The Moon's Embrace
Twilight stared down at the cup of tea lying on the table, set in between her forehooves, her glazed over eyes watching as steam rose up from the warm liquid. The room was darkened, lit by a sole candle, its warm glow breaking the darkness with a faint, welcoming light, along with the aura of Twilight's horn, which cast a faint magenta glow across the room.
Twilight slowly lifted the teacup up to her lips, then leaned back slightly and parted her lips as she tipped the cup up. The warm, sweet raspberry tea slipped in between her lips and gently caressed her tongue as she drank the fluid. She swallowed and set the cup back down. She blinked and licked her lips as she focused on the warm, tingly sensation caused by the warm tea rolling down her throat. It left a pleasant feeling behind in its wake, but it did nothing to keep the throbbing, tense ache of anxiety from her mind and body.
She blinked again, then lifted her gaze up from the table and looked across the kitchen and out the window. The stars in the sky looked so calm and peaceful, but at the same time, it served as a reminder of what had happened to her, of what she now was. She shifted her weight slightly and fluttered her wings at her sides. She nearly jumped out of her chair as her feathers brushed across her sides. She glanced back, then tilted her head back and looked at her side as her feathers tickled her.
Her sides were far more sensitive than before. She didn't mind that, it felt nice to have wings, but it wasn't something she had ever imagined. She had only had her wings for a few hours, she couldn't control them very precisely. Rainbow promised to teach her how to fly, and the memory caused her lips to twitch upwards. It was an exciting prospect- being able to fly through the sky with one of her best friends, to be able to fly and use her magic at the same time, unlike pegasi, who could only fly.
Her wings twitched again, and once more she jerked as her soft, silken feathers brushed against her sides. Princess Celestia told her that it would pass. Her sides' sensitivity would remain, but she would get used to feeling her wings, her own wings, brushing against her sides. It was still off-putting, and she knew that it hadn't really set in yet. She had changed species, she wasn't a unicorn anymore, she was an alicorn. She had wings, her very own pair of real wings, not created by magic, but an actual part of her.
'Princess Celestia used her magic to ascend me...' she thought to herself. Despite the thought, while magic had brought them out, they were hers, and they were as real as Rainbow Dash's or Fluttershy's wings, and they belonged to her just as much as her pegasi friends' wings belonged to them.
It was a lot to take in, and that was before considering what else had changed about her. She now had the strength of an earth pony or at least some of it- it had only been a few hours, and she wasn't convinced that all of the changes would occur immediately. Most of her proof laid in the fact that she knew for a fact she wasn't much stronger than she was before, and she didn't feel stronger.
The most visible changes were her wings and her newfound stature. She looked different, and already her friends treated her differently. She was different now, she wasn't a normal pony. 'I wasn't ever really a normal pony, though, was I?' she wondered. She sighed, then lifted her forehooves to her temples and lightly massaged her head. She levitated the cup of tea back up to her lips and drank down the rest of the cup, then, using her magic, she teleported the teapot to her, then refilled her cup of tea before setting both back down.
She continued to massage her head with her forehooves and watch the night sky through the window for several seconds, then she slowly let her forehooves fall back to the table. "Am I... still the same pony?" she asked aloud in a whisper. "I'm... still Twilight, but... I'm... I'm an alicorn now... I'm... going to be a princess..." she whispered.
She looked around in the sky for a few seconds, her eyes darting between individual stars, then she blinked and looked away from the window. The silence, the stillness, and the changes she had undergone left her at a loss. Her mind felt clouded and hazy like a thick fog was blocking her sight, preventing her from seeing her thoughts. She felt empty somehow like something was missing, or that something was wrong somehow.
'I should be happy...' Twilight thought idly. 'I proved that I was worthy to ascend to become an alicorn... the only other pony who did that was Cadance... Why does this feel wrong?' She couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't right- she was just a unicorn, she had no interest in becoming a princess. 'I... I guess I did prove that I was willing to sacrifice myself to save others when I had Spike take the Crystal Heart, and I guess that I do have leadership skills... But... this?'
She wished Spike was awake. She longingly looked out of the kitchen and toward the stairs to the Library's loft, her ears pinning back against her head. She bit her lip, then slowly turned back around and looked down at her hooves. 'My friends... I wish they were here, but... they all treated me differently... I-I don't want that... I want them to treat me like how they used to... They... they know I'm still me, right?'
