "No... It was never my intention to wake you any of those times..."

Twilight twisted a bit in place and Luna could feel the younger alicorn's gaze on her, though she kept her own eyes closed.

"Then, did you feel...?"

Luna heard the unspoken end to that question and let her mind roam backward as she examined her actions, thoughts, and feelings over the time they had known each other. As time passed with no answer, Twilight gave a soft, sad sigh and settled back into the bed again.

"My excuse for doing so had nothing to do with my feelings for you," she finally responded. "But I think I have likely had feelings I did not recognize. I’ve always assumed the comfort and warmth I’ve felt around you as simply a sign of us being great friends as I never experienced a romantic relationship with which I could have compared my feelings. But, when I saw you channeling moonlight that first time... you were so beautiful that I couldn't help but to reach out to you..."

She again felt Twilight's full attention and finally opened her own eyes to meet the vibrant purple ones a short distance from her own.

"I may have had an alternate excuse for my actions after that, but those unacknowledged feelings were likely why I felt no desire to fight my urge. I would never have allowed myself to take such a liberty with any random pony. Beyond yourself, my sister is the only one I am close enough that I would consider doing so with. I could not even imagine myself petting any of your friends, or even a duty-bound maid or guard, simply to hear them purr."

A smile slowly grew on Twilight's face as Luna spoke, but then she froze and blinked a few times. "Purr? Your excuse was to make me purr? That was the real reason?"

Oops... didn't mean to mention that... 

Luna felt her cheeks suddenly erupt with heat and was somewhat surprised the bedding didn't ignite with how hot they felt. "Umm... yeesssss? I mean- I didn't know you would purr the first time, but then you did and it was so adorable that I had to keep petting you, and then I couldn't keep myself from doing it again the last few nights when it was time to get up, and..." She rapidly attempted to explain herself as Twilight continued watching her with an unchanging expression, but broke off as a predatory grin suddenly appeared on her marefriend’s face. She gulped and shifted slightly backward as Twilight leaned forward until their muzzles were almost touching.

"So," and Luna felt her mouth go dry at the feel of Twilight's breath caressing her lips, eyes still locked together, "if I understand this right, you can't keep yourself from caressing me oh so wonderfully when it means I'll purr?"

She nodded her head a fraction of an inch and managed to croak a tiny "yes" out despite the dry mouth.

"In that case," Twilight murmured before moving her lips up next to Luna's ear and whispering, "What are you waiting for?"

With only a brief pause as the words sank in, she brought her hoof up to resume her forgotten stroking from earlier and shivered as Twilight began purring directly into her ear. She smiled and felt an answering hum of her own start in response.

Oh, I can definitely get used to this! 
> 11: Party Time, Parting Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	A little before noon the following day, Twilight trotted into the lesser ballroom alongside Luna, only to find herself back in the hallway as she was hit by hurricane Pinkie. "TWILIGHT!! We've missed you SO much!"

Twilight hugged her excitable friend back before struggling to her hooves. "But I just saw you a bit over a day ago Pinkie."

"That doesn't count. And anyway, it feels like it's been months since then!"

"Twilight!" Spike called as he ran out of the ballroom to hug her.

"Hey Spike," she murmured as she returned the hug and nuzzled his cheek. "It's good to see you again."

By this point, the rest of her friends had poured out and she found herself the center of a group hug. Some of them were squeezing her so hard that it was hard to breath, but she hardly minded at the moment - she was too happy to finally be together with them again.

Finally the hug broke up and Rarity was the first to speak. "I must say, Darling, you look much better than expected given what we were told as you were hauled off."

"Ah agree Sugarcube, you sure are lookin' well."

"So, you coming home soon Twi? Ponyville just isn't the same without you there."

"We really have missed you Twilight."

"Quite so dear. Letters aren't the same as getting to see someone face-to-face, and you were unavailable after a fashion even before you came to Canterlot. When might we expect you back?"

She met Luna's gaze briefly where she remained standing by the door to the ballroom before answering, knowing that this would set the timeframe for the end of their ideal. "Well, it should only be another few days at most. I'm completely better now, but I want to double-check and make sure before returning."

"You never did tell us what made you so sick," Rarity prodded.

"Let us just say it was an unforeseen consequence of her becoming an alicorn," a new voice chimed in.

Twilight turned to hug her former mentor as the others bowed.

"Come now my little ponies, there is no need for that. We're here for a party are we not? Though I thought it was to take place in the ballroom and not in the hallway." A small smile and twinkle of the eye accompanied the statement.

"Right! PARTY TIME!" cried Pinkie as she somehow managed to grab everypony at once and drag them all into the room.


