> Do You Believe In Magic?
>  by ShotgunNeko
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue--And so it begins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Princess Luna trotted into the Royal Observatory, ready to raise the moon.  Her sister, Celestia was turned away from her, looking up towards the sky.

“Rest now sister, I can take it from here.” Luna assured her.

Celestia craned her neck towards the voice that had broken her concentration.

“Forgive me Luna.  I didn’t hear you come in.  Before you raise the moon tonight, I have a very special favour  I need to ask of you.”

Luna cocked her head to the side and looked at her sister inquisitively.  Celestia was not one to beat around the bush, and yet she hesitated a moment, seemingly to collect her thoughts.

“Celestia?” Luna asked quietly.  “Is everything okay?”

Celestia smiled reassuringly at her younger sister.

“Twilight Sparkle is near the end of her training.  She is travelling to Canterlot as we speak for her final test.  It is my hope that Twilight can succeed in her task, and graduate from our magic school. “

Luna raised a hoof to her chin.  “But what does this have to do with me sister?” she inquired.

“I have never told anyone what I am about to tell you.  On the day that I accepted Twilight Sparkle into my school, she unleashed a massive wave of power, turning the school upside down and subsequently her parents into plants.”

Luna snickered.

“Yes I knew you would enjoy that part of the story.” Celestia’s eyes rolled.  “Anyways, although I was able to use my own magic to bring Twilight back, I knew she needed to harness that power, so it would never be used for dark purposes.”

It was Luna’s turn to roll her eyes. “Yes, yes I know.   And don’t you think she has done well?  She reunited the elements of harmony and released me from Nightmare Moon’s dark spell.  She has proven herself time and time again in the face of adversity.  Why if it weren’t for her and those friends of hers, we probably wouldn’t even be standing here.”

“This is all true.” Celestia agreed.  “But I knew another who once walked a path much like Twilight Sparkle.  Born with the gift of magic, she quickly mastered all she sought out.  Until one day she discovered the darkest side of magic, and although she was powerful, she had no one to teach her, to show her, and eventually it consumed her.”

Celestia looked Luna in the eye.  Luna looked down.  The sun princess continued.

“I sent Twilight to learn about friendship and I believe she has a good grasp on that.  Together, she and her friends are strong.  Now I believe Twilight has grown enough that she is ready to learn about dark magic.  Luna, you are the one who knows the dark art of magic better than anyone.  I need you to take Twilight under your wings and teach her what you know.  I believe with your guidance she can master this form of magic and in doing so, continue to grow and eventually take her place wherever that may be.  Twilight is special.  She is destined to do great things and we must do all we can to make sure she reaches her full potential.”

Although still looking down, Luna could feel the eyes of her sister slowly drilling a hole right through her.  The normally quick witted princess of the moon was at a loss for words.  She couldn’t imagine what she could possibly teach Twilight Sparkle that the young unicorn didn’t already know.  Luna pondered for a few more moments before taking a deep breath.  She had promised herself long ago that she would atone for the sins she had committed against her sister and Equestria.  Bowing her head, she made her decision.

“Of course my dearest sister, if it is what you think is best.  I will become Twilight Sparkle’s teacher.  I will watch over her and make sure she does not make the same mistakes as I once did."

Celestia’s mouth curved upwards as she broke into a big grin.  She leaned her head down to nuzzle her sister.  She knew Luna would not let her down.  

“Now if you’ll excuse me Celestia, I have a moon to raise.” Luna returned her sister’s affection.

Celestia nodded as Luna’s horn glowed and she closed her eyes.  It happened quickly, as it did every night, and if anypony had blinked they surely would have missed it.

“Goodnight Luna.” Celestia called back, already at the door.

Luna was about to reply when another thought crossed her mind.  

“How will I know when she has learned enough to graduate?”

Celestia paused for a moment before winking.

“Trust me.  You’ll know.”

With that Celestia made a quick exit, leaving Luna once again to ponder her new task.  The princess of the sun couldn’t help but smile bigger as she trotted out of the room.  It was true that Twilight needed to learn these lessons before she could pass her schooling.  It was also true that besides Celestia herself, Luna was not close to anypony.  Yes, Celestia had ulterior motives in naming Luna as Twilight’s teacher.  If all went according to her plan, this would be beneficial to both her darling sister and her ever faithful protege.  She knew if anyone could teach Luna about the magic of friendship, it would be her favorite student.

As Celestia lay down on her bed, closing her eyes she chuckled to herself.  

“Welcome to night school Twilight Sparkle.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Twilight Sparkle looked breathlessly up at Canterlot Castle.  She couldn’t believe she had been invited to stay there while she finished her lessons.  Her heart skipped a beat as she trotted up the stairs and past the royal guards.  She had long been dreaming of the day she would graduate from school and hopefully become one of the Princess’ loyal advisors.  

Twilight couldn’t wait to see the Princess.  Although they corresponded by mail daily, it had been a month or so since she had last seen her teacher.  She knew Celestia had been tirelessly doing her best to help Cadence and Shining Armor.  Together they were working hard to make the Crystal Empire flourish.  Her cheeks flushed red, thinking of the princess.  She would never admit it to anyone, but over the years she seemed to have developed a teeny, tiny, itsy-bitsy crush on her princess.

At least that’s how she would describe it.

The purple mare scanned the Princess’ letter once more.  It was odd that Celestia wished to meet at such a late hour.  Then again, the princess was very busy and who was she to question her teacher’s wishe?  Besides it didn’t matter, Twilight was rested and ready for whatever task the princess asked of her.  

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she almost trotted right past the door to her room.  As she opened the door, the first thing she glanced at was the clock.  She still had a couple of hours before she was to meet Celestia.  Being the ever so studious pony that she was, Twilight opted to take this time to re-read a few of her best magic books she had brought along. 

It definitely wouldn’t hurt to be prepared.

With excitement brewing in her heart, Twilight went to work.  She was determined to show Princess Celestia just how far she had come, and just how far she would go to please her.

One thing was certain; tonight was going to be a night that would change her life forever.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


Luna paced up and down the hall of the royal throne room.  The Solar Stallions had long gone to bed and been replaced by their Lunar counterparts.  Dressed in their dark uniforms and ready to serve their princess of the night, they grew increasingly worried as Luna continued to pace a hole through the royal floor. The guards continued to look at each other, worriedly until finally the captain whispered to Luna’s personal advisor.

“Should we do something, Cloak and Dagger?” he asked in a hushed tone. 

Cloak and Dagger, a large, pitch black stallion with a deep magenta colored mane just shook his head in response.  In times like these when she was worked up, it was best to just leave her alone.  He had been the princess’ trusted servant since she had been consumed by Nightmare Moon.  All who served in the Lunar court had somehow been tainted by the hurt, betrayal or disappointment in their hearts.  Nightmare Moon had used them, just as she had used Princess Luna, preying on the growing resentment and darkness inside of them.  When Twilight Sparkle and her friends had released the princess from Nightmare Moon’s grasp, they too had been set free and given another chance to make things right.  Everyone who currently served under Luna had taken a vow to once again serve the princess, her sister Celestia and aid the Solar Stallions in their quest to keep Equestria safe and harmonious.

“I can’t take this anymore.” Luna declared impatiently. “Shouldn’t she be here by now?”

It was unlike Celestia’s protégé to be late.

Just as Luna was about to send someone for Twilight, her new student threw open the doors to the throne room, rushing towards her in a blur of purple.

“I’m so sorry Princess!” Twilight exclaimed, not stopping to catch her breath before she rambled on. “I was reading a book of spells, and then I fell asleep, and then I woke up and I was late and now I’m here.”

Twilight finally stopped to catch her breath, as Luna noticed her frazzled mane.

“Twilight Sparkle.” She exclaimed, her tone serious.

For the first time since she had crashed through the throne room doors, Twilight looked up at her princess.  

“P-Princess Luna?” she gasped, completely surprised.

Although she was trying to portray a serious demeanor, Luna couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Not who you were expecting?” she said slyly.

Twilight could feel her cheeks suddenly burn up as she shook her head.

“Forgive me Princess Luna, I thought I was meeting Princess Celestia tonight.  I didn’t mean to be rude, I was just surprised.”

Twilight bowed to the moon princess, still as red as a tomato.

Luna tried not to giggle.  She knew the tell-tale signs of anypony that had a crush on her big sister.  Twilight was not the first of her sister’s students to fall head over hooves, and she would not be the last.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Twilight.” Luna said, regaining her serious tone.  “Obviously my dear sister neglected to tell you that she would be absent from tonight’s meeting.  Celestia has asked me to carry on with your teaching, and so from now on and until I say otherwise, you are MY student.”

Luna emphasized the word “my” and Twilight couldn’t believe her ears.  Before Twilight’s lips could form any words, Luna continued on.

“The focus of our studies will be dark magic. Learning it, controlling it, and wielding it when needed.”

Twilight found herself nodding, although she was still processing the princess’ words.

“It’s been a long night already and I have a few issues to attend to in my court tonight.  Why don’t we begin tomorrow? “

Luna scanned Twilight’s face, looking for some sign that Twilight was still with her.  Her new student seemed to be off in another world.  Truthfully she was, as her brain continued to process what had just happened.  The fact that she was now Princess Luna’s student and that they would be journeying into the unknown frightened and excited her all at once.

“Twiliight?” Luna called out, her tone much softer than before. “Are you all right?”

Twilight finally managed to find her voice and replied “Yes, of course, Princess Luna.  I will come back tomorrow night, and I promise I will be prepared.”

Luna nodded and stepped forward, motioning to her royal advisor.

“Twilight Sparkle, meet Cloak and Dagger.”

“P-Pleased to meet you.” Twilight stammered, in sheer awe at the enormous size of the black stallion.

The stallion just bowed his head.  It may have seemed rude, but the truth was he wasn’t used to being around a pretty mare like Twilight Sparkle.  A thousand years of being imprisoned in the moon, didn’t make it any easier to talk to female ponies.

Luna continued on. “He is my most trusted loyal advisor and body guard.  He is also now YOUR most trusted advisor and body guard.”

“He is?” Twilight said, shocked.

“I am?” Cloak and Dagger echoed her sentiment.

“Yes and yes.” Luna stated calmly. “Anything you need Twilight, whether it be books, reference materials, maps, diagrams, or live bodies to practice on.” 

Cloak and Dagger grimaced at the last one.

“He is here to make sure my student is well taken care of, and has everything she needs to learn.” Luna winked at Cloak and Dagger.

“Ah, yes Princess.” He bowed again. “I shall accompany Twilight Sparkle back to her room, and get her set up with anything she needs.”

“Wonderful.”

Twilight just nodded, again in shock as the large stallion approached her, towering over her body.  Looking up into his dark blue eyes, she couldn’t help but feel a little frightened.  He was huge after all.

Luna noticed Twilight looking a bit shaken. 

“Back up!” she hollered in the stallion’s direction.  “Haven’t you heard of personal space?  You are scaring my new student.”

Noting the shrillness of Luna’s voice, the stallion quickly scrambled away from Twilight, putting a good distance between them.  He didn’t enjoy being scolded by the princess but he had to admit that things had been much better for him since she had learned to use her “indoor” voice, as they called it.

“That’s better.  I think we have all had enough excitement for tonight.  The sun will be up soon and Twilight needs to get some rest before we commence her studies.” Luna began to usher them away.

Twilight had finally composed herself.  “Princess Luna.” She addressed her teacher, boldy trotting towards the moon princess.

Luna gave her a puzzled look, especially when Twilight approached her.

“What is it?”

“I’m really happy to see you.  It’s been a long time.”

Luna almost fell over.  She was not expecting that.  Although she was working to rebuild her image in the public eye, she still preferred to be behind the scenes, and so there were still many ponies who could only continue to see her as Nightmare Moon.

“You are?” came the baffled reply.

“Of course.” Twilight smiled warmly, before leaning in to nuzzle against Luna’s leg.

This was a form of greeting, and it wasn’t unusual in any way, yet the warmth of Twilight’s body rubbing against her made her feel inexplicably happy.  Luna had never forgotten that Twilight was one of the first in Ponyville to give her a chance and help her show the town that there was no longer a need to fear her.

“Thank you, Twilight.” Luna said sincerely, resting a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Now you better get some rest.”

Twilight nodded and began to move towards the door, Cloak and Dagger followed behind, not too closely though for fear of being yelled at again.  Twilight looked back and gave one last smile to the moon princess before heading to her room.  As she trotted in silence with Cloak and Dagger, she couldn’t stop thinking about her new situation.  She had mixed feelings about Luna as her teacher.  On one hand, Princess Celestia thought she was ready to learn the most complex and consuming magic in Equestria.  On the other hand, although she cared for Luna, there was a part of her that wished Celestia was the one she would be spending time with.  

“If there’s anything you need, please feel free to let me know.” 

Twilight looked up sheepishly. She had been once again so engrossed in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed they had arrived at her room.

“Thank you so much.” She replied sweetly.  “I’ll prepare a list of reading materials and give it to you tomorrow.”

The stallion nodded and then quickly turned around, as Twilight closed her door.  One thing was for certain, and that was that the princess was correct.  She had better get some rest, so she could be ready for anything Luna had planned for her.

As Twilight lay down to rest, in another part of the castle, Celestia joined her sister once again in the solarium.

“How did it go tonight?” she asked casually.

“I suppose it went well.  She was a bit disappointed that you weren’t there though.” Luna teased.

Celestia smiled. “Would you like me to join in your next session?”

Luna waved a hoof. “No thanks sister.  I fear you would be too distracting to my student.”

Celestia’s jaw dropped. “Too distracting?”

Luna grinned evilly, waiting for her sister to raise the sun. “Yes your body is way too sparkly and your mane way too flowy.  I fear you will give my student a severe nosebleed.”

“Flow-y?” Celestia scoffed. “Is that even a word?”

“It is now sister.” Luna replied, as the moon descended and the sun arose.

“Where are you going?” Celestia asked, as Luna began to leave.

“To the library of course, if I’m going to do this teaching thing right, then I better be prepared.”

As Luna exited the room, Celestia began to write a letter to her now former student.

“My dearest Twilight Sparkle...”

To be continued...
> Binding 101
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Luna stared intently at Twilight.  The Princess’ desk was a mess of papers, all important documents Celestia had asked her to go over.  At the moment though, she was too busy watching her newly acquired student. 

Twilight Sparkle loved books.  To say she loved them was probably an understatement.  Luna heard that before Twilight had come to live in Ponyville, she had been happy living her life out of a book.  Twilight was seated at a desk, across from her teacher, and was deeply engrossed in the reading material she had sought out earlier in the day.  Princess Luna had also found a few fundamental reads that she thought would be helpful to the younger mare.

As Twilight studied the pages, her horn glowed while she soaked up the information.  Luna couldn’t help but stare as her horn became brighter, sparking suddenly, causing her mane to frizz.

Luna couldn’t decide if that was creepy or cool.  She continued to watch as again, Twilight’s horn glowed, sparked and her poor mane became frizzed.  If Twilight continued concentrating so hard, she would overdo it, and deplete her magical abilities for who knows how long.  Not willing to take the chance of that happening, the moon princess took action.

“I think it’s time we took a short break.” She called out, trotting from her desk over to her student.

Twilight didn’t answer, instead her horn glowed brighter.

“Uhm, Twilight?” the princess asked cautiously, waving a hoof in front of her face.

Again Twilight didn’t respond.

A sly smile crossed Luna’s lips as she leaned down, very closely beside Twilight’s cheek.  Ever so softly she grazed it with her own.

“Hello in there.” She whispered.

Twilight was instantly snapped back to reality as she felt Luna’s warm breath on her face.  She scrambled to close the book, looking up at her teacher apologetically.

“I am so sorry.” She started. “I was reading a really amazing spell and I got so wrapped up I guess I didn’t hear you.” She finished, her cheeks burning up.

Luna took a step back, laughing.

“Relax Twilight.” She said calmly.  “Your horn was beginning to spark.  I thought you could use a break.”

Twilight looked away sheepishly.

Luna put a hoof on her shoulder and peered down to see what book she was reading from.

“Binding and Barriers 101—A beginners guide to unbreakable magic.” She read aloud.

Twilight’s voice rose in excitement. “I would like permission to try some of these out if we could.” 

It was Luna’s turn to nod.  “Of course, I’d love to see what you’ve learned.  Although we can learn many things from a book, hooves on experience is always beneficial.  How about a short break?  I think it would do you good to stretch out those hindquarters.”

Twilight smiled and stretched her front legs upwards, stifling a yawn.

“That sounds like a good idea.  I had a hard time adjusting to sleeping during the day, and so I am a little tired.  I could use a moment to collect myself.”

Luna waved her hoof.  “Let’s meet in the garden in about fifteen or so minutes.  I have a few things to attend to quickly and then I plan to show you a proper binding spell, one you won’t find in a book.”

Twilight nodded her head eagerly, gathering up her things. “I’ll meet you there Princess Luna.”

Luna gave a quick farewell wave and began to sift through the stack of books on Twilight’s desk.  An interesting title caught her eye.

“Binding 101—A Beginners Guide To Dominating Your Submissive Marefriend.”

“Gahhh! Why is this in here?” she choked out, eyes bulging.

Attached to the back of the book was a note.  She flipped it over to read.

Dear Princess Luna, 
Thought you might enjoy this one.  Don’t worry, 
I used Princess Celestia’s royal library card.
Hope this put a smile on your face.
Your loyal servant,
Cloak and Dagger.

Luna laughed out loud.  Even though she could be tough on her royal guards and advisors, they all knew there was nothing their princess loved more than a good prank.  She would always remember the time that the royal castle librarian had come looking for Celestia, wondering if she was done with the smutty clopfic “50 Shades of Neigh”, because it was two weeks overdue.   Luna loved a good laugh at her sister’s expense.  For the most part Celestia put up with it, knowing it was in a sense, Luna’s way of showing affection.

Luna took the book and put it in her desk drawer.  Maybe she would glance at it later, or leave it out somewhere Celestia would find it, then make sure her sister was caught with the book in her hooves.  Either way, she would find a use for the reading material.

Taking off through the door from a trot to a gallop, she raced to the gardens to find her student.  It was time for a lesson.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Twilight smiled as she waited for Princess Luna.  In her hoof she held a piece of paper.  It was a letter from her dearest friend Spike.  It had been delivered to her door along with a letter from Princess Celestia.  She hadn’t had time to read either letter yet, but since she had a few minutes to herself, her eyes began to scan Spike’s letter.

Spike had wanted desperately to come with her, but because she had no idea of what would await her when she arrived, they had decided it was better for the now teenage dragon to stay in Ponyville.  Spike had at first been hesitant but when Rarity offered him a place to stay in exchange for help with her upcoming wedding plans, he jumped at the chance.  Even though she was his first crush, he was happy to help her with her dream wedding.  With Rarity being well, Rarity, she needed all the help she could get. 

As she began to read, she could almost imagine herself there with her friends.  According to Spike, Rarity’s fainting couch had been putting in many long hours.  Of course her friend wanted everything to be perfect.  Your wedding only happens once, hopefully.  Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were also busy, as the maids of honor they ended up being the ones tending to Rarity and her demands.  Spike mentioned the two seemed a lot closer since Scootaloo had left for the Wonderbolts Academy.  The cutie mark crusaders were now all grown up.  Scootaloo had gone off to flight school to follow in Rainbow Dash’s footsteps.  Rainbow was now the flight academy’s top instructor and leader of the team.  Spitfire and Soarin' were expecting their first foal, and so Spitfire had named Rainbow Dash her successor.  Rainbow Dash had promised this season was going to be at least twenty percent cooler than last year.