A dull, aching pain set in her heart grew out of the thought, and it made her wish she was in her bed asleep at the moment. She had tried to sleep, she had laid there for an hour. She had tried closing her eyes, she had tried counting sheep, she even tried using her magic, but none of it helped. She laid awake, staring up at the ceiling, her clouded mind racing, her thoughts broken and incoherent. She couldn't process it all, it was too much to take in.
She looked back at her teacup, then lifted it in her magic. She slowly brought it to her lips, then took a long drink, swallowing down all of the tea like it was water. After she finished, she set the empty cup back down, then she used her magic and created a barrier around the flame of the candle. Almost immediately, the flame was snuffed out, leaving the kitchen to be illuminated solely by her magic.
She let go of her aura around her horn, immediately casting the kitchen in darkness, and causing the hum of her magic to dissipate, leaving her in total silence. It was a quiet, still night, there was hardly a breeze to rustle the tree's leaves. She longed for the comforting sound of life from something, anything, but her plea was met by silence.
She scooted her teacup toward the middle of the table, then laid her head down. The table was cool, with the exception of the spot where her teacup had set, which was warm to the touch. She craved the comforting warmth the spot of wood offered as if it was the only reassurance she had, but all to soon, the warmth faded, its heat having been sapped by the cold wood surrounding it and her own muzzle.
Her wings fluttered again, she looked back at them. They were another source of her being unable to sleep, she had a different body now, one with which she was unfamiliar, and it made it hard to relax when she didn't know her body like she had.
She sighed quietly, then lifted her head back up, then hopped down onto the floor. She started out toward the stairs without pausing to clean up the kitchen- it was something she didn't want to deal with, and it wasn't that big of a mess, just a pitcher of tea and a teacup. 'I shouldn't be a princess... I don't even want to do my own dishes...' she mused as she shuffled toward the stairs.
The wooden stairs creaked beneath her hooves as she ascended. She relished the feeling of the aged, worn wood on her hooves, it somehow left her feeling a little more at peace, but its comfort paled in comparison to just being with somepony, but of course, there was nopony around for her. Her friends looked at her and treated her differently, and that was the last thing she needed, nor did she want to wake any of them up- she would have felt guilty about it. She had already worried them enough, and it was late when she returned to Ponyville, meaning that they had already lost sleep over her.
She lit her horn and quietly pulled open the door to the loft, then stepped inside. She turned around to face the door and quietly pulled it shut. She looked over at Spike's sleeping form, watching him for a few seconds, the blanket covering him in his basket rising and falling with his breathing. The sight made her smile a little, knowing that he was okay. She quietly walked over to him, then leaned down close to him. She lightly pressed her nose to his scaly cheek, then softly, slowly brushed her muzzle against him in long, loving strokes, giving him a gentle nuzzle. Though she knew he wouldn't remember it, it brought her a ray of joy, which was amplified when his lips twitched upward in his sleep.
Twilight broke off the nuzzle, then stood back up to her full height. Looking down at him was strange, he seemed so much smaller now, and so much shorter, but she knew that it was because of her new stature, her legs and neck had grown from her ascension. Her smile slowly faded, and she turned around and slowly shuffled over to her unkempt bed.
She hopped up on her bed, then laid down on her back. She tucked her legs under the blankets, then used her magic to pull them up over herself. Her wings shifted at her sides. She rolled over onto her right side, pinning her wing to the bed with her weight, and looked out of the window. Her wings didn't seem to mind her laying on her side, though she continued to shuffle them uncomfortably.
She sighed quietly, laying down having made the haziness start to fade as anxiety and energy swelled up inside her. She rolled over onto her back, then lazily let her head fall to the side so she could look at the clock. 'Today isn't going to be my day, is it? Who knows what I'm going to have to deal with today... My friends aren't going to treat me normally... Ponies are going to notice and ask questions... And I'm still not used to this, but I'm not going to be used to this for a long, long time now, am I? And I'm not going to get any sleep tonight, am I?'
She pressed her eyes closed and softly groaned, knowing that it was only a couple of hours until the sun arose. The futility of the situation left her with a desire to run downstairs and grab a tome on high-level magic to study. "It would be a better use of my time..." she muttered aloud.