*****


The party was fairly typical for a Pinkie Party. Music, decorations, dessert, smiles, and happy conversation. Without planning or thinking about it, Twilight and Luna tended to stay close by each other as they took part in the various party diversions. This didn't go entirely unnoticed.

During a lull in the festivities, Rarity stepped forward with a knowing smile on her face. "You know Twilight, I can't help noticing how closely you and Princess Luna have been keeping to each other. Is there perhaps something you'd like to share?"

All talk stopped as the other six pairs of eyes immediately focused on the two suddenly blushing princesses. Both were exchanging glances, only just then aware of how obvious they'd been without meaning to.

"Oh my, it would appear that I wasn't so off base after all, hmm?" Celestia piped up with a devious smirk, causing Luna's blush to deepen. "I have to congratulate your acting skills. I honestly thought you were oblivious."

"Actually," Twilight almost whispered, "the topic only came up after you left yesterday morning."

Rainbow zipped to the front of the group and hovered in place. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I don't get it, what's going on?"

Twilight swallowed nervously and gave a sheepish grin. "We're dating?"

"Well butter my biscuit, Ah didn't see that one comin'."

"Shows what you know about matters of the heart. I for one think they make a lovely couple," Rarity huffed.

"Now, Ah didn't mean it like that. Ah think they'll make a great couple. It's just a surprise is all."

"Psh- All the time our egghead spends staring at the stars, I for one am not surprised."

"Oh Twilight! I'm so happy for you! ... And you too Princess Luna." Fluttershy's own cheeks took on a light pink hue as she beamed at the two.

Spike for his part seemed too stunned to actually say anything, though his mouth kept opening and closing.

"Wow-WEE! Looks like we need a bigger party!" Suddenly there was a pink blur zipping all over the room and wind blowing from every direction as Pinkie rapidly redecorated. Within moments the room was full of purple, pink, and blue streamers along with cut-out hearts, stars, and moons hanging from the ceiling. There was even a banner which read: 'Congratulations! When's the Wedding?'

The new couple hung their heads in an attempt to hide their flaming cheeks as Celestia burst out laughing.





Two nights later, Twilight found herself in her former teacher's chamber, soaking in the comfort of memories which had been formed over the years. It was finally time for her to return to Ponyville and her duties, but Celestia had requested to see her before she left.

"Ah Twilight!" she heard from behind her as Celestia entered the chamber. "It is good to see you could tear yourself away from your moon-gazing long enough to see me."

The suggestive tone and almost invisible smirk with which the phrase had been delivered caused Twilight to flush and drop her eyes as her mind willingly provided flashes of Luna's cutie mark - and the flank it was attached to.

"I'm just teasing you Twilight. I truly am happy for you both. And..." Here Celestia hesitated for a few moments as Twilight got herself under control and looked back up. She thought that Celestia looked a bit sad.

"And?"

Celestia regarded her warmly and the sadness lessened, but did not entirely vanish. "I think it is very good for her to have someone she can relate better to and confide in when she can't to me."

"Relate better to? But you're sisters!"

"Yes. We are sisters, separated by a thousand years. She did not live the thousand years that I did and, though we were extremely close in our youths, such a gap is not easily bridged. We could not simply pick up where we'd left off, much as we both would like to. You two have lived different lives, but your experiences are far more similar than you may now realize."

"I- but-"

Celestia stepped closer and embraced her. "You don't need to try and come up with a response. Perhaps I shouldn't have said anything, but I wanted you to truly understand how important I believe you are for her and that I approve and support your relationship completely." She pulled back and smiled down. "I wouldn't want you having a panic attack trying to figure out if I was going to be an overprotective sister or not."

Twilight felt herself grinning back at that little jibe at her tendency to panic at the unknown.

"I also wanted to find out how you went about your cure. You never did provide any detail on what you had planned for that."

"Oh, right! Sorry, I've been a little distracted-"

"I bet..."

Twilight gave a small, involuntary cough and continued in a slightly squeaky voice, though she quickly pulled it back under control, "The solution ended up being very simple given the uniqueness of my situation. Once I knew the parasite was there I was able to isolate it from accessing my magic to support itself, then I simply used the solar magic I have from you to channel sunlight and kill it off. I used the last two days as an observation period partially consisting of using lunar magic again to see if any of the parasite had managed to survive, but I do appear to be completely free of it now."

"While that is certainly good news, what would you have done had solar magic not been available to you?"