Twilight took a deep breath and looked around.  With no sign of Princess Luna she continued to read on.  Spike himself was going to be the master of ceremonies for the wedding dinner, and the whole event was going to be held outside at Sweet Apple Acres.  The dragon went on to say that Pinkie Pie was busy making sure the wedding dinner and dance would be the "BEST.PARTY.EVER.EVER!!"  Fluttershy was also busy, keeping poor AppleJack calm.  The earth pony was going to have a heart attack before the wedding was over.  Everything seemed overwhelming, but Rarity kept reminding her of the old mare saying “Happy Wife equals Happy Life.”   

Twilight laughed again.  She wondered why AppleJack was so shocked.  She must have known when she proposed to Rarity, that her girlfriend would want a lavish wedding.   She missed all of her friends so much. The wedding was only a month away, and yet she wasn’t sure she would even be there.  She was supposed to be in the wedding party with the rest of her friends, but if she hadn't progressed in her studies, she was unsure if Luna would let her attend.	

So deep in thought was the purple mare, that she once again failed to hear her teacher approaching.  The first thing Luna noticed was Twilight’s vacant look, as she stared into space, thinking about her friends and the wedding.

“I must be losing my magic touch, most ponies seem to notice when I arrive.” Luna teased, looking at her hooves.

“Princess...” Twilight started.  

“Twilight, you’re so fun to tease.  You really need to get used to it, because the more you blush and squirm, the more I’ll tease you.”

Twilight thought about that for a moment, while Luna shot a toothy grin in her direction.

“Do I have permission to tease you back?” Twilight countered.

Luna thought for a moment. “Hmm, I think only the teacher is allowed to tease.”

“Well that’s not very fair is it?”

“First rule of dark magic: You don’t have to fight fair.  That’s the difference between light and dark, good and evil.  The dark side is willing to push the boundaries, cross lines and go places the light side would never venture.  You have to take everything you know up until now and discard it.  Be willing to cross that line, but also wary enough to respect the line and what it represents. “

“I understand what you are saying Princess, and since you said, I don’t have to fight fair...” Twilight’s voice trailed off as her horn glowed and suddenly a bright purple light enveloped her teacher, binding her front legs, lifting them high above her head.

“H-Hey...”

Twilight then produced a quill from her satchel and using her magic, the feather began to tickle her teacher.  Luna had been caught off guard.  The princess’ body moved as it tried to avoid the feather, but to no avail.

“Hmm... It seems... I...underestimated...you...”Luna rasped between giggles.

Twilight then produced another quill, much to Luna’s surprise.

“Now...” Twilight grinned evilly.  “Shall the fun be doubled?”

Luna couldn’t help herself as she laughed out loud.  Her student was mocking her, in reference to the catastrophe that had been her first Nightmare Night.  Well it seemed Twilight Sparkle could be quite humorous when she wanted to be.  The princess decided she would have to turn the tables.

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” she yelled, her royal voice booming.  “WE DO NOT APPRECIATE BEING MOCKED!!”

When Luna yelled, Twilight completely lost her concentration and Luna was able to free herself from the magic bonds.  She then rushed at Twilight, knocking her down onto her back, pinning down her student's shoulders with her hooves.  Twilight looked up at her shocked and confused.

“Rule number two: Never let an opponent break your concentration.” She said, her face breaking into a gigantic smile as she reached out and ruffled Twilight’s mane.

Twilight let out a huge sigh of relief, realizing the Princess was just playing.  As she was trying to catch her breath, Luna reached down and slid her hoof onto the unicorn’s chest.

“Whoa, you’re breathing really hard.  Are you okay?” she asked genuinely.  “I didn’t mean to scare you.  Well maybe just a little.” 

Twilight laughed and waved her hoof.  “I’m fine Princess.   Just give me a moment to catch my breath.”

“Oh all right.  But now you realize why I am the teacher and you are my student yes?” 

“I have a lot to learn Princess.” Twilight agreed.

The unicorn then looked downwards.  Luna had yet to remove her hoof from the young mare’s chest.  The princess’ touch was warm and comforting so Twilight closed her eyes and took another deep breath.  Luna was looking at her own hoof as well, as it rose and fell in time to Twilight’s breathing.   She couldn’t help thinking Twilight looked very cute.  

Cute?

That wasn’t a word that usually crossed into her vocabulary.  Princess Luna, the mare formerly known as Nightmare Moon wasn’t into “cute”.  Why had she even been thinking that anyways?  She shook her head.

“Princess Luna?” Twilight stared down at her chest again.  She was sure her teacher could feel how warm she was becoming.

“Huh?” Luna’s gaze followed Twilight’s, until she realized that she had been touching her student awkwardly for a few minutes now.

“Oh!  Sorry!  I was just making sure you were okay.”

Luna moved backwards, off of Twilight so her student could stand up.  She then extended a hoof and pulled Twilight up off of the ground.  As Twilight dusted herself off, Luna became serious again, trying to brush off the awkward moment they had just shared.

“Watch me.” She said simply.   “We are going to practice spells that can help in defeating powerful adversaries.  I know you have faced your share of opponents since becoming the bearer of the element of magic.  As you know, there is darkness in all of us, and there will always be someone trying to bring harm to Equestria.  You must be ready and you must be quick.  Knowing a spell is only half the battle, executing it quickly and flawlessly is what you are aiming for.  An easy way to get a leg up on your opponent is a binding spell.  It takes your adversaries’ power and uses it against them, while protecting you.  A good spell caster can easily reverse a binding spell, but it takes time and in that time you can gain the upper hoof."

Luna’s horn glowed, only for a moment, but her aura was so powerful that Twilight caught a glimpse, before it fizzled out.

“Come at me.” Luna commanded, motioning for her to attack.

Twilight looked at her blankly.  Did Luna expect her to fight?  

“Twilight, attack me.”

Again Twilight stared incredulously at the Princess. 

“Are you serious?”

A cold look from Luna indicated that she was indeed serious. Twilight put up her hooves. Luna slapped her own hoof to her forehead.

“Twilight Sparkle, come at me with your MAGIC.”

The purple mare silently wished the ground would swallow her up.  Of course Luna had meant with her magic!  Twilight nervously laughed and nodded her head, before taking an offensive stance, much like she had when she had dueled with a fellow unicorn named Trixie.  She had never faced an Alicorn before, and she knew that if she wanted to defeat Luna, she would have to come up with something pretty impressive.  Then again, Luna hadn’t told her to win.  The princess had only said to attack.

Twilight’s horn glowed as she quickly levitated a large boulder that was on the ground, sending it hurling towards her teacher.   The boulder picked up speed as it careened towards the moon princess.  Twilight waited for Luna to dodge or deflect but was shocked as Luna just grinned, turning sideways so the boulder smashed into her flank.

Twilight cried out painfully.

At the same moment the boulder had impacted Luna’s body, a searing pain had ripped through poor Twilight’s entire core, emanating from the exact same place where the boulder had connected with Luna’s body.

“Wh-What did you do?” Twilight groaned.  Her body buckled as she crumpled to the ground.

Luna cackled evilly.

“Now that was awesome!”

Twilight groaned again as Luna trotted over to make sure she was okay.

“You will be fine. If you want I can rub it for you.” She said mischievously, placing a hoof on Twilight’s flank.

Twilight swatted her teacher’s hooves away as she rubbed her skin.  She could see the area where her cutie mark was becoming more inflamed by the minute.

Luna was trying so hard not to laugh, but a few guffaws escaped her lips.  They were met with glares from her student.

“Why didn’t you warn me?” Twilight asked.

“What would be the fun of that my dear student?  What you just witnessed was my special binding spell.  Just before I told you to attack, I am sure you sensed my magic.  I placed a spell on you, binding you to me. “

Twilight began to understand what Luna meant.

“So what you are saying is...”

“Basically, I’m rubber and you’re glue.  Any spell you cast, bounces off me and sticks to you.”  Luna finished, taking great pleasure in her little rhyme.

Twilight was amazed.  What an incredibly powerful spell.  She forgot all about the pain in her flank for a moment as she processed the benefits of Luna’s spell in a fight.  An opponent would not be able to lay a hoof on you, without hurting themselves.  

“Will you teach it to me Princess?  Please?  That was incredible.” Twilight gushed.

“For someone so incredibly smart Twilight, sometimes you are incredibly silly.  Of course, I’ll teach you, that’s why I’m here isn’t it?” Luna grinned again.

Twilight nodded happily, as she pulled out a quill and some paper, while Luna dictated notes.  As the lesson continued, Luna noticed quite the goose egg forming on Twilight’s poor rear end.  The purple unicorn seemed not to notice as she hung on every one of her teacher’s words, absorbing everything Luna was saying.

Luna enjoyed Twilight’s enthusiasm.  It made teaching easier when your student hungered for more knowledge.  As they continued to practice, the hours rolled on, and soon it was time to raise the sun.

“Well, I think that’s enough for tonight.  You need to go and get some rest.  Maybe you should also put some ice on that flank of yours.” Luna finished sheepishly.

Twilight looked up at the sky.  She hadn’t even noticed that the sky had lightened and the stars were beginning to fade.

“I don’t know if I can rest.  I have too much studying to do.”

“As your teacher, I am ordering you to get some rest.  There will be plenty of time for studying once you have taken a nap.” Luna reassured her.

Twilight fell into step with Luna as they began to trot back indoors.  The first thing she planned to do when she got to her room was read Princess Celestia’s letter.  She was happy it was still dark enough outside that Luna couldn’t see the smile on her face or the red in her cheeks.  Her thoughts were interrupted as Luna spoke.

“For your homework, after you have rested, I want you to read the book I gave you on casting barrier spells.  I am sure you have cast barrier protection spells before.  They are the basic of basics after all.  These spells I want you to study are more comple. I don’t expect you to be able to hold off an army like your brother or Princess Cadence, but there will be a test.”

Twilight’s breath caught in her throat.  T-E-S-T was the ultimate four letter swear word for the young mare.   

“Relax Twilight.  I promise I’ll give you plenty of time to study beforehand.”

Twilight smiled appreciatively at her teacher.

As they stood there for a few more moments, Luna tried to think of some wise words to leave with her student.

“I hope your flank feels better soon.”

Damn...

“I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Twilight assured her. “But, I’m going to study hard, and one day when your least expecting it, my flank shall have its revenge.” 

They both began to laugh and then after exchanging parting words, Twilight headed to her room, while Luna went to meet Celestia.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Little sister, I trust things are going well with Twilight?” Celestia questioned as she raised the sun.

“Well of course they are.  She is your most faithful student after all.  I am impressed by her quick learning abilities and her pursuit of knowledge.”

“She is definitely something else.” Celestia agreed.  “She has amazing untapped potential, and I hope you will continue to teach her as much as you can.”

Luna bowed her head. “I’ll do my best.  Now if you will excuse me, I need a short rest.”

Celestia smiled and nuzzled her sister’s neck.  “Thank you.”

She then pulled her younger sister in for a wing hug.  Before Luna could protest, she found herself in the middle of a gigantic pair of heavenly white wings.  She was thankful that nopony was there to see her blush.  She was thankful everyday for her sister's love.  Love that she didn't feel she necessarily deserved.

“Love you Tia.” She murmured softly.

Celestia just continued to hug her sister tightly.  Unbeknownst to either Twilight or Luna, Celestia had been watching their lesson from the tower.  It seemed as though they were becoming comfortable with each other.  She could see the bonds of friendship forming.  All was going according to her plans.		

End chapter 2
> Fun With Wings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My Dearest Twilight Sparkle,
I hope you can forgive me for not being at the castle to greet you when you arrived.  As you already know, I have asked Luna to continue teaching you what I cannot.  I don’t want you to think I have abandoned you, because that is not the case.  You will always be my student and if you need anything you know where to find me.  I know Luna will be keeping you very busy, but if you do have a chance I would love a letter or two about what you’ve learned.  Please always know that I am proud of you, and that you are in my thoughts.
Sincerely yours,
Princess Celestia

It had been a whole week since Twilight had received the letter from Celestia.  Luna had not been kidding, when she had promised to push Twilight to her limits.  The young unicorn was working harder than she ever had preparing, practicing and executing various types of spells.  When her workload became a little too much to bear, she would pull out Celestia’s letter and reread it.  The letter made all of her hard work seem even more worth it.  Knowing the princess was proud of her meant the world to Twilight.

She sighed softly.  Her current project was driving her a little mad.  Luna had challenged her to create a barrier.  Not just any barrier, but one that could hold off a powerful Alicorn.  At first this task had seemed simple enough, as Twilight was quite good at barrier spells.  Her task had been simple.  Create a barrier around her room in the castle.  Princess Luna was to arrive just before their lesson to pick up her student.  If Twilight’s spell was successful, Luna should not be able to enter the room.

The first spell she had created had produced a sturdy purple barrier.  She had gone to bed satisfied that she had succeeded in her task.  Unfortunately when she awoke she had found Princess Luna, sitting at the desk in her room, reading the latest adventure of Daring Do, while grinning from ear to ear.

Every night after that had been attempt after unsuccessful attempt to keep the indigo Alicorn out of her room.  Every barrier she created was stronger than the last, and yet somehow Luna kept managing to get in.  Even though she had only been studying with her new teacher a week, she could feel her magic becoming stronger, faster and more polished.  With all that being said, she still couldn’t figure out what she kept doing wrong in regards to her barrier. 

Twilight yawned loudly.  She had been up all morning studying various spells on the art of a good barrier.  She had also requested a book from the Canterlot library on Alicorns and Alicorn magic.  Cloak and Dagger had promised he would find it and bring it to her the next evening.  Maybe the key wasn’t in her barrier but in the fact that Alicorns had some magic barrier breaking powers.  Okay maybe that sounded stupid, but at this point anything was worth a try. 

Twilight yawned again and climbed into her bed.  Although she had cast yet another strong barrier around her room, she had begun to lose confidence in her abilities.  It had almost become a routine to wake up with her teacher in her room, always doing something ridiculous to taunt or tease her.  

Twilight unconsciously smiled as she drifted off to dreamland.  Maybe tonight would be the night that she finally got one over on her teacher.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Twilight was seated on a red and white checkered blanket, across from her sat Princess Celestia.  Celestia’s mane was waving slowly in the wind, and Twilight could feel her heart skip a beat.  The Princess had asked her to accompany her on a special picnic.  The food had been exquisite, not that Twilight had cared.  She was too busy staring into the beautiful eyes of her mentor.  As Celestia talked, Twilight hung on every word, enjoying the precious one on one time.  

“Twilight?” Celestia called, motioning her student beside her.

Twilight trotted slowly to Celestia’s side and was immediately engulfed in a huge hug.  Twilight sighed happily as the princess’ warmth surged through her, invoking a huge smile.  It was all too good to be true.

“If it’s too good to be true, it’s probably a dream Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight recognized the smooth voice at once.  Suddenly everything faded around her.  Celestia, the picnic, and all her surroundings were replaced with complete darkness.

“Sorry to intrude on that pretty dream you were having.”

“Princess Luna!” Twilight cried out, embarrassed that her teacher had seen not only what she was dreaming about, but who.  She was glad it was so dark, she wondered if you could blush in your dreams.

“Heh.  I see you’re upset and for that I apologize.  I didn’t mean to intrude on your little fantasy, but I just wanted you to know that I’m in your room and if you don’t wake up soon, I’m probably going to eat all the delicious apples on your desk.  Are they from the royal garden? They are extraordinary.”

Twilight whimpered.  Luna had found her way in again?  It just wasn’t fair.  This barrier had been the best yet.  She was now convinced Luna wasn’t telling her something.  She couldn’t wait to get her hooves on that Alicorn book.  She would find out Luna’s secret yet.

“Mmm these apples are to die for.” Luna continued, and Twilight could hear munching sounds.

“Hey! Don’t eat them all, I’m coming.” Twilight pouted, opening her eyes.

Twilight’s eyes opened and then closed, adjusting to the moonlight streaming in through her bedroom window.  She wanted to just roll over and go back to bed, but the sound of loud crunching and munching brought her back to reality.

The young mare quickly rolled over and leapt out of bed.  Her eyes scanned the room.  Her teacher was there as promised, but the apples were not.  Instead in their place were a pile of apple cores and seeds.

“Oh, I couldn’t eat another bite.” Luna lamented, rubbing her tummy.  “Soooo good.”

Twilight shook her head before rushing to the desk.  She couldn’t believe Luna hadn’t left her a single apple.  Twilight’s shoulders slumped in defeat.  It wasn’t about apples or barriers or any one thing, just everything all combined together.

Luna quickly got up from the desk sensing Twilight’s despair.

“Hey, don’t give up so easily.  Roam wasn’t built in a day you know.” 

It was true she enjoyed teasing the younger mare, but she also had faith that Twilight would figure out how to create a barrier that would prevent her from entering.  Although failure was frustrating, it was something that had to be learned.  If we never failed, how could we learn from our mistakes?  She could tell her student the proper way to do something, but it was much more beneficial if Twilight herself could grasp the concept on her own.

Luna wrapped an arm around Twilight.  She had been working her hard and she knew the perfect way to get her student to relax a bit.  If Twilight was going to pass her barrier test, she would have to be thinking clearly.

“Are you hungry?  I know a place we can get some even tastier apples.” Luna began.

Twilight nodded, as her tummy rumbled.

Luna reached out and poked it. “Whoa there is a beast in there.  We better feed that monster.”

Twilight giggled as Luna poked her, she was incredibly ticklish.

Luna was relieved to see her student laugh.  She really wasn’t a big fan of emo Twilight Sparkle.

“When I first returned from the moon, I had a hard time sleeping.  Sometimes when I couldn’t sleep, Celestia would take out one of the scrolls you had sent her and read me a story about one of your adventures. “

Twilight looked up at Luna, as the indigo Alicorn continued.

“I loved hearing about the funny things you and your friends did. Like the one about your Rainbow friend, who was embarrassed to admit she enjoyed reading and so she tried to steal the book from the hospital.  That was hilarious.” Luna laughed.

Twilight laughed too. “That was pretty silly.”

“My point is I remember things you have written in your letters.  You performed a wing spell once didn’t you?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes but, it had disastrous results.  The brightness of the sun’s rays destroyed the wings.  I was too scared to try again, for fear of hurting someone.”

“Well...” Luna trailed off, looking out the window to the bright yellow moon.  “My beautiful moon doesn’t shine as bright as the sun, so I believe you would have no problem with that spell.  Let’s fly together.” She finished, flapping her wings.

Twilight’s eyes went wide with excitement.  Flying with Princess Luna?  That sounded amazing.  She went to work immediately, as her horn glowed, recalling the spell she had used on Rarity to give her friend wings.  As she channelled her magic, she could feel her body changing as her wings took shape.

Luna watched in amazement as two large wings began to protrude from her student’s back.  The wings grew as Twilight finished the spell.  Luna couldn’t believe how gorgeous the wings were.  They were an exquisite dark violet color, with pitch black undertones and outlines.

“They are beautiful.” Luna murmured, mesmerized.