A gentle clicking sound broke the stillness of the air. Twilight blinked once, then listened for the sound to repeat itself. The silence stretched on, lingering, and not even the sound of a breeze rustling the leaves of her tree broke the stillness. After a couple of seconds, she chalked the sound up to her imagination as the sound didn't repeat itself. She lazily rolled her head over and looked out the window, wondering if perhaps a branch had scratched the glass.
A soft series of three raps on the balcony door broke the silence. Her eyes darted to the door. 'Well, now I know that was somepony,' she snarked. She sighed quietly, then pushed herself up into a sitting position and let the blankets roll off of her. She silently shuffled off the bed, then walked over to the door. She paused as the rapping repeated, noticing how unsure and timid the knocks sounded, almost like Fluttershy, but much stronger than the pegasus would have knocked.
She lit her horn, then opened the door and blinked in shock. Standing there on her balcony, in front of her, shifting her weight uncomfortably was none other than Princess Celestia's sister. "Princess Luna?" Twilight greeted unsurely, dumbfounded by the alicorn's presence.
Luna ruffled her wings. "Ah, good evening, Twilight..." she greeted, looking around and studying the tree's leaves and branches. The alicorn shifted her weight on her hooves with a jittery, nervous energy.
Twilight blinked a few times, wondering if she was actually asleep and that she was dreaming. She shook her head a little. "Um, Princess... I wasn't expecting to see you until later? What um... What brings you here, Princess Luna?" she asked.
Luna slowly turned to look at Twilight. She slowly opened her mouth, then held her mouth open, as if she was about to speak, while she looked over Twilight's body. Her gaze was drawn to the newborn alicorn's back. Her expression shifted from uncertainty to scrutiny as she examined Twilight's wings, making the younger alicorn shift her weight uncomfortably. "I... could not sleep," Luna finally admitted. She smiled warily. "I... found that you could not either," she added.
Twilight nodded slowly and grimaced. "I have a lot on my mind," she replied quietly. "It's... it's so much to handle... I think I would have rather woken up to this," she said, flaring her wings out in a manner with barely any control, "than what happened," she finished. "But... if that had happened, I know that I would have had a panic attack, waking up as a different species than I went to sleep as..." she trailed off and squinted, her brow furrowing. "I still might wake up and have a panic attack..." she said warily.
"It has not truly set in yet, has it?" Luna asked quietly. Twilight hesitantly nodded. Luna ruffled her wings hastily and glanced around, looking away from Twilight and studying the tree once more. "Dost thou... wish for some company?" Luna asked timidly. She closed her eyes and twitched her head quickly, then opened her mouth again. She licked her lips. "I mean... May I come in?" she asked softly.
Twilight swallowed, then nodded. "Yes, of course, Princess Luna," she replied. She stepped aside and cast a glance back at Spike. "Spike's asleep, and I don't really want to wake him up..." she trailed off.
Luna slowly nodded as she stepped inside. "I shall do my best not to wake him," she replied. She looked around somewhat aimlessly, taking in the room. "I... do not believe I have ever been in here before," she admitted.
"No..." Twilight said cautiously. "But you're welcome to come and visit whenever you would like, Princess," she replied respectfully.
Luna turned her head back to look at Twilight. She swallowed and flashed the mare a smile. "Luna is fine, Twilight... You are to be a princess yourself soon, too," she said, trying to break the formality of the atmosphere.
Twilight stood there and slowly swept her gaze across the room. "Um... right... Sorry, um... Pri- Luna..." she said tentatively.
Luna smiled reassuringly. "That is alright, Twilight..." she trailed off and slowly walked over to Twilight's bed. She lifted her forehoof, then set it on the covers and gently slid her forehoof over the sheets. After a few seconds, she looked back at Twilight. "Do you wish to talk?" she asked. "You have a lot on your mind."
Twilight bit her lip, then hastily nodded. She strode over to the bed, then jumped up on it and sat in the middle. "I um... there's... I have so many questions..." she said. She swallowed and looked at Luna with a soft, subdued expression. "Why me?" she asked. "Princess Celestia said that I proved myself and that I was ready but... why me? Surely there have to be ponies who are better suited for... being a princess?"