"Well, it's possible that getting rid of the Ursa magic might have sent the parasite with it. Though it's far more likely that the parasite, once activated, had spread outside of it..." She thoughtfully rubbed her jaw with a hoof. "Honestly, I'm not certain at the moment how I would have gotten rid of it, but even isolating it as I did prior to destroying it would at least keep it from using the infected pony's magic to sustain itself. That would stop the lunar dependency and the parasite would probably starve to death on its own with time. Theoretically at least. I would have to run a case study to be sure, but I don't think that will really be necessary as the circumstances that led to my situation are unlikely to be repeated."

"You are likely correct, but I would still like for a full report on what you discovered to be put on file in the restricted section of the royal archives as a safety measure."

"Yes Pr-Celestia."

"Why Twilight, I do believe you're getting better at using my name."

There was a brief pause as both maintained "official" composure before Twilight broke into giggles and Celestia followed.





"I don't want to go."

"Nor do I want you to, but we cannot neglect our duties."

Twilight knew that. She'd put it off as long as she'd dared, but she really needed to return to her own castle in Ponyville. Soon would come the sunrise and she would be teleporting herself home, but the problem was that it didn't feel like going home. In less than two weeks this set of chambers had come to feel like home, in only a few days Luna pressed up against her side felt like home... the castle in Ponyville would feel even more echoingly empty to her now even knowing that her friends would be there.

"I've wanted this so long, and now that I have it we have to be apart. It's not fair."

"Few things in life are truly fair Twilight. But despite the necessity it shall not be all bad. We shall still get to visit at least three nights a week and do not forget that we may also meet in our dreams if that is the only option." Luna nuzzled her cheek. "We shall not be alone, fear not."

Twilight smiled and nuzzled her back. She was in some ways amazed at how quickly Luna was willing to fully commit to making this relationship work, but that was her way - both from a negative and from a positive light. Her all-or-nothing approach had resulted in succumbing to Nightmare Moon, just as it had resulted in her all-in approach to embracing Nightmare Night once she found acceptance by the ponies of Ponyville. She simply wasn't one to second-guess a decision once it was made unless she was forced to.

"Luna?"

Her marefriend turned to face her, gracing her with a view of those lovely storm-dark eyes. "Hmm?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being you," she said before leaning forward the short distance to press her lips against Luna's for the first time - as she had wanted to do for so long. She felt Luna hesitate for only a fraction of a second before pressing back against her as both their eyes closed.

It was only one kiss and it didn't last long, but its emotional strength was no less intense for that fact. It might even be said that its brevity and uniqueness made it all the more potent. They sat there after with their noses still touching and lips mere millimeters apart, simply content to float within the moment and memory until the sun rose to announce the end of Twilight's stay in Canterlot.
> Epilogue: A Month Ahead
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	This was a dream. She was certain of it. It simply wasn’t possible to be this happy and comfortable while still awake. It was the complete opposite of the torture she’d been experiencing barely more than a month previous.

The sun was making its gentle way down toward the horizon as the final hour of the day crept by. She sat and watched it in comfortable silence from a cloud high above Equestria half-way between Ponyville and Canterlot. The air this high was cool, but the sun bathed her face in warmth. It was only a fractional source of the comfort she felt though. The body of her marefriend pressed alongside her, as well as the wing draped over her back made her feel as though wrapped completely in a cocoon – protected from any discomfort, chaos, or harm that dared to approach.

Is this just a dream? How could I know for sure? 

She turned her head slightly toward her companion and Luna turned toward her as well with a serene smile on her face. No words exchanged, just a gentle touching of their noses and Luna adjusting her wing slightly before both turned back toward the sunset.

Less than two months ago she had believed a moment like this to be an impossibility, and now it felt as though it had always been this way. There was a rightness whenever they were together that seemed to make all the stresses of life seem trivial matters easily overcome. A corner of her mind told her that it couldn’t possibly remain this way, but she firmly kept those thoughts pushed aside. If these moments were limited, then she was going to take full advantage of every single one.

A sudden, chill breeze over the bits of her not completely tucked away caused a shiver to zip quickly up and down her spine. The brief discomfort was enough for her to conclude that she might actually be awake.

One month today…

One month since she had finally let Luna know her feelings. One month since Luna had decided to give them a chance. One month of happiness that might never have happened if not for her illness.

“It is almost time. Are you ready?” Luna’s near-whispered question snapped Twilight from her detached musings and back into the here-and-now.

They were here for more than to simply watch the sunset after all. When Luna had shared her plan for tonight, to celebrate their month together and the way it had happened, Twilight had been rendered speechless at the magnitude of the gift she was being offered. And now, Twilight planted a quick kiss on Luna’s cheek and indicated her readiness.

A renewed surge of admiration and love for Luna coursed through Twilight as she touched her horn to Luna’s…

…and together they raised the moon.