“Do you really think so?” she asked, flapping her wings slowly.

It was Luna’s turn to feel embarrassed.  She couldn’t believe she had said that out loud.  She couldn’t help herself.  Twilight’s wings were gorgeous.  They actually looked like she had been born with them, like they were meant to be hers all along.

“You did a wonderful job with that spell.  Can I touch them?” Luna asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

Twilight thought for a moment, looking back to her wings, and then to Luna’s.  Luna’s wings were large, heavy and made up of feathers.  In contrast her own wings were dainty and thin, much like a butterfly.

“Do you think I could touch yours?” Twilight asked, hoping the princess would agree to it.

Twilight had always wanted to examine an Alicorn’s wings.  She wondered if they felt the same as a normal Pegasus.  Rainbow Dash had once gotten a wing cramp and Twilight had been all too eager to help her get rid of it.  She had been dying for a chance to touch her friend’s wings.  She had treated it like an experiment.  Rainbow’s wings were soft and yet toned.  Twilight had then made an excuse to grope poor Fluttershy’s wings.  They too were soft, even softer than Rainbow’s.  She wondered how an Alicorn’s wings would compare.

Luna cleared her throat. “I suppose that’s only fair.”

“Can I go first?” Twilight asked excitedly. 

“O-Okay.” Luna nodded, unsure of what she was supposed to do.

Twilight trotted happily to Luna’s side.  Luna held her breath, waiting for the younger unicorn to touch her.

“Can you open your wings?” Twilight asked, reaching up to run her hoof across the tip of Luna’s wingspan.  “I want to see how big they are, when they aren’t moving.”

Luna obliged her student and expanded her wings as far as she could.  She could feel Twilight’s warm touch as her student began caressing the left side of her wing.  Luna closed her eyes.  There was almost nothing in the world that felt as good as having your wings stroked.  She involuntarily shook her wings, causing Twilight to jump backwards.

“Sorry, I got a shiver.” Luna apologized, opening her wings to her student once more.

“Does it feel nice when I touch them?” Twilight asked.   “My Pegasus friend says it feels really good.”

Luna sighed contentedly and Twilight took that as a yes.  She continued to explore the Alicorn’s fabulous wings.

“Can you lie down?” Twilight asked as she pushed softly on Luna’s back.  “You are so much taller than me it’s hard to get a good look.”

Luna normally would have scoffed and said no.  Instead she leaned forward and lay down on her haunches, allowing her young student to climb on top of her, getting a good view of the back of her wings and her sleek, smooth shoulders.  

After all, she too was curious about a pair of wings.	

Luna could hear Twilight murmuring to herself, making mental notes, truly making this a learning experience.  She chuckled.  Only Twilight Sparkle could make something that could quite possibly be seen as sensual into a valuable learning experience.  After a few more minutes of light rubbing and touching, Twilight slid down from Luna’s back, smiling from ear to ear.

“Wow!  That was amazing.  Your wings are even softer than a Pegasus.  Your wingspan is twice as large as Rainbow Dash and much sleeker.” 

Luna smiled.  It gave her pleasure that Twilight found her wings to be somehow better than a normal Pegasus.

“My turn?” she asked slyly.

She didn’t wait for Twilight to answer as she reached out, scooping the smaller mare into her arms.  Twilight began to protest but was cut short as Luna then turned her onto her stomach, laying her on her lap.  Twilight was now face down, bent over Luna’s lap as the Alicorn slowly began to rub her hoof against the inside of Twilight’s right wing.  Twilight’s eyes went wide.  What was this sensation?  She tried to wriggle free of Luna’s grasp, but the Princess was twice her size and had her held down firmly against her own legs.

The purple mare couldn’t believe how wonderful it felt to have Luna’s hooves on her wings.  Even though they weren’t really hers, she could feel electricity shoot through her entire body every single time Luna’s hoof caressed her.

“They seem even more sensitive than mine.” Luna observed as Twilight’s body reacted to her touch.

Then something happened that neither one of them was expecting.  A small, soft moan escaped Twilight’s lips. Luna’s ears perked and her entire body went rigid.  She recognized the moan immediately.  Twilight wanted to die of embarrassment.  She hadn’t meant to make that sound, but she couldn’t help it.  Luna’s hooves felt too good.  Now she was sure her teacher would never let her live it down.  Twilight tried again to free herself from Luna’s grip, trying to escape the shame she felt for becoming overly excited.  She was surprised when she felt a strong hoof press down just above her flank, gently stroking her back.

“It’s okay.” Luna said softly.  

She immediately felt bad that Twilight was embarrassed.  It could have happened to anyone.  If she had realized touching her student’s wings would have that effect she wouldn’t have done it.

Oh who was she kidding?  She probably would have done it anyways.

Twilight seemed to relax a bit as Luna’s voice soothed her.  Luna continued to rub Twilight’s back gently, calming her completely down.  When she was sure the young mare was not going to bolt out of her arms, she slowly lifted her hoof.

“Your wings are incredible.  I have never seen anything like them.  Then again I’ve never had to use a spell for wings, mine came pre-assembled.” She joked, turning Twilight over so she could see her expression.

Twilight gave a half smile, not moving, still traumatized from the earlier event.

“I’m sorry Twilight.” Luna apologized sincerely. “I never meant to embarrass you.”

Twilight whimpered.

Luna felt her heart break a little. One week and she had already wrecked her first and probably only student.  She had ruined Twilight Sparkle.  Celestia was going to kill her.  She could picture it all in her head.

“YOU HAVE DEFILED MY FAITHFUL STUDENT” Celestia roared.  “Banishment!  Back to the moon for you!”

Luna was so busy trying to make plausible excuses to the dream like presence of her sister, that she didn’t notice Twilight slip out of her arms.

“Can we still take that flight?” Twilight asked shakily.

Luna looked Twilight up and down.  She could tell the unicorn was trying to brush over the awkwardness, and although she wanted more than anything to move on as well, there was a part of her that knew she needed to address the issue.

“Are you okay Twilight? I am worried about you.”

“I’m okay.” Twilight said slowly.  “I’m so sorry.  I don’t know what came over me.  All of a sudden I just felt a million sensations and my body reacted.” 

Twilight looked away shamefully.

Luna could have said it was no big deal.  She could have said, it was forgotten.  The moon princess could have very well said anything at that moment to assure her student everything was as it had been before the incident had occurred.

But she was Luna.  

She trotted up to Twilight and looked down into her eyes.

“Don’t worry about it.” She smiled. “You were actually quite adorable.”

Twilight’s entire body glowed red as she once again died a little inside.

“Catch me if you can.” Luna grinned, opening her wings as she began to run, taking off into the air.

“H-Hey...” Twilight stammered, trying to comprehend what had just happenned. 

She watched as her teacher took off, flying gracefully into the air.  Determined not to be left behind, she too took off into the air, flapping her own wings as she hurried to catch up with the Princess.  She soon found herself racing with Luna, the wind blowing haphazardly through her mane.  Her mind began to clear as she took in the amazing feeling of flight.  

Teacher and student continued to race around the castle until once again the early morning light began to shine.  It was almost time to raise the sun completely.  Luna was surprised that Twilight’s wings could hold up as good as her own.  None of her Lunar Guardians could keep up with her.

“How long do you think you can hold this spell for?” Luna asked as they zipped under the castle bridge.

Twilight thought for a moment.  “I am probably close to depletion on this one.  I think I had better get back down to solid ground.”

Luna nodded.  It would be just her luck that Twilight’s spell would deplete and she would go crashing to the ground, ending up in a mangled bloody mess.  Luna could just imagine her sister’s reaction to such an event.

“YOU MANGLED MY FAITHFUL STUDENT!” Celestia roared. “Banishment!  Back to the moon for you!”

“But but but...uhm...she was like that when I found her?” Luna offered meekly.

Luna shook those thoughts from her head as she touched down to the ground.  Twilight was right behind her.

“Feel any better?”

Twilight nodded.  Truthfully she did feel better.  That flying session had been just what she needed to clear her head.  She knew tonight was going to be the night that she finally created the perfect barrier.  

“Good.  I hope you leave some more delicious apples out on your desk for me this evening.” She teased.

Twilight’s tummy rumbled.  She had forgotten all about the apples.  Luna laughed as her horn glowed.

“Hold out your hoof.  You didn’t really think I’d eat all the apples did you?” she asked, as a ruby red apple appeared in her student’s hoof.

Twilight eyed it hungrily before taking a gigantic bite. “Mmmf ...”

That was all she could say.  Luna was right.  It really was delicious!

Luna turned to leave, but before she could Twilight held out a hoof to stop her.  Luna looked at her student questioningly.

“Thank you.” She said softly.  “Do you think we can fly together again?”

Luna wasn’t sure why but something in Twilight’s eyes was getting to her.  

“Of course we can.  You’re the only one around here besides Tia that can keep up with me.  Now, you better get back to studying.  I am expecting to be amazed tonight by your barrier spell.”

Twilight smiled genuinely and nodded.  She would read the book about Alicorns and figure out what she needed to do to create an impenetrable barrier once and for all. 


End Chapter 3
> And now for something completely different..
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Perfect!  Finally, it’s absolutely perfect.  Applejack will love it!” Rarity exclaimed, examining her handiwork.

The beautiful alabaster unicorn stepped back to admire her latest creation.  Although it was her special day, Rarity would not hear of any other pony making her perfect wedding dress, or the dresses and suits for the bridesmaids and groomsponies.  No, she had taken the large task on all by herself.  She knew it would be extreme, but she also knew exactly what she wanted for her dress and that she would be the only one able to achieve that perfection.

The wedding of Rarity and Applejack, two of Ponyville’s finest citizens as well as both being the bearers of elements of harmony, was met with much enthusiasm from the town.  It was shaping up to be the finest social event since the Summer Sun Solstice.  Mayor Mare had put a task force to work, helping Applejack and her family with anything that needed to be done at Sweet Apple Acres.  Mr. and Mrs. Cake were of course going to make the most delicious red velvet wedding cake any pony had ever tasted.  Vinyl Scratch, Octavia and Lyra had volunteered their talents.  Vinyl was going to DJ the after party while Octavia and Lyra had composed a beautiful love song that would be sung by Sweetie Belle after the vows were made.  Lyra and Octavia as well as a chorus of Fluttershy’s woodland friends and birds would then accompany Sweetie Belle in song.

Yes, everything seemed to be finally coming together.  Rarity admired the fabric in her hooves.  This was a very special piece, made specifically for the very pony she was going to marry in just a couple of weeks.  Applejack had complained she hated fancy clothing.  

Typical Applejack. 

When Rarity questioned why, she simply said that dresses were too restrictive to her hindquarters and made her uncomfortable.

Well heaven forbid Applejack’s sexy hindquarters should suffer.  Rarity then had a wonderful idea.  She quickly sketched a few rough drafts of an elegant black tuxedo.  It was definitely to AJ’s liking.  She then had another wonderful idea.  What if Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Apple Bloom who were standing in on Applejack’s side, all wore cute matching tuxedos as well. So with a plan in mind Rarity buried herself in needles, thread, fabric and tape measures.

Today she had finally finished her favorite piece.  Of course she loved her dress with a passion.  It was a beautiful snow white silk with hundreds of tiny purple gems sewn to it.  The gems matched her eyes and mane perfectly.  It was gorgeous and she felt absolutely gorgeous while wearing it.  Being the bearer of the element of generosity, nothing made her happier then finishing Applejack’s attire.  Speaking of, where was her marefriend?  She should have been here by now.

Staying silent in the corner of the room were Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.  Rarity had them running ragged all day, as they had offered to help in the boutique until she was finished.  If Rarity hadn’t been so preoccupied with the wedding, she may have noticed that the two best friends were acting a little strange.  They kept glancing at each other nervously, each taking a turn looking at the clock.

“Where the heck is your sister?” Sweetie Belle whispered.  Her voice was low enough that Rarity didn’t hear.

“Ah swear Ah haven’t the slightest clue.  She said she would be here soon.  Ah don’t know how much longer Ah can take this.”  Apple Bloom panted, looking Sweetie Belle up and down.

As if on cue, the door to the boutique opened and Applejack trotted in.

“Darling!” Rarity shouted, practically knocking Applejack off her hooves as she rushed into the earth pony’s arms.

Applejack tried to speak but was met with wave after wave of short, affectionate kisses.  She hadn’t even had time to notice the two wallflowers standing in the corner.

“Ahem...” Sweetie Belle cleared her throat.  “Looks like you two have some catching up to do.  Apple Bloom and I will be in my room if you need us.”

Sweetie Belle quickly grabbed Apple Bloom’s hoof and led her out of the room.  Apple Bloom was only able to wave a quick hello to her sister, before being dragged off down the hallway.

“Finally...” Apple Bloom whispered as Sweetie Belle threw open the door to her room.

Apple Bloom pushed Sweetie through the door, kicking it closed behind her like she was bucking an apple tree.  Sweetie giggled as her friend then pushed her backwards and she landed on her bed.  She closed her eyes and moaned happily as she felt Apple Bloom’s body press into hers.

“You’re driving me crazy ya know.” Apple Bloom whispered.   Her breath was hot on Sweetie’s face.

In response Sweetie reached up to take her friend’s muzzle into her hooves.  She leaned in close and began to kiss Apple Bloom softly.  The earth pony moaned as Sweetie Belle slipped her tongue easily past her lips, thrusting it slowly against her own.

The kissing began to heat up, as the young mares blissfully explored each other’s mouths.  Much to Apple Bloom’s chagrin, Sweetie broke the kiss.

Apple Bloom searched her friend’s face, wondering if she had done something wrong.  Sweetie Belle made no sound, except to roll over onto her stomach.  She then lifted her flank, sending a very deliberate invitation to Apple Bloom.

“Here?  Now?” Apple Bloom’s mouth went dry.  Self control was hard enough without her lover’s hindquarters seductively calling out to her.  

“What if our sisters come looking for us?  We promised we wouldn’t tell them about this until after the wedding.” 

Sweetie Belle turned her head to look back at her lover.  “Darling...” she started, doing a perfect imitation of Rarity.  “Did you see the way they were staring all lovey-dovey into each other’s eyes?  I highly doubt they even remember our names at this point.”

Apple Bloom nodded.  Sweetie Belle was right.  Their sisters were much too involved in each other to take much notice of what their siblings were up to.  

“That feels really good by the way.” Sweetie said softly, as Apple Bloom looked down.

Her eyes went wide.  She hadn’t even noticed that her hooves had a mind of their own.  They were slowly and methodically massaging Sweetie Belle’s flank.

“You’re a flank mare huh?” Sweetie teased.

Apple Bloom’s face went bright red as she hurried to move her hooves from her marefriend’s hindquarters.  Sweetie Belle wasn’t having it.

“Just leave them there.  I told you it feels nice.” Sweetie giggled into her pillow.  She was pretty sure Apple Bloom’s cheeks were looking adorably rosy.  

“It’s uhm, it’s not your flank.” Apple Bloom tried to explain.  “It’s this...” she trailed off as she rubbed softly over Sweetie Belle’s cutie mark.

Sweetie Belle sighed happily. “Really?  You really think I have a nice cutie mark?”

Apple Bloom could only nod in response.  She could remember the day Sweetie Belle had gotten her cutie mark.  Sweetie had been the last of the crusaders to do so, but only by a few hours.  Apple Bloom laughed out loud.

“What’s so funny?” Sweetie questioned.

“Ah was just thinkin’ bout all the crazy stuff we did to earn our cutie marks.  All the while our special talents were right under our muzzles.”

Sweetie took hold off Apple Bloom’s hoof and pulled her beside her onto the bed.  

“Well I think your cutie mark is pretty sexy.” She grinned, wrapping her legs seductively around Apple Bloom’s hips.

Sweetie Belle’s horn then sparked a light pink color and Apple Bloom heard the door lock.

“Now, where were we?” Sweetie Belle asked, batting her eyelashes.  “Oh yes.  You were just about to worship my cutie mark?” the unicorn said, flipping onto her tummy again.

Apple Bloom whimpered. 

“Come and get me tiger.”  Sweetie beckoned.

Apple Bloom did not have to be asked twice, as she pounced on her marefriend.

“Jus’ for that Ah’m gonna make sure you won’t be able to sit for a week.” 

“Please don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

Apple Bloom shivered.   

As she once again descended on her lover, she vowed to make Sweetie Belle see just exactly how serious she really was.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Miss Sparkle?” Cloak and Dagger cleared his throat.

He looked around the room at the pile of books spread out haphazardly on the desk and floor.

“Did you find something?” Twilight asked, looking up from the book she was scanning.

“I think so.  Look at this.” Cloak and Dagger handed the book he had been leafing through over to the purple mare.  His hoof pointed at the passage.

Twilight’s eyes shone happily. 

“I think you found exactly what I've been looking for.” She grinned, clasping her hooves together.

Cloak and Dagger let out a sigh of relief.  They had been tirelessly sifting through many magical books regarding Alicorns.  He wouldn’t have believed there to be so many, had he not been the one to wheel a gigantic cart full to Twilight’s bedroom.  Although Twilight had assured him she would be fine on her own, he had insisted on helping her to find what she was searching for.  It was after all the gentlecolt thing to do.

“Thank you so much for all your help.” Twilight sincerely thanked the stallion.

Cloak and Dagger just nodded.  He hadn’t minded.  It had given him an excuse to stay up and watch the sunrise.  Being one who had been cursed to eternal darkness, he relished the fact he could at least watch the sun from the safety of the palace walls.  Maybe one day, he would feel that he had atoned for his past sins and could walk among those of the light.

Even though she had her head buried in books all morning long, whenever she had a moment to glance up she had noticed the stallion looking off into the distance.  The Solar Guardians assembled just outside her window, and unless she was mistaken, it looked as though her new friend was longing to join them.

“Is there a reason you can’t?” she asked softly.

Cloak and Dagger looked at her curiously.  “A reason I can’t what?”

“Join them.” She said.

The black stallion was taken off guard.  Had it been that obvious?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He stated, clearing his throat. 

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to offend you.” Twilight quickly apologized.

Cloak and Dagger sighed. 

“No, you’re right.” He whispered.  “But I could never leave Princess Luna’s side.  Not after everything we have been through together.  She is my family, as are the other various ponies that make up our night court.”

Twilight thought for a moment.  Having been through as many trials and tribulations in friendship as she had, she felt confident in giving advice.

“I don’t have all the answers, but I do know Princess Luna would be upset if she knew you were holding back because of her.  She would want you to follow your dream.”

The stallion stopped to ponder for a moment, before nodding his head.

“Thank you Miss Sparkle.  You have given me a lot to think about.  Will you be needing any more assistance?”

Twilight smiled and shook her head no.  

“I’m pretty sure I’ve found what I needed thanks to your help.”

Cloak and Dagger beamed, before exiting the room.

Twilight then began to re-focus on her task at hand.  She flipped the book onto the desk and began to work her magic.  Apparently Alicorns had a very special power in their horn that allowed them to unlock barriers.   With the spell she was about to cast, if done properly, it would cancel out the magic of the Alicorn’s horn, therefore disallowing them to enter.