Luna pursed her lips, then timidly pulled herself up onto the bed and sat at Twilight's left. "You... would be surprised, Twilight. While many ponies dream of becoming a princess... it is not all that glamorous as they think it is," she stated with a frown. The frown faded and she turned to face Twilight, "But, of course, there is nopony more deserving of it than you," she said with a warm smile. "You have saved Equestria, nay, the world on several occasions."
"I couldn't have done that without my friends," Twilight said quickly, averting her gaze down to her hooves.
Luna nodded slowly. "True... you are humble, Twilight. You are one of a kind," she stated. "Just as you could not have done it without them, they could not have done it without you. They are as much a part of you as you are a part of them," she added. "But... that is a topic for another time," she said quietly. "You, Twilight Sparkle, above all others, deserve such a reward. Your deeds have been recognized, you have earned this, Twilight. You will make a great princess, Twilight, one far better than my sister or I could ever hope to be," she said in a warm, meaningful voice as if she knew Twilight wouldn't want to accept it and that she would fight believing it.
Twilight blushed and shifted her weight. "I-I could never be as good of a princess as you or Princess Celestia, Luna."
Luna grimaced and looked away from her. "I... am not perfect, Twilight. Nor is my sister. Nor are you, and nor are any of your friends. We all have our faults, we are all ponies, after all... I know that you put my sister on a pedestal, she was your mentor after all, but..." she trailed off and shook her head. She turned back to face Twilight. "I do not believe you know just how proud of you she is, Twilight... She practically raised you from what she has told me, and... she loves you, almost like a mother."
Twilight's head shot around to face Luna. Her mouth opened and closed as she struggled to process what she was told, and her mind struggled to sync with her mouth.
Luna glanced down at a forehoof, then timidly lifted it up. She hesitated for a moment, then lit her horn and levitated her shoe off of her forehoof, then she touched it to Twilight's mouth, making her stop trying to talk. She nodded her head meaningfully. "We are both very proud of you, Twilight... For her, you brought back her sister, and... for me, you saved me from myself. I can never thank you enough for that, Twilight," she said quietly. "You understand friendship at least as well as both of us, if not better, and we are thousands of years older than you... I know that you are worried about the future, but believe me, when I say, you will be okay. You may look ahead and fret over it, but... There is an old saying..." she trailed off, frowning. "It... translates mostly into, 'don't worry over the morrow, as today has enough worries for itself. Can we by worrying gain anything of the morrow?'" she said. "It... is not a perfect translation. And of course, if you do not plan ahead, especially as a princess, you... can find yourself in bad situations, but... you should not worry about what the future holds, Twilight Sparkle..."
Twilight swallowed and nodded. "I-I can't though. I can't not worry about it. It's... worrying is just... it's part of who I am. Ask any of my friends and they would tell you that one of my greatest weaknesses is worrying..." she trailed off nervously. "Ask Princess Celestia, and... well..." she trailed off and coughed once, "actually, please don't ask her about it..." she said with a little more determination.
Luna giggled slightly. "If you are referring to the incident where you enchanted a doll and brainwashed all of Ponyville... I am afraid that I already know about that," she replied, smiling.
Twilight hung her head and her cheeks turned a rosy shade of crimson. "I-I," she squeaked. "That... that's part of the reason I shouldn't be a princess! What if I fail?" she asked, turning to face Luna and looking at her frantically. Luna's expression turned impassive and unreadable. Twilight's ears folded back as she looked over Luna's expression. "What if I mess up? If I'm an alicorn and I have that kind of power, then if I fail-"
"Then it could end very badly, yes," Luna answered. She sighed a little. "You have so many ponies who are there for you, though, Twilight. You have your friends, and you have us. We all support you, and we will all be there for you to help you, if, and I daresay that is a rather big if, you do fail. Praytell, how many times have you failed in comparison to how many times you have succeeded? To my knowledge, you have never failed Equestria when you sought to protect her." Twilight's gaze slowly fell over Luna's side, then fell to her hooves.
Luna bit her lip. She looked straight ahead and slowly, uneasily unfurled her wing, then she timidly reached out and wrapped it around Twilight's side. The younger alicorn nearly jumped as her head shot around and saw Luna's wing around her. After a couple of seconds, Twilight relaxed. Luna glanced back over at her. "Twilight... you worry too much," she stated. "Relax," she commanded.