Twilight giggled as she continued to work, until she was sure she had constructed the ultimate Alicorn proof barrier.  She was now completely drained.  As she made her way to her bed, a smile pulled across her lips.  She could almost taste the sweetness of victory.  She couldn’t wait to see the shocked look on Luna’s face as the princess was finally defeated at her own game.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Princess Luna strode quickly down the castle hallway.  She was late for a very important meeting with Celestia and Cadence.  There was some pressing issue that needed to be addressed by the three of them, but before she could join her sister and niece, she wanted to check on her student.

She wondered if tonight would be the night that Twilight finally got the spell correct.  She grinned in the darkness as she made her way past the guards, and stopped just before the door to Twilight’s room.  Her horn glowed as she searched ahead of her, for any sign of magic.  Oddly enough she could find no trace of a barrier spell.

Luna raised her eyebrow.  Something wasn’t right.  She couldn’t feel any magic coming from the room at all.  The princess was suddenly fearful that something may have happened to Twilight, so she quickly teleported herself in.  The indigo Alicorn’s eyes adjusted to the darkness as she found herself smack dab in the middle of Twilight’s bedchambers.  She looked to the bed to find her young student fast asleep, snoring softly.

“Cute.” She said out loud.

Damn!  There was that word again.

“Cute.”

Why did she keep using it?  And especially regarding her student?  She shook her head.  She needed to get a grip on whatever it was she was feeling.   She sighed.  That was the problem.  Why was she feeling anything?  What had happened to her in the garden last night.  There were two feelings she knew quite well.  Two feelings she hated.  Neither one of them was a feeling she ever wanted to feel again, because they were both feelings she had no control over.

The first was attraction.  You can’t control who you find attractive.  The second was jealousy.  A feeling she had known much too well.  This feeling had brought her to the edge, and allowed Nightmare Moon to become one with her body and soul.  

She shook her head again.  Was she attracted to Twilight Sparkle?  What did it matter if she was?  Twilight was truly, madly, deeply in love with her sister.  Shaking all the thoughts from her head, she turned her attention to Twilight once again.

“I don’t know what you did my dear student.  But here I am, once again able to break in.” 

Of course Twilight didn’t answer, she was sound asleep.  Luna smiled as she took a quill from Twilight’s desk and began to scribble a note for her student.  Because of the meeting with Cadence and her sister, she would be unable to attend their night school session.  Luna finished penning the note and left it posted to Twilight’s door.  She would have to definitely tease Twilight hard about the fact she still couldn’t perfect this barrier.  Maybe she would lead her student in the right direction, then again having an excuse to appear whenever she wanted in her student’s bedchambers was kind of fun too.

Luna smiled mischieviously.

“Good night my student.” She whispered, before she teleported out of the room.

“THWACK!” 

“Ow...What the?”

Luna whimpered and looked around.  She was still inside Twilight’s room.  Now that was strange.  She closed her eyes and again teleported out of the room.

“THWACK!”

Luna cried out this time, rubbing the top of her head.  What in the name of Celestia was going on?  She was still inside the room.  Letting loose a charge of magic as she galloped to the door, she thrust forward with all her might, and that’s when she felt it.  There was an immense surge of impenetrable magic as she was repelled backwards and tossed to the floor.  Panic suddenly gripped her as realization set in.

She was absolutely, undeniably, without a doubt trapped in Twilight Sparkle’s room.

End Chapter 4
> Three Princesses and a Barrier
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna couldn’t believe it.  She had just finished trying all the barrier breaking spells she knew, and yet here she was, still trapped in Twilight Sparkle’s bedroom.

“How the hell did this happen?” she mused out loud.

Luna trotted over to Twilight’s desk and began to flip through her research books.  It only took a minute for her to identify the problem.  In Twilight’s haste to create the perfect barrier, Luna noticed she had written the incantation backwards in her notebook.  Twilight had accidentally conjured a reverse barrier.  This particular spell was so powerful that it could only be removed by the one who conjured it in the first place.

Crap...

Luna looked around the room again as her eyes settled on her sleeping student.  Now what was she going to do?  Celestia and Cadence were expecting her, and she could not let them find her in this compromising position.

Oh hell no.  

Those two would never let her live it down.  She could practically hear them cackling already.  Luna paced back and forth as she considered her options.   She contemplated teleporting into Twilight’s dream to wake her, but for some reason that didn’t feel right.  She wasn’t quite sure why.  She had no problem intruding on her student the day before and yet the image of her beautiful sister by Twilight’s side, burned in her head.  

Why was that bothering her?  

She closed her eyes and strengthened her resolve.  The Moon Princess knew she needed to wake up Twilight and quickly.  She leaned in over her student, and softly whispered.

“Twilight, wake up.”

Twilight stirred, and Luna thought she had achieved success, until the young mare grabbed her blanket and flipped over, turning her back to the princess.

Luna’s nostrils flared as she cleared her throat and tried again.

“Twilight Sparkle, I command of you WAKE UP!”

Twilight made an adorable moaning sound, before turning over onto her back.  Luna’s eyebrow twitched.  Apparently Twilight was a heavy sleeper.  She would have to try something else.  Luna reached out, placing both her hooves on Twilight’s shoulders and began to shake.

“WAKE UP. PLEASE WAKE UP.”

Little did the Moon Princess know that Twilight was currently in the midst of her favorite dream.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Twilight was seated on a red and white checkered blanket, across from her sat Princess Celestia.  Celestia’s mane was waving slowly in the wind, and Twilight could feel her heart skip a beat.  The Princess had asked her to accompany her on a special picnic.  The food had been exquisite, not that Twilight had cared.  She was too busy staring into the beautiful eyes of her mentor.  As Celestia talked, Twilight hung on every word, enjoying the precious one on one time.  

“Twilight?” Celestia called, motioning her student beside her.

Twilight trotted slowly to Celestia’s side and was immediately engulfed in a huge hug.  Twilight sighed happily as the princess’ warmth surged through her, invoking a huge smile.  It was all too good to be true.

As Twilight looked up expecting to see the warm, gentle eyes of Celestia, she was shocked as it was no longer Celestia she was looking up at.

“Luna...” she trailed off, stunned by her teacher’s appearance.

“Twilight Sparkle.” Luna said softly, leaning down as their muzzles touched.

Twilight couldn’t move. Her entire body was frozen as she had been taken completely taken off guard.  She could feel a blush begin to adorn her face.  She tried to look away, but the piercing dark eyes of her teacher called to her once more.  Luna’s lips were incredibly close, and Twilight could feel her gentle breath as it tickled her mane.

Luna then reached out and pushed Twilight easily onto her back, her hoof stroking the unicorn’s tummy.  Twilight’s lips tried to form words, but none came out.  Luna continued to massage up Twilight’s belly and over her chest.  She finally rested her hooves on the purple mare’s shoulders.  Twilight was afraid to look up, and yet she couldn’t look away from Luna’s entrancing eyes.

“Twilight...” Luna breathed, her lips ever so close.  

“Twilight Sparkle...”

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!!!!! WAKE UP!”

Twilight was confused as Luna’s face changed from sexy and seductive to certifiably insane.  The now irritated Moon Princess had been trying to wake Twilight for minutes and her patience was running thin.  Twilight was so startled by Luna’s presence in her dream that instead of waking up, her eyes went dim and her entire body shook with power.

“Uh oh.” Luna thought, letting go of Twilight as her student’s body rose from the bed in a cloud of magical power.

Luna tried to back up, but there was no time to do so.  Twilight’s horn glowed and she let loose an immense amount of power that headed straight for the Princess.  Luna closed her eyes and lifted her hooves to shield herself, bracing her body for the impact.  As Luna held tight to her stance, she could feel the magic hit her, as it careened into her breast plate.  The impact she had been awaiting never happened.  Luna opened her eyes just in time to see the glowing ball of energy now picking up speed and hurling right back towards Twilight.  It was then Luna remembered that during their midnight session, she had forgotten to release Twilight from her binding spell.  There was no time to act.  All she could do was watch helplessly as Twilight was hit hard by her own magic, knocking her roughly to the ground.

“TWILIGHT!” the urgency in her voice apparent, Luna galloped to her student’s side.

What had she done?  This was all her fault.

“Twilight please answer me.” She said, picking Twilight up from the floor.

As she cradled Twilight in her arms, the first thing she noticed was the charred smell of burnt flesh.  She shuddered, almost afraid to look.  Her hoof slid between Twilight’s front legs as she pried them open.  Her eyes went wide.  She knew it was bad, but this was much worse than bad.  The magic had burned right through Twilight’s coat and skin, leaving a large burn mark on her chest, right under her neck.  Before Luna had a chance to get a better look, she heard the familiar voice of her sister coming through the door.

“Twilight?  Luna?  Is anyone in here?  We were looking for you and then we heard a loud sound.  Is everything okay? Celestia’s voice rang out.

Luna continued to cradle Twilight as she called out to her sister.

“Yes sister everything is fine.  I’ll be out soon.  Just start without me.” 

Luna prayed that her sister would just go away, but she knew Celestia better than that.  Celestia had a sixth sense for when things weren’t right.  Luna waited for the tell tale sign of hoofsteps leaving the door, but was instead startled at the sound of Celestia behind her.

“What has happened?” Celestia asked cautiously, still unable to see Twilight.

“I...I screwed up.” Luna started, fighting back her emotions.  

She then turned, with Twilight in her arms, so Celestia could get her first look at the disaster.  Celestia gasped, and Luna could feel a sudden chill in the air.

“I’m so sorry.  It was an accident.” Luna began to ramble.

Although Celestia still wasn’t sure what was going on, she knew she needed to calm her sister down.

“Luna, it’s okay.  Put her down on the bed and I’ll take a look at her while you explain to me what exactly happened here.”

Luna nodded, and slowly eased Twilight down.  She could hear a faint heartbeat coming from Twilight’s chest, which was at least a good sign.  Before she had a chance to relay the night's events, Celestia began to speak.

“She is breathing, but unconscious.” Celestia noted.  “We need medicine.  Please go and fetch the royal doctor.  I will keep an eye on Twilight.”

Luna shook her head.  She had already let Twilight down, she wasn’t going anywhere.  

“I should be the one to stay here in case she awakens.  She is still, for now, my student after all.”

Celestia thought for a moment, and then nodded in agreement. 

“Okay, then I’ll go.  I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Luna was no longer paying attention to her sister as she sat down in a desk chair by Twilight’s bed.

“THWACK!”

Celestia rubbed her head with her hoof.  What was the meaning of this?  Was this magic she sensed surrounding the room?  Why had she not noticed it before?

The Princess once again summoned her magic and tried to teleport out of the room.  

“THWACK!” 

Luna sighed as her sister rubbed the newly formed goose egg on her head.  In all the commotion she had forgotten about the stupid barrier.

“It’s no use Tia.  We’re trapped.”

With that being said, Luna motioned for Celestia to join her by the bed and began to tell the tale of Twilight’s reverse barrier spell.

It looked like it was shaping up to be a very long night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cadence giggled as Celestia finished telling her about the night’s events.  Luna rolled her eyes.

“Oh come on Auntie.  It is sort of funny when you think about it.”

“My student was gravely injured.  I don’t find that funny at all.” Luna grumbled, becoming even more irritated.

Shortly after she had begun explaining to Celestia about what had happened, Cadence had made her way to the room.  Both Celestia and Luna had tried to stop her, but it had been too late.  Now the three of them were all trapped in Twilight’s barrier.

“Of course that part isn’t funny Auntie.  I just meant the fact that Twilight captured not one, not two, but three Alicorns in her barrier.  That’s quite impressive.”

Celestia smiled as well.  “Cheer up Luna. Twilight’s heart rate has gone up considerably and from what I can tell she will be fine.  She just needs some time to rest.”

Luna wanted to scream.  She just wanted everyone to be quiet.  She could take care of Twilight on her own.  Although she loved her family more than anything, they were completely on her last nerve.

Celestia and Cadence could both tell that Luna’s mood was becoming fouler by the minute, and yet there was something on both of their minds.  After much pushing and prodding between them, Cadence finally spoke.

“Um, Auntie Luna?  Did you notice anything strange on Twilight’s chest?”

Luna snorted. “Like an ugly gigantic burn mark?”

“Well yes, of course that, but I meant did you notice anything unusual about the shape?”

Luna looked at Cadence.  She had no idea what her niece was going on about.

“It sort of looks like....in the shape of.....uhm.....” 

Cadence once again trailed off.

“It seems to look a lot like the shape of a crescent moon.” Celestia finished.

“It does not!” Luna deflected.  “It’s just a huge piece of burnt flesh.  How can you even say it looks like anything?”

But as Luna took a closer look, she realized her sister and niece were right.  The mark that was carved into Twilight’s chest did resemble a crescent moon, much similar to the one adorning Luna’s flank.  Luna was dumbfounded.  

“It’s just a coincidence.” She offered meekly.  “I have no other explanation.”

Cadence poked Luna in the ribs. “Are you sure you didn’t imprint on Twilight?” 

She then laughed.

“Imprint?  What does that mean?” Luna asked.  She was clearly unaware of the vampire pony phenomenon.

“It’s a term used in a popular book series my dear sister. “ Celestia smiled.  “Cadence is just teasing you.”

Luna relaxed for a moment.  Celestia was correct. Clearly Cadence was just trying to lighten the mood.  

“Sorry for snapping.” Luna said, looking in Cadence’s direction.

“No apology needed Auntie.  I know it’s been a long night.”

As the three Alicorns continued to watch over Twilight, they were suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Cadence, are you in there?  One of the guards said Twiley was hurt.  Is she okay? I’m coming in!”

“No!  Don’t come in!” the three Alicorns chorused in unison.

“But I’m her big brother.  If there’s something wrong I need to know.” Shining yelled from behind the door. “Hmm the door seems to be stuck, I’ll teleport.”

“Shining! No please just wait a moment.” Cadence pleaded.  “There’s a reason that we don’t want you to come-“

She stopped mid-sentence as Shining Armor teleported in beside her.

“In...” she finished.

Luna groaned.  She knew things had just gone from bad to worse. 

“Shining!” Cadence reprimanded him.  “I told you not to come in.”

“I’m sorry but I had to see my sister.  Is she okay?” he asked, turning towards the bed.

As he turned, he caught sight of his banged up little sister.

“Twiley!” he squeaked, as his voice cracked.  “Who did this to you?”

Shining Armor rushed to his sister’s side.  “It’s okay Twiley.  I’m here now.  Your big brother is here.”

Luna shuddered.  If he started singing the “big brother best friend forever “song, she would absolutely lose it.  She glared at Cadence.    Cadence mouthed an apology.  The last thing they had needed was Twilight’s overprotective brother joining them.

Shining leaned his muzzle into Twilight’s.  “She’s going to be okay right?” he asked uneasily.

Celestia nodded.  “She will obviously be in pain because of her injury, but from what I can tell, there shouldn’t be any long lasting effects.”

Shining Armor let out a sigh of relief.

“Shining...” came a small soft voice.  “Is that you big brother?”

Every single pony in the room jumped up at the sound of Twilight’s voice.  They all made their way to her bed, surrounding her as she slowly opened her eyes.

“Don’t try to move too soon.” Luna cautioned.  “There was an accident.  You were hurt badly.”

Twilight could only nod in response.  Her eyes slowly scanned the room as she took note of who was there.

“I’m sorry if I worried anypony.” she murmured.

Luna put a hoof to her student’s lips.  “You have nothing to apologize for.  This is my fault and I will take full responsibility.  You need to conserve your energy.  We’re all just relieved that you are awake.”

Everypony in the group nodded.  Shining wondered what Luna meant by saying it was her fault.  When Cadence had first told him that Twilight was going to study under Luna, he wasn’t sure that was a good idea.  Now he was even more conflicted.  How could he be sure that something like this wasn’t going to happen again?

Celestia reached out and touched her hoof to Twilight’s cheek.

“I think we should give Luna and Twilight a moment to talk.  We need Twilight to release her barrier spell and I think it’s best if Luna fills her in on what has happened.”

Cadence nodded, and after a few deathly glares from his wife, Shining reluctantly agreed.

Luna silently thanked her sister as the other ponies made their way to the other side of the room.

“Twilight, I need you to do something for me if you can.” Luna said softly, reaching up instinctively to stroke the unicorn’s mane.  “I need you to undo your barrier spell.  Do you think you have enough energy to do that?”

Twilight thought for a moment. “My barrier?  But I must have done something wrong.  Everypony was in here when I woke up.”

Luna had to chuckle at Twilight’s naivety.

“Actually you succeeded in creating a pretty powerful barrier.  I’d give you an B plus for this one, maybe an A minus.  You managed to trap three powerful Alicorns.  Well done Twilight Sparkle.  Well done!”

Twilight took a minute to process what Luna was saying.  She blushed as Luna praised her.  She found herself taking great pleasure in the fact that her teacher was proud of her efforts.

“But we really need you to release the spell.  Cadence and Shining need to get back to the Crystal Empire and ...” her voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m pretty sure Tia has had to use the little ponies’ room for quite some time now.” She added with a wink.

Twilight giggled and Luna felt another wave of relief wash over her.  She watched as the young mare closed her eyes and her horn began to glow.  It only took a moment for her student to release the spell, but Luna could see the effect that even using a small amount of magic had on Twilight.

Twilight slumped back onto the bed, her eyes drooping.

“Sorry princess, I suddenly feel faint.”

Without a word Luna leaned down and let her horn rest against Twilight’s.  The unicorn gasped at the sudden sensation as she could feel the magic emenating from her teacher.  The Moon Princess did not move as she continued to radiate magic, letting it flow into Twilight.

“Just relax Twilight.  You’re weak, but I am going to lend you my own magic.  Just rest and let me do the work.”

Twilight wanted to protest but she found herself unable to do so.  The magic that was filling her body was warm and it made her sleepy once again.  Luna closed her eyes and kept her horn pressed tightly against Twilight’s.

Shining Armor looked on, wanting to say something.  Celestia shook her head in his direction.  “Twilight is strong, she will be fine.  You can visit her in the morning when she is feeling better.  Luna will take good care of her.”

Shining nodded in response.  He supposed if both his wife and Princess Celestia felt Twilight was in good hooves then she probably was.  The three of them then exited the room, leaving Luna and Twilight alone.

Twilight looked up at Luna who still had her eyes closed.  She was still unsure what had happened, but she did remember the dream she was having before everything went black.  Luna had been there with her, holding her and touching her. She could remember the warm feeling as it radiated from her hooves to her head.  She continued to look at her teacher’s face, while Luna concentrated.  Luna’s lips were so close, Twilight imagined for a split second what it might be like to reach up and brush her own lips against them.

Her hooves reached up and she brought them down on Luna’s face, startling her teacher.  Luna’s eyes popped open and she looked down, surprised by Twilight’s hooves.

“What are you-“

Before Luna could finish, Twilight leaned up and surprised them both by planting a soft, chaste kiss on the tip of Luna’s muzzle.

“Thank you for taking good care of me.” She whispered, before laying back down on her pillow and closing her eyes.

Luna could feel her face get hot.  She wasn’t sure what to think.  Her student had just kissed her.  Sure, it hadn’t been a romantic kiss, but it was a kiss just the same.  What did it mean? Or did it even mean anything?  Twilight had just been through a very traumatic experience.  She still didn’t think the unicorn had taken notice of the large burn mark on her chest.  Luna shook her head.  She would not read anything more into that kiss.  Her student was not in her right mind.  Then again, why did it suddenly feel like her heart was going to burst through her chest?

“Twilight Sparkle, I swear you will be the death of me yet.”

End Chapter 5
> Rock Me Gently
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Twilight opened her eyes and slowly surveyed her surroundings.  The first thing she felt was an immense pain in her chest.  She reached out to paw at it, surprised as she lifted her hoof.  It was covered in a cool, thick liquid substance.  She lifted her hoof to her muzzle and then away, making a face.  The salve had a distinct medicinal smell.  Twilight slid her hoof under the covers, wiping it on the sheets before glancing once again around the room.

The purple mare’s eyes began to fully adjust to the darkness.  There was a soft humming sound coming from somewhere close, and she couldn’t quite figure out what it was.  She squinted as she looked at the chair beside her bed.  It took a moment before she gasped.  There was somepony sitting in her seat.  Not just any somepony, but a somepony who was snoring quietly, while looking rather uncomfortable in her tiny desk chair.

“Princess?” she called out softly, recognizing the shape of her teacher.

Had Princess Luna really stayed by her side all this time?  She studied her teacher’s soft expression by the light of the moon.  Luna looked almost angelic, save for the fact she was two times the size of the chair and clearly uncomfortable.  Twilight giggled to herself.  She laid back and then let out a sharp moan.  She could feel a shooting pain run through her chest again, followed by a burning sensation.  

“Twilight?” asked a sleepy voice from the chair.

Twilight was only able to cough in response. She suddenly felt weak.  She could hear the wheels of the desk chair moving, and before she could respond Princess Luna was looking down at her, with a very concerned face.

“Hey, just relax.  Your body has been through a lot already.  Don’t overdo it.”

Twilight could only nod in response.  Luna used her magic to conjure a glass of water, bringing it slowly to Twilight’s lips.  The unicorn drank eagerly, the cool liquid feeling good against her throat.  While she drank, Luna’s hoof trailed down to examine her student’s burn. 

“It’s painful isn’t it?  I can tell just by looking.  Do you need me to apply some more medicine?” Luna asked, picking up the jar of salve from Twilight’s night stand.

Twilight finally managed to find her voice.

“Thank you Princess, but you don’t have to.  I’m sure I can manage it on my own.”

“Nonsense.” Luna scoffed. “I insist.”

Twilight lay perfectly still as Luna covered her hoof in the medicine.  She then rubbed her hooves together and placed them directly under Twilight’s neck.  Her hooves then begin to gently rub the salve into Twilight’s chest.  Twilight was sure her cheeks now matched the red coloring of her burn.  She tried to look away as Luna continued to rub in the medicine.  The Princess had a determined look on her face, as she worked her hooves up and down.  Twilight’s chest was so sensitive, and she had to bite down on her tongue to keep from moaning out loud.  A sudden thought crossed her mind as she realized she had awoken with the remnants of the salve already on her chest.  

Her eyes went wide.  Someone had already been applying the salve to her burn.  Had it been the Princess?  

“T-Thank you.” Twilight stammered as Luna finished rubbing in the last of the medicine.

“You don’t have to thank me.  I promised to take care of you.  I take that seriously.” She said, yawning.

Twilight watched as the Princess lifted her hooves and stretched.  Luna then rubbed her back. 

“Have you been sitting there a long time?” Twilight asked.  

The unicorn was trying to piece together what had happened.  She remembered that she had cast a reverse barrier spell and that she had gone into a magic trance that had resulted in her injury.  She also vaguely remembered that Luna had been there the first time she woke up.  The Princess had been helping her replenish her magic.  

Luna shook her head.  “I just wanted to be here when you woke up.  It wasn’t long.  It’s been a full day since the accident.  You’ve been out for a while, but the doctor said it was okay because you need bed rest. “

“Thank you again for staying with me.” Twilight said, fiddling with her blankets.  “I’m going to be okay.  You should get some rest.  You look like you’re the one in pain.” 

Luna chuckled.  “It’s obvious this chair is not my friend?”

Twilight giggled too.  “Your back must be killing you. “

“I’ll be fine.  I survived a thousand years on the moon, I’m sure I can handle your evil desk chair.”

Luna looked down, searching Twilight’s face.  She secretly wondered if Twilight remembered kissing her.  Luna had replayed the moment over and over in her head until she had finally succumbed to sleep.  She knew it was crazy, but every time she touched her muzzle, she could feel Twilight’s lips once again.

Twilight had noticed that Luna was staring deeply into her eyes.  Her whole entire body flushed warmly.  She wanted to say something to break the silence, but once again words had abandoned her.  Fortunately her teacher interjected.

“I almost forgot.  I brought you something.” Luna said, reaching for a book on the desk.

Twilight’s ears perked.  She was immediately intrigued. 

“This is a very old book that I loved when I was young.  I was thinking since the doctor said that you were going to be in bed for the next couple of days, that it might give you something to do.” She handed the book to Twilight.

The purple mare read the title. “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.”

“It’s a book based on the fictitious species, Humans.  I don’t know if you have ever read a book with Humans in it.  They were kind of a phase back when I was a young filly.  Although many authors have written about Humans in their literature, this particular author added magic into the mix.  Her writing was so incredibly brilliant that the series gained a cult following.”

Twilight was already reading the back of the book.  Luna couldn’t help but laugh.  Twilight was so predictable.  She thought about the kiss again.  Well maybe not that predictable. 

“Anyways my favorite character in the book reminds me of Starswirl The Bearded.  I know you are also a fan of his, so I thought you might enjoy it” 

Twilight’s smile widened as she hugged the book to her chest. 

“This book sounds amazing.  I can’t wait to get reading!”

Luna loved Twilight’s enthusiasm.   “Well if you enjoy it, there’s another six volumes after that one.”

Twilight’s eyes lit up again.  She was practically bouncing in the bed.

Luna smiled.  She was glad she could make her student happy.  She then took a deep breath.

“Also, I understand if you no longer want to be my student.  I almost got you killed.” 

Twilight was shocked as she looked up at Luna.  She hadn’t expected that at all.  It seemed to have come from left field.
“I was irresponsible.  Because of that, you were gravely injured...” Luna trailed off.

Twilight shook her head.  She didn’t want to hear any more.  She didn’t consider any of this to be Luna’s fault.  In fact if it was anypony’s fault it was hers.  She had been the one that had been too tired to cast the spell properly.  She had also been the one who had lost control of her power.  

“No...” 

“No?” Luna asked, as she felt Twilight’s front legs reach out, grasping her own.

“I don’t want you to leave me.” Twilight said quietly.  “Please...don’t leave.”

Luna wasn’t quite sure what to make of this situation.  Was Twilight asking her to continue to teach her? Or was this something else?   The Princess could feel herself being pulled into the bed.  Her student suddenly seemed to have the strength of ten ponies as she held Luna close to her.

“Twilight?” Luna asked, worried that Twilight had overexerted herself and this was the resulting effect.

Sure enough Twilight’s horn was glowing as it reacted to her emotions.  Although it felt good, Luna struggled against Twilight’s grip, trying to free herself.  She knew Twilight was fragile and she didn’t want whatever was happening at the moment to end up being something her student regretted later.

Twilight was fully aware of what she was doing.  She just wasn’t sure why she was doing it.  When Luna had suggested she no longer teach Twilight, something inside the young mare had caused her to panic.  Before she could manage to figure out what was happening to her, her horn began to react.

“Damn she is powerful.” Luna murmured to herself.  

Luna knew if she didn’t bring her student back from the edge, something bad was going to happen.  She needed to act fast.  She did the only plausible thing she could think of.  Luna reached out and grabbed Twilight into her arms, pulling her student close and leaning in.  She closed her eyes as her lips descended on the unicorn in her arms.  As their lips met, electricity filled the air.  

Literally.

At the same time Luna had pressed her lips against Twilight’s, their horns had rubbed together.  The spark that had arisen was so powerful both ponies had been lifted into the air, and then tossed unconsciously to the bed.

Princess Luna and her student Twilight Sparkle had been completely knocked out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Scootaloo excitedly opened the envelope in her hooves.  It was a letter from her two best friends in the world.  She thanked the mail pony as she made her way back to her dorm room.  She had just finished her lesson for the day, and was planning to hit the showers.  Her eyes quickly scanned over the message and a huge smile adorned her face.  It seemed Rarity had finished tailoring Rainbow Dash’s tuxedo and needed to make sure the fit was correct.  Unfortunately Rainbow Dash was very busy being the Academy’s number one instructor.  It had been hard enough to get the day of the wedding off, let alone travel to Ponyville for a fitting.  Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had volunteered to drop the suit off personally at the flight school in hopes they could spend some time with Scootaloo before the wedding.  The last line of the message said that they had something very important they wanted to tell her.

The orange pegasus stripped out of her uniform, the smile never leaving her face.  She couldn’t wait to see her friends.  It had been months, and although she was having a great time at the Wonderbolt’s Academy, she missed them terribly.  As she entered the shower room, she took a glance around.  It was a communal shower and although she wasn’t the least bit shy, sometimes it got a little crowded.  As she stepped into the shower and turned on the water, she let out a soft sigh.  The warmth of the water felt great against her skin.  She took the soap between her hooves and began to lather her body up.  Closing her eyes, she washed herself, starting with her chest.

“POMF!”

Scootaloo’s eyes snapped open at the all too familiar sound.  Somepony had a wing boner.  It happened a lot, especially here where everypony was a Pegasus.  Before she could turn around, hooves were on her hips and a wet body was slowly grinding against her flank.  Scootaloo leaned backwards, as lips brushed against her neck.  She could feel the hooves then run down from her hips to between her hind legs, parting them.  She moaned softly, trying to close her legs.

“Don’t you have class?” she murmured, turning her neck so their lips could meet.

After a few warm wet kisses, the other pony sighed.

“Soon.”

Scootaloo sighed too.   She was just getting warmed up. 

“But this is sooooo hot...” she trailed off, turning to face her lover.

She slowly rubbed her soapy torso against the warm body in front of her.

“You feel so good.  Do you have any idea how hot you are right now?”

“When is your last class?” Scootaloo whimpered.

She was silenced with more kisses, each one more passionate then the next. 

“I have two more.” 

Scootaloo groaned.  Shower sex was hot, but she really wanted to spend the night in her lover’s room.  

“How do you think I feel?  Do you know how hard it is to fit into my suit with a giant wing boner?”

Scootaloo giggled.  After a few more minutes of wet kissing, touching and eventually cleansing, both ponies emerged from the showers.   

“I should go before someone sees us.”

Scootaloo nodded.  There were already rumors floating around.  They didn’t need to add more fuel to the fire.  Although clearly neither one of them cared enough to stop meeting up like this.

“I’ll see you tonight?  Your place?” her lover called out, throwing a towel into the laundry bin.

“Hey...” she started. “You promised I could sleep in your bed tonight.”

Her lover laughed, only because Scootaloo’s pout was adorable.  

“Did I say that?” 

Scootaloo nodded vigorously.

“Okay then, just for tonight.”

The orange pegasus leapt at her lover.  She wrapped her hooves around the other pony’s neck and squeezed tightly.  She couldn’t wait to be in her lover’s bed. 

“Shhhhh.”

The two ponies shared one last kiss, as they held each other tightly.  One at a time they separately left the shower room.  Scootaloo couldn’t help but whistle as she made her way back to her room.  She couldn’t wait to see her friends.

She too, had something she needed to tell them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Luna groaned.  Her entire body ached.  She tried to lift herself up, but her energy had been drained.  All she could see in her line of vision was purple.

Purple fur.

Twilight’s fur.

From what she could tell, the unicorn wasn’t moving.  She also noticed her own front leg was draped over Twilight’s body, almost protectively.  She tried to move it, and once again was unsuccessful.  From what she could gather, when their horns had touched, their magic had intermingled.  Twilight’s horn had already been powering up, and when Luna’s magic had flowed into it, it had been too much, causing the resulting electrical shock.

“C’mon Luna.” She silently chided herself.  

Her magic was powerful, as powerful as her sister’s and maybe even more so when it came to her knowledge of the dark arts.  Yet, Twilight had managed to completely drain her in seconds.  How was this possible?  Twilight’s body began to move, and to Luna’s horror she pushed herself further between the Princess’ front legs, wedging herself against her teacher’s chest.  Luna hoped that even if her magic didn’t come back right away, that her energy would.  This was quite the precarious position and the sun had already been raised.  She knew it was only a matter of time before they would have visitors.
She could only imagine what Celestia would think, if she found them entangled like this.   Or even worse what about Shining Armor?  Luna cringed.  He would kill her.  He would probably sing the “Big Brother Best Friend Forever” song first, and then kill her.  Or repeatedly sing the song until she was forced to take her own life.  

Anyway she looked at it, she was in trouble.

End Chapter 6
> Will You Be My Plus One?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna let out a sigh of relief.  Thankfully Cloak and Dagger had wandered along shortly after Twilight’s magic overload.  He had then helped pry the purple unicorn out from between Luna’s front legs.  They had tucked Twilight into her bed and had left her to rest.  She had still not gained consciousness and although Luna was glad she was no longer in the compromising position, she was not eager to tell Celestia and the others about what happened. 

The Moon Princess lifted a hoof to her face.  She had regained the use of her limbs but her body still felt funny.  Maybe it wasn’t the magic, maybe it was because she couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that she had initiated a kiss with Twilight Sparkle.  What had she been thinking?  

“Your Majesty?” Cloak and Dagger asked.  “Is something the matter?”

Luna and her advisor were now seated in her personal chambers.  He had been briefing her on the meeting between Celestia, Cadence and Shining Armor.  She had barely been listening and it was quite apparent to Cloak and Dagger that his Princess’ thoughts were elsewhere.  Seeing as he had been the one to find her with her legs wrapped tightly around Twilight Sparkle, he had a good feeling it had to do with that.  Since she wasn’t paying attention to the royal business anyways, he decided to test the waters.

“Nice day were having isn’t it?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I saw Celestia today.  She was looking F-I-N-E.  I have decided to quit as your Royal Advisor so I can worship HER royal flank.”

“Mmhhmm.”

He laughed inwardly.  She really was somewhere else.  He was very perceptive and as such had noticed the change in his Princess every since the arrival of Twilight Sparkle.   He also knew she was stubborn as a mule and was probably waging an internal struggle at this very second about her feelings for the purple unicorn.  He wanted to test his theory and so he went about it directly.

“Your Majesty?  Do you have feelings for Twilight Sparkle?”

As soon as the name “Twilight Sparkle” was mentioned, Luna was snapped out of her haze.  She looked at Cloak and Dagger curiously, unsure of what she had heard.  It took a moment as she replayed his words in her head and then she coughed loudly.

“Feelings?  What do you mean feelings?” she scoffed, a light pink adorning her dark cheeks.

“I think you know exactly what I mean.”

“Of course I care for her as a teacher would her student.” Luna replied quickly.

“Are you sure?”

Luna nodded her head vigorously.  There was absolutely nothing between her and Twilight Sparkle. The kisses they had shared flashed in her mind.  She grimaced. 

“Well if you’re sure.  I think she is awfully pretty and I was going to ask her to dinner.  I just wanted to make sure you didn’t have feelings for her.”

The dumbstruck look on Luna’s face said it all.  She didn’t even try to hide her sudden splurge of jealousy at the thought of someone asking Twilight on a date.   As Cloak and Dagger grinned deviously at her, she realized she had fallen right into his trap.

“Crap...”

“I don’t understand why you would feel the need to hide it from me.”  The black stallion said, feigning hurt.

Luna sighed.  He was forcing her to be honest about her feelings.  Feelings she had been trying to push aside.  She didn’t want to be falling for anypony.  

“I’m supposed to be teaching Celestia’s protégé.  Tia is grooming her for something bigger than this.  These feelings are wrong, and yet I want to be close to her.  She makes me feel better than I have in one thousand years.  I look forward to our night classes just to see her face.”

“Sounds like you’re in love.”

Luna shook her head.  “I don’t think you can truly be in love unless the other pony loves you back.  Twilight loves Tia.”

Cloak and Dagger was a bit shocked.  “Did she tell you this?”

Luna smiled weakly.  “No, I saw it in her dreams.”

It was Cloak and Dagger’s turn to scoff.  “Dreams?  You know better than anyone that dreams don’t necessarily reflect our true feelings.  I dreamt I was a vat of chocolate pudding and a hyperactive pink pony was eating me.  All it meant was that I needed to lay off the midnight snacks.”

“It’s not the same.”

“You have to stop living in your sister’s shadow.  I know ponies think she is the most beautiful, generous, perfect Alicorn Princess in Equestria.”

Luna’s nostrils flared. “You better have a point.”

“BUT, that’s just an image.  They put her on a pedestal.  I bet you have spent more time in these weeks with Twilight Sparkle then Celestia has in all of her time as Twilight’s mentor.”

Luna was quick to defend her sister.  “Well, that’s because Tia is busy running the Kingdom.”

“I wasn’t meaning it in a negative way.  I’m just saying you should go for it.  If you like her you need to act because Twilight Sparkle is special.  I can tell just from the time I’ve spent with her and if you don’t act, some colt or mare will.”

Luna put a hoof to her head.  She was getting another headache.  Unfortunately everything Cloak and Dagger was saying made sense.  Twilight had after all been the first one to show affection.   Maybe he was right. 

“I should probably go and check on her.”

Cloak and Dagger chuckled.  She was just too stubborn.

“All right.  Promise me you will at least think about what I’ve said?”

Luna nodded, turning to leave.

“Thank you, Cloak and Dagger.  I do appreciate your words.”

The black stallion nodded in response, watching as his Princess trotted off.  He hoped that she would take his advice, if not today then soon.  If anyone could teach the Princess that love was a strength and not a weakness it would be Twilight Sparkle.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom made their way past the huge sign that read "Wonderbolts Academy".  Sweetie had perfected the cloud walking spell that Twilight had taught her, allowing them to be able to visit Scootaloo and drop off Rainbow Dash`s suit.  They made their way in silence, both nervous about seeing their old friend.  Things had changed now, and they were worried about Scootaloo`s reaction to their relationship.

Apple Bloom instinctively grabbed Sweetie Belle's hoof and gave it a squeeze.  The unicorn smiled at her marefriend.  They had gone over this a thousand times.  They needed to tell their friend the truth before the wedding.  As they made their way through the winding corridors, they finally found the wing that Scootaloo's room was located in.  The two ponies let go of each other's hooves as they approached their friend's door.

Sweetie Belled took a deep breath and reached up to knock on the door.  The door swung open before she had a chance to react.  Scootaloo stood on the other side, smiling from ear to ear.

"CMC!" she yelled happily and immediately went for a group hug.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie exchanged a smile and they hugged their friend happily.  It felt good to be together again.  Scootaloo invited them in and they began catching up on everything from the wedding to flight school.  They spent quite awhile talking and laughing until finally Scootaloo reminded them of why they were here.

"Hey, you guys said you had something you needed to tell me right?"

Apple Bloom looked to Sweetie.  Sweetie just nodded.  Scootaloo looked on with curious eyes.

"Well ya see, it's a complicated situation." the earth pony began.

The orange pegasus looked from Apple Bloom to Sweetie Belle, anxiously awaiting their announcement.  When neither one of them spoke, she began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"You guys." Scootaloo replied.  "Do you think I didn't figure out way back when that you liked each other?"

Both Sweetie and Apple Bloom stood there shocked, mouths hanging open.  Scootaloo continued to giggle, relishing in her friends' disbelief.