Twilight swallowed and closed her eyes, then nodded her head quickly. "O-okay," she squeaked. "I-I'll try, Pri-Luna."
Luna smiled, then scooted closer to Twilight and pulled the younger alicorn against her side. Twilight blinked, then slowly looked up at her. "It... is getting late, and... you need to rest..." Luna said tentatively, shifting her weight and ruffling her wings subtly, rubbing Twilight's wing with her own by accident.
A little of Twilight's worry faded as Luna's soft feathers brushed over her own feathers, and the lonely emptiness felt a little less gripping like it had lost some of its edge. Twilight slowly nodded. "I... I do have a big day tomorrow," she said gravely. "But... it's so... early, and... I don't know if I'll be able to get to sleep..." she said quietly.
Luna took a deep breath. She shifted her weight, then opened her mouth to say something. A few seconds passed, and she closed her mouth. She swallowed and a faint shade of red crossed her dark blue muzzle, though it was barely visible in the darkness. She lifted her wing from Twilight's side, then tentatively laid down on Twilight's bed. Twilight watched her and blinked several times, not sure what was going on. Luna swallowed and unfurled her left wing, lifting it up and offering Twilight a spot beside her. "Would you... perhaps, lay with me?" she asked. She coughed a little. "I um... I believe it would help you to sleep... I am the Princess of the Night, after all..."
Twilight swallowed. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, then just squeaked. She shuffled around, then laid down beside Luna on her side facing away from the elder alicorn. She nervously chewed on her lower lip.
"Relax, Twilight Sparkle," Luna said softly. She lit her horn, then pulled the blankets up over them. She brought her wing down and wrapped it around Twilight's smaller body, then pulled her close until Twilight's back was snugly fit up against her chest. She shifted her weight and slid her right wing out from underneath her and wrapped it around Twilight's body, then let her wing go limp so Twilight laid on it while she held Twilight's wings. "This... it should help you sleep," Luna said quietly.
"I... I do feel... more relaxed," Twilight replied softly, feeling a growing warmth in her body as she felt Luna's velvety coat against her. Luna's body was surprisingly warm, she wasn't sure what she had expected from the alicorn princess, but her warmth was comforting. Their combined body heat quickly warmed the air trapped underneath the blankets. Twilight yawned and nestled back into Luna's embrace, then froze when she realized what she was doing, her muscles all immediately tensing up.
Luna slipped her right foreleg under Twilight's body, then gave her a reassuring squeeze. "Do not worry, Twilight Sparkle... I am here... Rest peacefully... It will be okay," she promised. Twilight slowly relaxed, the tension in her muscles fading at Luna's reassurance. Luna slid her left foreleg over Twilight's body and brought it up to her mane, then she slid the edge of her forehoof through Twilight's mane in long, slow strokes.
"Mm... that's kind of nice..." Twilight replied.
Luna giggled softly. "Yes... I imagined it would help..." she trailed off, then shifted Twilight in her grip and laid her head on top of Twilight's, then she leaned her head down and pushed Twilight's head back into the crook of her neck with her muzzle.
Twilight shifted her weight and relaxed in Luna's embrace. After a few seconds, to her surprise, Luna's right foreleg pinned her forelegs to her chest. She wasn't sure what she was expecting to feel from it, but it was comforting, leaving her feeling safe in the alicorn's grip, despite being unable to move her forelegs. A moment later, Luna's legs pinned her legs to her abdomen. She blinked a few times and stared out of the window into the night sky, a growing smile on her lips.
Luna slowly rubbed her chin against Twilight's head in a tender nuzzle. Twilight giggled softly and tucked her head in against her neck. "Sleep well, my beloved," Luna whispered.
Twiligth felt a giddy warmth emanating from her chest, and she found her cheeks feeling even warmer, despite the relatively cool air. She nestled back into Luna's embrace and sighed contently, letting her body go limp and just enjoying feeling Luna hold her, the alicorn's warm body pressed against hers, her gentle, rhythmic heartbeat, and the calm, comforting rise and fall of her body as she breathed. "This... is nice, Luna... thank you for this," she whispered.
Luna smiled. "If you would like... I would not mind doing this more often," she said. "But... let us worry about that later... For now, you need to sleep... all of Ponyville will be asking questions of you tomorrow..."