"You mean ya knew all along?" Apple Bloom asked.

Scootaloo nodded.  "Well you were always staring at Sweetie's flank." She teased.

"Was not!" Apple Bloom defended, as Sweetie joined in with the giggles.

Soon the three of them were all having a good laugh.

"I'm glad you two finally got together.  I was beginning to think Apple Bloom would never get the courage to ask you out."

Sweetie rolled her eyes.  "She never did.  I had to practically throw myself at her.  It was sooo un-ladylike."

Apple Bloom could feel her cheeks get hot and she rushed at her two friends, tackling them both down onto Scootaloo's bed.  As their laugher eventually died down, Scootaloo turned serious.

"I'm glad you two came to visit because I too had something I wanted to tell you." she smiled.  "You aren't the only two mares to have found love in this group."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle gawked at their friend.  Did she have a special somepony too?

"Tell us!" they squealed in unison.

"Calm down." Scootaloo laughed.  

"I'm sorry Scoots but I can't believe it.  I never thought you would ever get over your gigantic crush on Rainbow Dash." Apple Bloom said slyly.

"Ohhhhh Rainbow Dash...." Sweetie Belle echoed in a sing song voice, doing her imitation of Scootaloo.

Scootaloo's cheeks reddenned a bit.  "Hey now..."

"So spill it!  Who is this mysterious mare?  It is a mare right?"  Sweetie asked excitedly.

Scootaloo nodded.  "You think I'm into colts now?  Geez, I've changed but not that much."

"Enough with the suspense." Apple Bloom interjected.  "Tell us now."

Scootaloo looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well she is supposed to be picking me up for dinner right away.  I wasn't sure what time you guys would show up so I didn't change our plans.  I'm sure she won't mind the extra company."

As if on cue, there was a sudden knock at the door.

"Coming." Scootaloo grinned, bouncing off the bed to greet her visitor.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle waited anxiously as the door swung open.  Their mouths dropped for the second time that day.

"Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo greeted, deliberately copying the sing song way that Sweetie Belle had mocked her earlier.

Rainbow Dash stood smiling as Scootaloo flung herself into her marefriend's arms.  Rainbow quickly pushed past the doorway, making sure nopony saw her enter a student's room.  She let out a sigh of relief and then eagerly descended on Scootaloo, pulling the younger pegasus into her embrace.

Sweetie and Apple Bloom could only stare as they watched their friend and her mentor makeout in front of them.  Rainbow Dash had yet to see that Scootaloo had company.  After a few more soft kisses, Rainbow finally glanced up.  She then did a double take as Sweetie and Apple Bloom waved slowly at her.

"Uh oh." She managed, as Scootaloo turned around in her arms.

Scootaloo managed to give her friends the largest shit eating grin in the world.  She was not only dating Rainbow Dash, she was dating THE Rainbow Dash.


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Luna knocked on Twilight’s door before she entered slowly.  She was surprised to see the purple mare sitting upright in her bed.  Her muzzle was stuffed between the pages of a book.  She recognized it to be the Harry Potter novel that she had brought to the room earlier.  Luna waited at the doorway watching as Twilight eagerly flipped a page, a smile adorning the unicorn’s face.

“Am I interrupting?” she called out.

Twilight jumped, looking up.

“Princess Luna!  I’m so glad to see you.  This book is AMAZING!”  She squealed with delight.

Luna made her way to the edge of Twilight’s bed.  “I knew it would be something you would enjoy.  How are you feeling?”

Twilight wriggled in the bed, closing the book as she patted a spot beside her.  Luna tentatively looked around before sitting down.  Cloak and Dagger’s words kept ringing in her head.

“How are you feeling?” 

“My chest still hurts but the salve helps.” Twilight said, looking down.

“I am really sorry about the burn mark.  I hope it will eventually fade out.”

Twilight smiled.  “I actually think it gives me character.  I’ve got a battle scar like all of the heroes I read about in my favorite books.  Kind of like Harry Potter’s scar.” She beamed.

“Harry’s scar wasn’t self inflicted.” Luna grinned, unable to stop herself from reaching out to ruffle her student’s mane.

Twilight laughed too, silently enjoying the feeling of Luna’s hooves.  Luna then looked at her student thoughtfully.  Should she do as Cloak and Dagger suggested and “go for it.”?  She took a deep breath.  If she was going to do this then she just needed to be honest and put herself out there.  If Twilight rejected her then at least she would know the truth.

“I like you.” she said simply.

Twilight blinked.  Luna liked her?  Had she heard correctly?

“I like you a lot.  I know you have feelings for Tia but I can’t help how I feel.  I didn’t think it was fair to either of us for me to go on without telling you the truth.”

When Twilight said nothing, Luna’s heart sank.  Well at least she knew the truth now.  She turned to leave the room.

“Luna...” Twilight began softly, but was abruptly cut off.

“It’s okay Twilight.  You don’t have to justify or explain.  Let’s forget I said anything okay?  Please?”

“I like you too.”

The hair on her mane stood straight up as Twilight’s words settled in the air.  She slowly turned around to face the purple mare.  Twilight was blushing furiously, unable to make eye contact.  Her hooves were wrapped tightly around her blanket.

“You do?” Luna asked in disbelief.

Twilight nodded as Luna slowly trotted back to her side, sitting down on the bed.  She could feel her own cheeks burning as realization set in.  The two mares sat in silence for a moment until Luna nervously reached out, taking Twilight’s muzzle between her hooves.  She gently leaned down to rest her forehead against her student’s.  Twilight sighed happily, relishing the feeling of being close to Luna.

“I’m not good at these sorts of things.  It’s been awhile.” Luna whispered.

Twilight smiled, looking up at Luna.  “We can take things slowly.  I’ve never been in this situation before either.”

Luna nodded, letting go of her student’s muzzle.  She wanted more than anything to lean in and kiss Twilight’s gorgeous lips, but somehow the moment felt wrong.  She wanted to keep it sweet and light.  There was also a part of her that wasn’t sure she could stop at just kissing.  Twilight suddenly clasped her hooves together.

“I have a great idea!  I had been meaning to tell you about this for awhile but I was waiting to perfect my barrier spell.” She said, sheepishly.

Luna smiled.  “What is it?”

“Well, two of my best friends in the world are getting married next week.  I am supposed to be in the bridal party.  I wasn’t sure if I would make it or not because of my studies, but I really want to be there for them.”

“Of course.” Luna said.  “You could have come to me sooner, I would have let you go...” she trailed off as Twilight placed a hoof on her lips, shushing her.

“Come with me.” She whispered.  “You can be my plus one.”

Luna’s eyes widened.  “You want me to be your date for the wedding?”

Twilight blushed again but nodded excitedly.  “I mean, we can just go as friends or student and teacher.  I just thought it would be something nice we could do together.” She finished quickly.

Luna’s mouth turned upwards as she donned a ridiculously large grin.  “Twilight Sparkle did you just ask me to be your date and then take it back?”

“Ahh no.” Twilight squirmed.  “I just didn’t want you to feel pressured to go with me.”

Luna leaned in close to Twilight’s face and ever so gently placed a small kiss on her neck.  “I’d love to be your plus one.”

Twilight felt like she was going to explode with happiness.  Between Luna’s lips on her neck and the Princess agreeing to accompany her to the wedding, she was ecstatic. 

“So when do we leave?” Luna asked.

Twilight was taken back.  “Well I don’t need to be there till the day before the wedding...”

“Really?  Because I was just thinking that your friends could probably use all the help they can get.  I’m sure your magic could come in handy in finishing last minute details.  Plus I know you haven’t seen your friends in awhile.  I’m sure you have some catching up to do.  Pack your bags, next stop Ponyville.” She winked.

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked, wrapping her arms around Luna’s neck.  

The purple mare was overjoyed.  She had been missing Ponyville, Spike and all of her friends so much.  It would be wonderful to have some extra time to spend with them. 

“Celestia and I, along with Cadence and Shining Armor were all invited to the wedding.  Seeing as it was between the two bearers of Honest and Generosity, royalty was invited.  I just wanted you to know that my sister and your brother will be there.  I hope that doesn’t make it awkward.”

Twilight smiled and let go of Luna.  She knew her brother was the one she should be worried about as he was slightly overprotective, but she found it was Celestia that sprang to her mind first.  It was true that she had harbored a small crush on her mentor at one time.  Now though, her crush seemed like something so tiny compared to what she felt at the mere thought of being in Luna`s presence, let alone her strong embrace.

“I don’t have a problem with that.  Besides were taking it slowly yes?”

Luna nodded.  “I’m sending for a chariot now.  Pack your bags and be ready in an hour.  Unfortunately I won’t be able to come with you as I have things to attend to here, but I promise to see you as soon as I can.  I will let your brother and the others know that you are in Ponyville.” 

Twilight’s heart sank.  She had kind of been hoping that Luna would come with her.  Of course the Princess was busy with royal duties.  She felt silly for even allowing herself to think Luna would accompany her.  Before she could say anything else, Luna tilted her head with a hoof.

“I’ll miss you.” she said softly.  “You better be safe.  Remember I will have the royal guards keeping an eye out.” She teased.

Twilight nuzzled Luna’s hoof with her face.  She suddenly didn’t want to leave.  This had all happened so fast.   What if while she was away Luna changed her mind?  Twilight wrapped both hooves around Luna’s midsection and silently hugged her.  Luna wasn’t sure what to say at this sudden display of affection, and so she hugged Twilight back, kissing her forehead.

“I better let you get packed, or I’m afraid I may not let you go.” Luna whispered into Twilight’s ear.

Twilight sighed contentedly.  She didn’t want to let Luna go, but reluctantly she loosened her grip.  Luna placed one last kiss on Twilight’s cheek before she too released her hold.  As the two mares looked longingly into each other’s eyes, time seemed to stop for them.

Cloak and Dagger smiled as he moved away from the open door.  The Princess had taken his advice.  He couldn’t be happier.  He was pretty damn sure this was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. 

He would now mentally add match making to his list of wonderful qualities.

> Tonight Tonight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight Sparkle smiled warmly as a small cup of tea was placed in front of her.  It had been three days since she had last seen Princess Luna.  Twilight had busied herself as soon as she had arrived in Ponyville.   Rarity and Applejack still had much that needed to be done before the big day.  The purple unicorn had reunited with Spike, and Rarity had sent the pair on errands right away.  The days had been busy, but the nights had been long.  Twilight found herself constantly thinking of the Moon Princess.  She couldn’t be sure, because she had no experience in these types of things, but she was beginning to think she may be falling in love.  

“Darling, are you all right?” 

Twilight immediately looked up at the alabaster unicorn whose brow had become furrowed.  They were currently taking a small break and enjoying the warm afternoon sun, as they sat on the porch overlooking Sweet Apple Acres.  Spike had returned to the library to grab more parchment and quills.  The best form of organization was list making, and Twilight was a definite professional when it came to lists.  Applejack was just coming up the steps, as Rarity hoofed her fiancé a tall, cold glass of apple juice.

“I’m fine Rarity.” Twilight said, shaking her head.

“Twilight, you can’t fool me.  You’ve got that far off look in your eye.  You only get that look when you’re thinking and thinking hard.  Now out with it darling.”

Twilight’s cheeks blazed red and she stared deeply into her cup of tea, as if it was the most interesting thing she had ever laid eyes on.  She waited a few seconds before lifting her head.  Sapphire eyes burned through her. 

“Ah Rares, if she doesn’t want to talk about it then don’t pressure her.”  Applejack smiled, wrapping a hoof around Rarity.

Rarity turned her head from Twilight up to Applejack, nuzzling her muzzle softly.

“But what if she does want to talk about it?  We are her good friends, and I just wanted her to know she can come to us about anything.”

Applejack nodded and returned the nuzzle.  Twilight couldn’t help but notice how adorable Applejack and Rarity were with each other.  Things sure had changed.  She remembered a time when the two couldn’t stand to be around each other because of their differences.  Was it true that opposites attract?  Rarity and Applejack were very obviously in love.   It couldn’t hurt to ask her friends some questions that were on her mind.  She cleared her throat.

“Well, actually there is something I want to ask you about.”  Twilight started.

The two ponies waited for her to continue as they nodded their heads.

“How did you know you were in love?” Twilight asked slowly.

Applejack looked from Twilight and back to Rarity.  Rarity shared her gaze and they both turned back to Twilight.

“Have you met somepony?” Rarity asked slyly.

“A special somepony?”  Applejack grinned.

Twilight blushed harder and looked down.  “M-Maybe. “

“Darling!  How could you not tell us?”  Rarity asked, sharing Applejack’s grin.

Twilight was at a crossroads.  She really did want her friends’ advice, but she wasn’t ready yet for them to know about Luna.  They were taking things slowly after all, and the fact she hadn’t seen or heard from the Princess in days, was making her feel insecure.

“I’m not really sure of anything right now.” Twilight admitted.  “I did meet sompeony wonderful.  But we are taking it slow.  I just have all these crazy feelings rolling around in my head and heart.  So please tell me, how did you know?”

“Is it a mare or a stallion?” Rarity continued.

“I can’t really say right now...” Twilight trailed off.

“Ah bet it’s a certain Princess.” Applejack said with a wink.

Twilight’s mouth opened wide.  How did they know?

“Twilight Sparkle!”  Rarity’s eyes became as big as saucers.  “You’ve fallen for the Princess and you didn’t tell us?”

Twilight winced.  She couldn’t believe they had guessed.  How in the world had they known?  Was it that obvious? 

“Princess Celestia?” Applejack let out a low whistle.  “Yeehaw!”

Wait...What?  NO!

Twilight immediately raised her fore legs  in the air.  “No!!!  It’s definitely not Princess Celestia.  Please stop asking.  I promise I will tell you after the wedding.  But until then I can’t say a word.” 

The purple unicorn was breathing heavily, her mane looking rather matted.

“Relax Twi.”  Applejack trotted over to the other side of the table and gave her a small squeeze. “We promise we won’t grill ya any more.”

“To answer your question darling, one simply just knows.  It’s a feeling you get in your heart.  You can’t wait to see that somepony, or be with that somepony.” Rarity said, smiling.

“And when yer away from that somepony, you can’t stop thinking bout em’.”  Applejack continued. 

“You would do anything to see them happy.”

“Yer heart breaks when they’re hurt or sad.”

“It’s like you don’t want to fall asleep, because finally your reality is better than your dreams.”

““Knowing in yer heart that somepony has your back no matter what.  That you can trust and depend on them.”

“You don’t mind helping them wipe the mud off their hooves after a hard day of work.  You know its proof they were really working and not off with another mare.”  Rarity teased, elbowing Applejack.

Applejack grinned.  “How about when their “fainting couch” breaks from overuse and ya fix it without complaining?”

The two mares continued to giggle and tease, becoming wrapped up in each other and oblivious to their friend.  Twilight was taking it all in.  She wondered if she should get a quill and write this all down.  It would be good study material to go over later.  Unfortunately she remembered that Spike wasn’t back from the store yet.  She was about to ask Applejack if maybe Granny Smith had a spare quill, when a familiar voice was heard behind her.

“Hello everypony.  I hope I’m not interrupting.”

Twilight’s body twisted around as she turned to face another old friend.

“Fluttershy!” she yelled, leaping out of her chair to hug the yellow pegasus.

“Oh my.  Hello Twilight.  Hello girls.” Fluttershy smiled as she returned Twilight’s hug.

“Where is he?  Where is he?”  Rarity yelped, suddenly pulling away from Applejack to search Fluttershy.

“The little one was up all night.  We decided it was best if we let him sleep.  His daddy promised to bring him over when he woke up.”

Rarity clasped her hooves together in excitement.  The little one they were referring to was Fluttershy’s infant foal.  He was born shortly before Twilight had left for Canterlot.  Twilight couldn’t wait to see the little guy again. 

“I bet he’s adorable!” Twilight said excitedly.

“Oh he is.  He has been a bit of a handful lately though.”  Fluttershy said, sitting in the empty chair beside Twilight.

“Ah’d say he comes by it honestly.” Applejack remarked.

Fluttershy blushed and nodded. It was then that she turned to Twilight and noticed the scathing burn mark adorning her chest.

“Oh my.  Twilight what happened?  Are you okay?”

Twilight nodded her head.  “I had an accident with magic.”

Fluttershy studied the burn mark closer.  “Oh, it sort of looks like a crescent moon.”

“That’s what ah said too.” Applejack interjected.

Rarity nodded in agreement.   Twilight looked down at her chest and traced the outline of the burn with the tip of her hoof.  It was still painful, and yet whenever she looked at it, she remembered Princess Luna tending lovingly to the wound.

“Hey Fluttershy, where’s Pinkie Pie?” Twilight asked, changing the subject.

“Oh Pinkie is very busy.  I have never seen her so serious.  She told me she was busy preparing last minute details for the wedding party and that she would meet up with us later on.”

“Well, as long as her party cannon is locked and loaded, Ah’d say we’re good to go.”  Applejack laughed.

The others nodded too.

“Twilight!” yelled a familiar voice.

Once again the group turned to see Spike running up the grassy hill towards the porch.  As Twilight waved to her assistant, she noticed he was carrying a scroll in his claws.  The scroll had the Royal Canterlot seal on it.   

Spike huffed and puffed.  Although he was no longer a baby dragon, he was still growing and it would take many more years before he grew to his full size and strength.  He quickly handed her the scroll.

“A letter from the princess...” he wheezed, as he caught his breath.  

Twilight at once noticed the black lettering on the base of the scroll that read “URGENT”.

“I ran as fast as I could because it looked really important.” Spike finished, as Rarity poured him a cold drink.

The purple dragon happily gulped down the liquid as he and everyone else waited for Twilight to open the scroll.

“Well sugarcube, what are ya waiting for?  Better find out what Princess Celestia wants.” Applejack prodded.

Twilight nodded and opened the letter.  Immediately she felt a soft flutter in her stomach.  The letter was not from Celestia, but from Princess Luna.  She could feel that familiar blush rise to her cheeks as she quickly read the Princess’ letter.  Her lips then curved into a small smile that soon became a large grin.  She stared at the letter and read it again, all the while grinning like a fool.  She then put the letter down and was surprised to see four curious faces looking back at her.

“Oh...” She stammered.  “It’s from my teacher, Princess Luna.  It’s nothing to worry about.  She was just making sure I was studying while on this break.”

Twilight was sure that the blush adorning her cheeks would give away her lie, but thankfully everypony and dragon seemed to accept that as a suitable response.

Spike sighed.  “I ran a marathon for that?”

Rarity giggled.  “Oh Spike, I’m sure a rough and tough dragon such as yourself, had no problem with that task.”

Spike puffed out his chest.  “Of course not, Rarity.  It was nothing for a guy like me.”

Everyone laughed.  Twilight was happy for Spike’s distraction.  Her mind wandered back to the Princess’ letter.  She couldn’t wait to get home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Well, I for one think it’s adorable.” Sweetie Belle smiled, clasping her hooves together.

“Aww thanks Sweetie.” Scootaloo said, reaching out to squeeze Rainbow Dash’s hoof.

Rainbow could only blush.  She was completely uncomfortable.  The four ponies were seated at a Cafe near the Wonderbolts training facility.  She wasn’t sure how she had gotten to this point and she was still a bit unsure of how to proceed.  She loved Scootaloo, this much was for certain, but she had only realized it when Scoots had shown up at the Academy this year as a new student.  She had tried hard to deny her attraction to the younger pony.  But Scootaloo had made that almost impossible.  Rainbow had spent many nights awake, wondering what to do about her predicament.

“So what happened next?” Sweetie Belle asked excitedly.

They were currently in the middle of Scootaloo telling the story of how she and Rainbow Dash had gotten together.  Apple Bloom had been noticeably silent through most of the conversation.  The yellow earth pony wasn’t sure why, but she felt slightly uncomfortable about the student/teacher relationship.  Maybe it was because she had grown up with Granny Smith’s old school values, or maybe it was just because she remembered Rainbow Dash as a mentor to all of them.  But she wanted to give their story a chance and so she continued to listen intently.

“Well, it took some time, but I finally got Rainbow Dash to admit she had feelings for me.  Of course neither one of us wanted to jeopardize the others place in the Academy.  So, Rainbow Dash, being the loyal friend that she is, went to Headmistress Spitfire to explain the situation and give her resignation.”

Rainbow Dash looked down as Scootaloo told the story.  

“She thought it was my dream to be a Wonderbolt too.  Little did she know that my dream was just to be by her side.  I couldn’t let her go and throw away her dream for me.  I interrupted her meeting with Spitfire, giving her my own resignation as a student.  Spitfire didn’t say anything at first; in fact it looked like she was deep in thought.”

“So romantic...” Sweetie Belle said.  “And then?”

Rainbow Dash lifted a hoof to Scootaloo’s mouth.  Scootaloo looked at Rainbow and Rainbow smiled, giving her a nuzzle.  

“It was epic.  Spitfire just shook her head at the both of us.  She told us she didn’t want to lose either of us but that we were right, student and teacher relationships were clearly frowned upon.  Scoots told her she would leave, and that would solve the problem.”  Rainbow said, putting a hoof around her marefriend.

At this point even Apple Bloom was on the edge of her seat, wondering how Rainbow and Scootaloo had gotten around the teacher/student policy.

“C’mon don’t leave us hanging.” Sweetie begged.

Rainbow Dash grinned.  “Spitfire mentioned now that Scootaloo was no longer a student, the Wonderbolts had been looking for a flight choreographer.  She had noticed that Scoots had a knack for stunts and tricks and thought she would be perfect for the job.”

Scootaloo beamed.  “I, of course accepted.  I’ve been helping the Wonderbolts choreograph their in-house flight shows since then.  It’s actually pretty great, and best of all when I’m done working, I get to see Rainbow Dash. “

Sweetie Belle clapped her hooves together.  “That was sooooo sweet!”

Apple Bloom smiled at her friends.  After hearing their story she felt better.  She was glad they had found love, and they seemed genuinely happy.  Sweetie Belle was right, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo made a gorgeous looking couple.

“Can you guys just keep this on the down low until the wedding is over?” Rainbow asked, looking across the table.

“We’re in the same boat as you.  Can you keep our secret?” Sweetie Belle asked, winking.

The former crusaders looked at each other and without another thought, lifted their hooves into the air.  All three hooves slapped together at the same time.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS: SECRET KEEPERS! YAAAY!” they said in unison.

As the entire populous of the cafe stared, Rainbow Dash just shook her head.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Twilight Sparkle stepped out onto her balcony.  The wedding was now only one more day away.  Since Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had yet to return from the Wonderbolts Academy, Spike had stayed with Rarity and Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres.  They were going to be up early to finish the last minute preparations and then in the afternoon there would be a quick run through to make sure everything would be perfect for the big day.  Although she missed Spike dearly, she was happy to see he had become so close with Applejack and Rarity.  It was almost as if he had become their adopted teenage son in some way.  It had always been in Spike’s nature to want to help, and her friends repaid his helpfulness with love.  Rarity always made sure he was taken care of, and now that Spike had grown a bit stronger, Applejack enjoyed his company in the fields.  

Twilight was so deep in thought that she didn’t hear the soft thud behind her, as a guest landed on her balcony.  She did hear the unfurling or her guest’s wings though, and turned around quickly.  Her gaze fell upon Princess Luna, who smiled slyly at her student.

“I see you received my letter.” The Princess said, emerging from the shadows.

Twilight nodded, as she stepped closer to where Luna was standing.  Their bodies touched, and they nuzzled lightly.  Twilight sighed happily, pressing her muzzle into Luna’s soft fur.  Luna chuckled, as she reached out to cup Twilight’s face in her hooves.  She looked down lovingly at her student, before softly kissing her muzzle.  Luna enjoyed the shocked look on Twilight’s face, before she leaned in to firmly plant her lips on the purple unicorn.  Twilight closed her eyes, as Luna kissed her.  So many feelings ran through her body at once.  When Luna finally pulled away, Twilight reached up and pulled her back down, initiating another kiss.  

Luna wrapped her wings around Twilight, holding her close as she slipped her tongue inside the young mare’s mouth.  Twilight let out a low moan, as Luna’s tongue pressed softly against her own.  They continued to kiss for several more seconds, until the Princess broke the kiss.  Twilight panted slowly, instantly missing the closeness.

“That was....”

“Incredible!” Twilight whispered, blushing as she looked up at her teacher.

Luna smiled and nuzzled Twilight once more.  

“Sorry this had to be such a short meeting.  We are all so busy making sure everything is done or delegated to be done so we can attend the wedding.  I just had to see you before then.”

Twilight sighed as she leaned into Luna.  “Do you really have to go already?  I know you’re busy, but I’ve missed you.” She whispered.

“Unfortunately royalty doesn’t get a day off without sacrifices.  Would it help to know that I am using every ounce of willpower at this moment to force myself to go?" Luna asked, pushing a hoof up under Twilight’s chin.

Twilight laughed.  “I suppose it helps a little bit.”

“I almost forgot.” Luna said, her horn glowing. “I come bearing a gift.”

A book appeared out of nowhere and floated into Twilight’s hooves.  She read the title out loud.

“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.”  Twilight gasped happily.  “Oh Princess how did you know I had finished the other book?”

“Just a feeling I had.” Luna smiled.  “I know you are an avid reader.  When you’re done with that one, the third book is on your desk in your room at the castle.  A little incentive for you to come back to me quickly once the wedding is over.”

Twilight blushed.  “I have enough incentive at the moment.  But thank you Princess, thank you for thinking of me.”

“Hey, I was thinking when were alone, you could just call me Luna.”

Twilight looked up at the Moon Princess.  “Okay...Luna.”

Luna gave Twilight one last quick kiss on the muzzle, before she spread her wings to leave.  “I’ll see you at the wedding.  If you need anything before then, send a letter.”

Twilight nodded as the Princess stepped onto the railing of her balcony, giving her one final goodbye smile, before flapping her wings and taking off into the night sky.  Without hesitation, Twilight moved to her telescope, watching Luna as she flew through the air, becoming smaller and smaller until she was just a speck of light.  Twilight smiled as she looked up at the moon.

If she hadn’t been completely certain before, she was now.  Twilight Sparkle was falling in love with the Princess of the Moon.

End Chapter


> A Sweet Apple Acres Wedding-Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author’s Note:  It has come to my attention that some readers that have this story on their favourites list were not properly notified when the last chapter was posted.  I believe that was my fault because after I submitted the document, I noticed a huge error and accidentally pressed “unpublish” instead of edit.  Therefore if you haven’t read the last chapter, please go back and do so.  Thank you everyone!

Chapter 9

The day of the wedding had finally arrived.  Twilight Sparkle had enjoyed a busy morning.  Rainbow Dash had arrived the night before and the bearers of the Elements of Harmony were reunited once more.   It had almost felt like old times with all of her friends gathered together in one place.  Still, she would be lying if she said she was completely content.  There was sompeony she was definitely looking forward to seeing today.  She wasn’t sure how much time she could actually spend with that pony, but she would do her best to be as near to her Princess as she could.

The ceremony was going to start in about forty five minutes.  The guests had begun arriving and already Sweet Apple Acres was bustling with ponies.  Big Macintosh had just finished giving his sister a pep talk, and was now off to help Granny Smith.  Applejack had wanted her brother to stand beside her as well as her sister, but it was decided that someone had to keep an eye on Granny.  Since her hip replacement Granny had become quite spry and it was best that someone sit with her to make sure she didn’t get into trouble.

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were admiring how awesome they looked in their tuxedos.  They continued to dart from Applejack’s room to Rarity’s.  Rarity had insisted it was bad luck for Applejack to see her before the wedding and so they had been separated.  Their friends, wanting to support them both, had been switching rooms and taking turns.

Fluttershy was putting the finishing touches on Rarity’s veil, while Rarity’s mother, Pearl, worked on her mane.  Rarity was talking quickly and excitedly but Twilight was only half listening to what she was saying.  Instead she craned her neck out the second story window, checking to see who was arriving.  Her heart jumped in her chest as she recognized a royal chariot.  It was her brother and Princess Cadence.  She knew if they were here, then Luna and Celestia must be on their way as well.

“Looking for somepony?”  Rainbow Dash asked casually.

Twilight was startled.  Rainbow Dash had caught her off guard.  Before she could reply, Dash’s attention was averted.

“Hey there’s Spitfire and Soarin’!”  She said excitedly.  “Oh my gosh the headmistress is HUGE!  She looks like she’s going to have that foal any minute now.”

Rainbow Dash called Scootaloo over to the window to gawk at their pregnant headmistress.  While the two mares giggled, Twilight decided to seek out some fresh air.  As she made her way down the hall, she checked in on Applejack.

“Everything okay in here? “ She called out.

Applejack grinned and flashed Twilight the “hoofs up” sign.  The purple unicorn was about to make her way downstairs when she turned and bumped into another familiar figure.  She shook herself and looked up.

“My dear Twilight, it’s been too long.”

“Discord!” Twilight exclaimed, genuinely happy to see the draconequus.  

Twilight’s eyes shifted from Discord to what he had in his arms, or rather who.  Discord was holding a small foal.  The most adorable foal that Twilight had ever laid eyes upon.   The draconequus was holding the infant so closely and so sweetly that Twilight had to smile.

“Fatherhood looks good on you.” She stated.   She grinned as the foal stretched his forelegs.

Discord smiled back.  The god of chaos had been reigned in and now was adjusting to the chaotic life of being a parent.  Twilight could tell from the way Discord looked down upon his son that he was quite the proud father.

“Have you seen my lovely wife?” Discord asked, looking past her.

Twilight motioned to Rarity’s room and began tickling the foal with her hoof.  He laughed happily at the attention and as his giggles became louder, his mother trotted into the hallway.

“Oh my.  I knew I heard my little darling laughing.”  Fluttershy said, joining Twilight and Discord.

Discord handed their son over to Fluttershy before embracing her.  Twilight couldn’t help but think how sweet they looked together.   An odd looking family to most, but a family filled with love.   The lion Discord had fallen for his little lamb, Fluttershy.  Twilight could remember when Fluttershy announced her pregnancy.  Everyone, including Discord had been worried about what type of being she may be carrying.  Fluttershy herself never worried once.  She knew that her son had been conceived in love and therefore whatever form he took, she would love him no matter what.  As it turned out he was born a normal, healthy, happy foal.  His fur was yellow, like his mother, but his mane was a deep grey in color.  Fluttershy made the mistake of letting Discord name their son, and so Gentle Chaos was the name he was given.  Although Gentle Chaos was born of a pegasus pony, he was in fact a unicorn.  They figured it must be because of Discord’s magical influence.  Twilight watched the happy family for a few more moments, before she turned to leave.

“C’mon you ponies we need to take our places.”  Rainbow Dash yelled to Pinkie Pie and Apple Bloom.

Pinkie Pie gave Applejack one last hug before she bounced into the hallway with Rainbow Dash.  Apple Bloom whispered something to Sweetie Belle before she joined the others.  Scootaloo followed Apple Bloom as she went to take her seat downstairs.  Twilight shook her head and made her way back to Rarity’s room.

It had begun.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Princess Luna stared intently at Twilight Sparkle.  Twilight was standing at the altar along with Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle.  Rarity’s father, Magnum, was walking her down the aisle.  Luna knew she should be paying attention to the wedding itself, but she couldn’t get over how gorgeous her student looked.  Twilight’s dress was magnificent, and suited her perfectly.  Luna couldn’t stop looking.  The light blush that crept across Twilight’s cheeks let her know that Twilight knew she was staring.

The fact that Luna was so interested in the wedding was not lost on her sister.  Celestia had attended many functions with Luna, and knew that Luna was not at all a fan of weddings.  Yet, as she observed Luna now, her sister seemed absolutely engrossed in the wedding taking place before their eyes.  Maybe her sister was finally growing up?  Celestia shook her head.  She was smarter than that.  Something else was definitely going on and the Princess of the Sun was determined to find out what it was.

Rarity was now holding Applejack’s hoofs and the minister pony was saying many words.  Celestia continued to watch her sister.  Luna’s eyes hadn’t moved from the one spot she was staring.  Celestia followed her gaze and was not overly surprised to see Twilight Sparkle in her sister’s line of vision.  From the way Twilight was blushing it seemed that she was aware she was being watched.  Was there more to Twilight and Luna then just a student/teacher relationship? 
Celestia’s lips curved into a thin smile.  Well whatever it was, it was keeping Luna quiet for the moment.  Celestia turned her attention back to Rarity and Applejack.  They were almost to the part where they were finally about to read their vows when suddenly a cry erupted from behind the Princess.

“AHHHHHHHH---“

Everypony’s attention was averted as they looked towards the sound of the voice.  It belonged to Spitfire.  Her face was twisted in agony as she held her tummy with her hooves.

“IT’S COMING!” she yelled and grabbed Soarin’s hoof.

“Owwwwww.” He yelped, as his hoof was crushed.

“Wait till you step on a Lego.  Now that is pain.”  Discord whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Somepony help her.” Soarin’ yelled as ponies began to move out of their seats, giving the pregnant mare space.

“Everypony calm down.  Give them room.”  Celestia said, as Nurse Redheart and Nurse Sweetheart made their way to where Spitfire was now laying.

The nurses checked Spitfire out and exchanged glances.  “This foal is on the way now.”

Everypony gasped.

“GET IT OUT OF ME!” Spitfire cried out.  

Soarin’ tried calming her down but Spitfire was in too much pain.  The nurses began urging her to push and soon she was breathing heavily.  Twilight took advantage of the moment and hurried up to Luna’s side.  Luna looked down and did a double take as she noticed Twilight beside her.  Twilight nuzzled her teacher closely, causing Luna to shiver excitedly.  Everypony was either preoccupied with Spitfire or consoling Rarity.  Rarity was trying to be supportive of Spitfire’s situation but everypony worried she thought her big day had been ruined.

“Come with me.” Twilight whispered, grasping the opportunity.

Luna nodded as Twilight’s horn glowed and suddenly they were transported inside the barn.  Twilight felt a wing drape over her body, before she was pushed onto a hay stack.  Luna descended upon her and their lips met passionately.  The purple unicorn wasn’t sure what had come over her.  The magnitude of Luna’s staring had made her all hot and bothered.  She knew she should be out there helping Rarity.  She knew she and Luna were supposed to be taking things slow.  She also knew it was so incredibly wrong to have hauled Luna off to the barn in secret.  None of these realizations stopped her from opening her lips when she felt Luna’s tongue pressing against them.  Luna held Twilight down as she ravaged her lips.  The two mares continued enjoying each other’s lips and mouths until Luna finally broke the kiss.

Twilight let out a contented sigh as Luna rolled to the side.  The Princess’ hoof began to stroke Twilight’s soft belly as she pushed it under the fabric of Twilight’s dress.  She couldn’t help but think how good that dress would look crumpled up on the floor in her royal chambers.  Luna gave the unicorn a crooked grin.

“You were REALLY happy to see me.”  Luna smirked.

Twilight nodded her head as she caught her breath.  “I’m sorry.  I don’t know what’s wrong with me.  I just couldn’t help myself. “

Luna smiled and pulled Twilight up to her hooves.  She slowly began to dust the hay bits off of her companion’s dress.  When she was satisfied, she gave Twilight a soft hug.

“I wish we could stay like this, but we had better get back before we are discovered.”

Twilight reluctantly agreed.  They made their way to the barn doors and then slipped out, returning to the wedding.  As they left another spark of magic was ignited and two more ponies appeared in the barn.

“You sure nopony saw us?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Shhhh.” Sweetie Belle shushed her marefriend with a kiss, her horn still glowing from the teleportation spell.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Twilight made her way back to the crowd she noticed right away that Spitfire was holding a small bundle in her hooves.  Soarin’ had his hoof wrapped around his wife and his newborn and was looking quite proud.  Everypony was giving their congratulations including Rarity.  The newborn foal was a little mare.  As Rarity stepped up to where Soarin’ and Spitfire were sitting, she suddenly began to cry.  Applejack raced to her side to comfort her bride.  

“It’s goin’ ta be okay Rares.  We can still have the weddin’.” Applejack consoled her.

Rarity looked at her marefriend from under the tears and shook her head.  “No darling, you’ve misunderstood.  I’m not crying because I’m upset.”

“You’re not?” Applejack asked.

“You’re not?” echoed Pinkie Pie.

“She’s not?” asked the crowd.

Rarity shook her head.  “I’m crying because...because...”

The crowd waited with baited breath.

“She’s so adorable and I WANT ONE!”  Rarity balled, hugging Spitfire and her foal.

Applejack’s face paled as everypony around them burst out in laughter.  Celestia and Cadence were now talking to the minister and it seemed that everything was in order to proceed.  Shining Armor noticed Luna and Twilight trotting side by side and couldn’t help but glare.  Luna flashed him her most devious grin, while Twilight rushed ahead to greet her brother.  Mayor Mare stepped onto the altar and made an official announcement that the wedding would resume in thirty minutes time.

TO BE CONTINUED---



End chapter 9

> A Sweet Apple Acres Wedding-Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Luna gazed happily up at the night sky.  Hours had passed since Rarity and Applejack had finally said their vows.  Sweetie Belle had graced the guests with her singing, followed promptly by a double sonic rainboom, performed by Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo.  Shining Armor had been quite impressed, surprising the residents of Ponyville with his liquid pride.  There had been a short intermission as the wedding party took pictures and tables were set up for the dinner as well as the dance floor.  The food had been superb, especially the desserts.  The Cakes’ had outdone themselves yet again and the slight ache in her tummy let Luna know she had overdone it on the goodies.  Still, even with the tummy ache, she felt an overwhelming happiness creep over her as she watched her little ponies laughing, dancing and having fun underneath her bright, beautiful moon.

Applejack and Rarity were currently dancing cheek to cheek, swaying in time to the music.  Spike was knee deep in a special gem cake that Applejack had ordered just for him.  Pinkie Pie was teaching the Lunar and Solar guards that had accompanied the Princesses a new dance.  Cloak and Dagger was glaring a hole through Luna while Pinkie went on about the “Harlem Shake”.  Granny Smith was also eager to show off her sweet new moves and was breaking in her new hip with Shining Armor.  Shining didn’t mind because Cadence was in deep discussion with Fluttershy about foal bearing.  Sweetie Belle had a few too many drinks and was currently being held up by Apple Bloom.  Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were floating above the dance floor on a cloud.  Scootaloo had a dreamy expression on her face as she watched the couples dancing.  

Luna’s gaze wandered and then settled on a certain purple unicorn.  Twilight Sparkle was currently in a deep conversation with her sister, Princess Celestia.  Luna’s thoughts were reeling as she took in the situation.  Twilight was talking excitedly and Celestia was laughing.  They looked so comfortable together.  Luna couldn’t help but think how beautifully her marefriend and sister seemed to go together.  She shook her head, trying to banish those thoughts.  She didn’t want to wreck the wonderful evening with thoughts of jealousy.  Just as she allowed herself to dismiss those thoughts, Twilight came trotting up to her side.  All thoughts of anything except her adorable student vanished as Twilight lay down beside Luna allowing their hooves to briefly touch.  Luna smiled at Twilight and then called out to her sister.

“Dearest Sister, I do believe it’s much the same as it was so many years ago when we attended school.  Nopony ever asks a poor princess to dance.” She said, laying a hoof on her forehead for dramatic effect.

An almost eerie smile lit up Celestia’s face as she nodded.  “Luna whatever shall we do?  None of our little ponies sees fit to ask us for a dance?”

Luna reached out for Twilight’s hoof.  “Shall we dance?”

Twilight was stunned as Luna rose to her hooves and twirled the unicorn around whimsically.  Celestia giggled and was surprised as well when a certain Draconequus bowed and offered her his paw.

“Oh my.” Celestia said, respectfully bowing back.

“I’m not a good dancer.” Twilight tried to protest.

Luna wasn’t listening as she dragged her partner onto the dance floor.  Applejack and Rarity exchanged knowing glances as they made way for the new dancers.  

“Do the hustle!” Discord yelled, as he and Celestia began leading the Canterlot Hustle.

“I haven’t done the Canterlot Hustle in ages.” Granny Smith piped in.  “C’mon young whippersnapper I’ll show you how it’s done.” She called to Shining Armor.

Shining and Twilight were forced to follow their partners as everypony including Pinkie Pie, who had chosen poor Cloak and Dagger as her partner, were now engaged in the Canterlot Hustle.

DO THE HUSTLE!!!!!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Twilight stood on the balcony of her tree house.  Princess Luna stood beside her.  It was very early morning and the festivities had finally ended.  The sun would be coming up soon to shine light upon a new day.  Applejack and Rarity’s wedding would surely be talked about for a long time to come.  Luna sighed.  All good things must come to an end and here she was saying goodnight to her date.  She was unsure when Twilight would be making the journey back to Canterlot, although she assumed it would be soon.

“Well, I suppose this is goodnight Twilight Sparkle.”  Luna said, leaning in as their muzzles touched.

Twilight said nothing as she enjoyed the feel of Luna’s lips on her own.  She was exhausted but she didn’t want the evening to be over just yet.

“Princess?” she asked softly, breaking their kiss.

“Yes?”

“Would you like to spend the night here with me?” Twilight asked shyly.

Luna’s ears perked as she realized that Twilight was asking her to stay overnight.

“I thought we were taking it slow?” Luna questioned, bringing her hoof to Twilight’s cheek.

“Yes we are.” Twilight agreed.  “It’s just so late and I thought maybe...”

Luna put a hoof to Twilight’s mouth as the unicorn’s voice was muffled.

“Of course I’ll stay.”

Twilight felt her heart beat quicken as she nodded and led the Princess inside from the balcony and into her room.  Luna took it all in.  She was curious to know everything about Twilight and what better way than to study her home.  She smiled as she noticed the small bed in the middle of the room.  Although it was the perfect size for her student, it was too small to fit her comfortably.  Her horn glowed and within seconds the single bed was doubled.  Twilight’s cheeks flushed as she realized the implications of Luna’s magic.

“T-Thanks.” She gulped.  

“I assumed you wanted me to sleep in your bed yes?”  

Twilight nodded.  Actually she hadn’t really thought too far ahead.  She hadn’t believed the Princess would even accept her invitation.  Now here they were and Twilight was unsure what to do next.

Luna noticed twilight’s hesitation and realized she would have to take the lead.  She boldly stood behind Twilight and began unzipping the back of her dress.  The unicorn tensed up for a moment and then her body relaxed, allowing Luna to help her off with the garment.  The Moon Princess then pulled back the sheets that adorned Twilight’s bed and helped her to get underneath them.  Twilight shivered happily, turning to watch as Luna began to remove her hoof guards.  Twilight gasped.  She had never seen the Princess without her Royal Armor.  Next to go was Luna’s breast plate.  Once she undid the clasp she let it drop beneath her.  Lastly she plucked her Royal Crown from her head and was about to toss it into the heap at her hooves like she normally did in her own chambers, when she realized Twilight was watching.  She gave an innocent grin as she lightly set it down on the dresser beside Twilight’s desk.  She then stretched her wings and slid into bed beside her student.

Luna immediately felt the warmth of Twilight’s body as it radiated next to her.  She scooped Twilight into her arms and the unicorn cuddled happily against her.  Twilight lay her face on Luna’s chest as she felt the full effect of her exhaustion begin to sink in.  Luna gently stroked Twilight’s mane as Twilight felt herself being lulled into a deep and restful sleep. 

“Goodnight Twilight.”  Luna murmured, kissing Twilight’s forehead, right underneath her horn.

Twilight tried to respond but her entire body had gone happily numb.  Luna held her tightly as her breathing evened out and soon the room was quiet except for the rise and fall of their chests.  Luna looked down at the mare snuggled up to her side.  She hadn’t bothered to tell Twilight that Alicorns didn’t need much sleep.  Instead she had kept that fact to herself so she could enjoy watching her student sleep.  Luna let her hoof run downwards, raking it over Twilight’s cutie mark.  The unicorn made the hottest little moan the Princess had ever heard.

What a wonderful end to her night it was going to be!

> Those Three Little Words
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight Sparkle groaned as she hit the ground hard.  She looked up into the intensely mischievous eyes of Princess Luna.

“Say it.” Luna taunted, hovering above her.

A dark indigo glow emitted from her horn as she used her magic to keep Twilight subdued.  It had been almost a month since the wedding in Ponyville and Luna had doubled her efforts in teaching Twilight the darker side of magic.  Twilight and Luna had both decided it was best to set some sort of boundaries with their relationship as each of them knew the importance of the task Celestia had given them.  Neither pony wished to disappoint Celestia and both student and teacher had resolved to work harder in hopes that Twilight would soon be ready to finish her studies.  Of course it had been extremely hard for the two mares to keep their hoofs off each other and therefore every so often Luna would call a “magic duel”.  Although Luna pretended to take it quite seriously, they both knew it was just an excuse to roll around happily in the grass and grope her adorable purple marefriend.

Luna’s smile widened.

“Say it...”

Twilight sighed.  Anypony watching may have thought that she rather enjoyed losing to Luna.  She had yet to beat her teacher in this sexy little game they played.  It wasn’t for lack of trying though.  Twilight was determined to take Luna down at least once.  She gritted her teeth.

“Lunaisbestpony.” She mumbled.

Luna giggled and pranced in the air.  “I can’t hear you.  Come again?”

Twilight rolled her eyes.  She tried one last desperate attempt at using her magic, but to no avail.  Luna was showing off her skills as a master magician.  She seemed to know Twilight’s weak spots and used them easily to her advantage.  Twilight’s horn was rendered useless in a matter of moments.

“LUNAISBESTPONY!” Twilight bellowed, as her voice echoed through the Royal Canterlot Gardens.

Luna rubbed her hooves together happily and then placed them softly on both sides of Twilight’s cheeks, straddling her student’s body as she sat on her chest.

“And?”

Twilight could feel her face flush as Luna descended upon her.  The Moon Princess playfully touched her nose to Twilight’s muzzle.

“Who is your favorite Princess?” She asked smugly.

Twilight smiled too and slowly leaned in, her lips softly kissed a spot under Luna’s ear before she whispered quietly.

“Celestia.”

The hair on Luna’s back stood on end as her sister’s name fell upon her ears.  Her concentration was lost for a moment and as she had taught her faithful student, a moment was all one needed to gain the upper hand.  Twilight used her advantage to rise up, flipping poor Luna onto her back.  Luna was still processing Twilight’s answer to her question before she even realized the tables had been turned.  She landed backwards and Twilight landed on top of her.  Twilight grinned down at Luna excitedly.  She had finally beaten her teacher.  She was surprised when Luna easily brushed her aside and quickly got up.

“Well played Twilight.  Well played.” Luna said, turning away from the bewildered unicorn.

It only took Twilight a few seconds to realize that although she thought she was being funny, her remark about Celestia being the best princess may have bothered her marefriend.

“Hey, I was just kidding when I said Celestia was the best princess.  You know that right?” Twilight asked, placing a hoof on Luna’s shoulder.

“Were you?” 

Luna’s eyes were cold, void of emotion.  

“Of course!” Twilight proclaimed, stepping in front of her marefriend.  

Luna tried to walk past her, but Twilight would not let her pass.  She wrapped her arms around Luna and although the Moon Princess tried to resist her student, she felt the hurt subsiding as Twilight held her close.

“It’s okay.” Luna whispered.  “I’m sorry I overreacted-“

Twilight’s lips met Luna’s as she was silenced with a passionate kiss.  Luna’s forelegs snaked around Twilight’s neck as they kissed eagerly in the darkness.  Just as Luna was losing herself in Twilight’s mouth, the unicorn softly broke their kiss.

“I want you to know something.” She said quietly, reaching up to pull Luna down so her lips were at the Princess’ ear.  “I probably should have said this earlier, but I guess I didn’t think you were bothered by it.  You seem so confident and sure of yourself when were together.”

Luna blushed as Twilight continued.

“I love Princess Celestia.  I will always love her.”

Luna’s breathing slowed and Twilight reassuringly kissed the side of her face.

“But like it or not, I'm IN love with another Princess.”

Luna’s ears twitched.  Had she heard right?  Did Twilight just say she was in love---

“I love you.” Twilight murmured, leaving no trace of doubt in Luna’s mind.

It was the first time in their relationship that those three little words had been spoken.  Luna had been afraid to utter them herself, fearing they would not be returned.  She could see the same worry in Twilight’s violet eyes, as her marefriend  slowly waited for her to respond.

Twilight waited for what seemed like forever until she felt herself engulfed in two very large feathery wings.  She sighed happily, feeling immediately warm and secure.

“I love you too.”

The two mares embraced for what seemed like an eternity until finally Luna retracted her wings.  She then looked at Twilight with a silly grin.

“Magic duel?”

Twilight groaned.  “Oh come on!  You didn’t even let me savor my victory last time.”

“Victory?” Luna scoffed.  “We do not recall a beating from thee.  Oh wait it’s coming back to us now.  You cheated yes?”

“WHAT?  When you do it, it’s called winning.”  Twilight whined.

“Art thou implying double standards?” Luna let out an exaggerated gasp.

“Why are you suddenly using the Royal Canterlot Voice?”

“One must always use the Royal Canterlot Voice when dealing with cheaters.”

Twilight jumped on Luna.  Luna laughed and playfully pushed her down.  The two began to affectionately wrestle amidst soft, sweet kisses.

“Arg...” Luna panted, coming up for air.  “You seriously need to finish your studies.”

Twilight could feel the heat between their bodies and nodded.  

“Well you are my teacher.  You could just pass me and then we could...you know...” Twilight trailed off, rubbing her hoof seductively against Luna’s tummy.

Luna grinned, enjoying the little massage.  “I told you that you have to show me something AMAZING before I pass you.  I can’t go back on my word can I?”

Twilight smiled.  “Well I’m working on something I think you’ll like.”

Luna moaned as Twilight traced soft circles into her fur.

“Work faster please.” She joked, making a face.

Twilight rested her head gently upon Luna’s chest.  The wheels in her head were already turning.  She knew she was close to perfecting a new spell.  She looked up at Luna who had her eyes closed, her front leg rested around Twilight’s midsection, holding her tightly.  Her final thought as her eyelids fluttered shut was Luna’s look of shock and surprise as she unveiled her new spell.

An almost inaudible giggle escaped her lips.

> Under My Thumb
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Luna landed in the cool sand with a soft thud.  Flapping her wings shut, she paused, letting her hooves sink easily into the dirt.  She smiled, enjoying the feeling as she trotted across the sand dune to meet with her student, Twilight Sparkle.  She was unsure as to why her student had brought her to the beach, but as she looked to her left, she couldn’t help but be amazed as the tiny waves rolled in and out from the ocean.  Her very own bright, beautiful moonlight was the backdrop to this entire peaceful and romantic setting.  The moon shimmered along with the stars, creating a gorgeous pale hue upon the waves.  Luna stopped to admire them for a moment, taking a deep breath.  If she looked close enough she was sure she could see them dancing.

Luna continued to trot along the edge of the water, until she soon noticed a smaller set of hoof steps in the sand.  She smiled to herself as she began to follow them.  As she continued following up the curve of the dune, it wasn’t long before she spotted her adorable purple marefriend.  Luna felt her mouth twitch upwards into a smile.  It was an automatic effect Twilight Sparkle seemed to have on her these days.    Twilight was standing in the middle of the sand, her back was adorned with her signature cutie marked saddle bags.  Luna stayed silent as she approached, watching bemused as Twilight seemed to be talking softly to herself.  Luna strained her ears, trying to get a good listen, but she was unable to make out the exact words.

Twilight took one last deep breath as she recited the words in her head and focused her energy.  She could feel the powerful spark begin to emerge from her horn and just as she was about to concentrate all of that energy into her spell, she felt two warm forelegs wrap tightly around her chest.  Twilight gasped as the familiar scent of a certain Princess wafted into her nostrils.  Luna nuzzled Twilight gently and Twilight quickly turned to stare at her smirking marefriend.  Her cheeks burnt red as the energy in her horn subsided and fizzled.

“D-Don’t sneak up on a pony like that.” She squeaked, though she nestled deeper into Luna’s embrace.

“Sorry about that.” Luna whispered into her ear, gently licking the tip.

Twilight shivered.

“You looked so adoraKable for a moment there.  I just couldn’t help myself.”

Twilight turned slowly in her marefriend’s embrace.  “AdorKable?” she asked.

“Yes.  Rainbow Dash told me it was a word for adorable nerds.  You’re the cutest most adorKable nerd I know.” Luna teased, running a hoof through Twilight’s mane.

“I AM NOT A NERD!” Twilight protested.

“Yes you are a very cute nerd indeed.  That’s why you are ADORKABLE!” Luna squealed, hugging Twilight tighter as the purple unicorn struggled in her grasp.

Unable to overpower Luna, Twilight pouted for a moment until Luna began placing soft kisses all over her muzzle.  As the seconds passed, Twilight finally broke into a grin and her hooves wrapped around Luna’s neck warmly.

“So my little adorkable Twilight,” Luna chuckled. “Why have you summoned me to the beach?  Not that I mind, it’s gorgeous and the company is wonderful.”

Luna winked as Twilight smiled for a moment, looking into the Alicorn’s turquoise eyes.  She then unravelled herself from Luna’s grip and stood in front of her teacher, smiling brightly.  She removed the saddle bags from her back and with a look of deep determination she pointed at Luna.

“I’ve been waiting for the day I could perfect this spell.  I think I’ve finally got it now.  Please let me show you?"

Luna looked surprised but nodded her head.  She was suddenly aware of how excruciatingly quiet the night was.   The only sound she could make out was the loud thumping of her own heart.  She looked up into the sky as a light breeze blew past her face.  Something exciting was about to happen and she could feel it.

Twilight stood very still and concentrated slowly.  Luna waited, holding her breath.  Again the breeze blew softly against her muzzle and it was as if she could feel the power surging from Twilight’s magic.  Twilight opened one eye and smiled.

“Are you ready for this?”

Luna could only nod.

“Close your eyes.”

Luna blinked.  Had Twilight really asked her to close her eyes?

Twilight motioned for her to close her eyes once more and the Princess huffed.  Sensing Twilight was serious about this as the wind around her began to thrash and swirl, she reluctantly let her eyelids close.  Princess Luna waited for several seconds that seemed to go on forever.  Suddenly the wind died down and she could no longer feel the energy that had surged moments earlier.

“Twilight?” she called out, slightly alarmed.

When no reply was heard, Luna instinctively opened her eyes.  It took a moment for them to adjust to the darkness.  The moonlight that had featured so prominently earlier seemed to have dimmed and the only sound she could make out were the waves of the water as they repeatedly splashed against the sand.

“Twilight?” she called again, with more urgency.

“I’m here.”  Twilight whispered.

Slowly Twilight emerged from the shadows and stepped into the small patch of light illuminated by the moon.  Luna gasped softly as she tried to process what she was seeing.  Standing before her was no longer the purple mare that had been there moments ago.  Luna drew in a deep breath and blinked.  Surely this was just a trick.

“Luna, it’s okay.  I know this is a bit of a shock, but if you’ll come closer, you’ll see it’s really me.” 

The Princess waited a few more moments before she proceeded to move towards the creature claiming to be her Twilight Sparkle.  The creature smiled reassuringly at her, and Luna continued to inch forward until she was close enough to inhale the air surrounding the creature.  She wrinkled her muzzle as an unfamiliar scent filled her nostrils.  It was not unpleasant, but it was unlike any creature she had yet to encounter in Equestria.

“Luna...” the creature trailed off, before reaching out to the Princess.

Luna’s eyes widened as the creature extended its long, slender arm in her direction.  Her eyes travelled down the creature’s arm, to the outstretched hand that was being offered, and the five fingers that wiggled, beckoning her closer.  She felt her breath once again hitch in her chest as she slowly trotted forward.  The Princess lifted her hoof, pressing it into the palm of the creature’s hand.  She gasped again as her hoof was squeezed lightly.

Twilight waited breathlessly as she grasped Luna’s hoof tightly with her hand, using her fingers to apply more pressure.  She waited for her marefriend to say something but Luna was lost in her own world.  Twilight giggled.  Luna was so cute when she was perplexed.  The giggling caused Luna to look up at Twilight.  She looked stern as she searched Twilight’s face.  Their eyes met for a moment and Luna finally broke into a grin. Although her form was different, there was no mistaking her marefriend’s gorgeous violet eyes.  

“Twilight!  It IS you!  But how?” The Princess asked, her voice rising with excitement.

“Do you like it?  I thought you would.”

“It’s amazing!  You’re...you’re....you’re.....” Luna tried, but the words failed her.

“Human?” Twilight supplied, smiling at her marefriend’s disbelief.

“Human!” Luna echoed, still in shock as she began to inspect her student’s new body.

“You haven’t seen anything yet Princess.” Twilight promised, as Luna began poking and prodding with her hooves.

Suddenly Twilight felt both of Luna’s hooves on the soft flesh of her backside.  The Lunar Princess grasped at Twilight’s skin and began slowly kneading her bum.

“How absolutely incredible.” Luna said with glee.  “No tail?  Where did it go?  This is the most complex transformation spell I’ve ever seen.”  Luna mused, continuing her inspection.

Twilight shifted uncomfortably.  “Uhm Luna, maybe you shouldn’t touch that because it’s very...ahhh...sensitive.”

Luna was in study mode and completely oblivious to the fact that her touching was having strong effects on her naked, blushing student.

“Your mane looks so strange.” Luna remarked, looking at Twilight’s shoulder length purple hair, complete with its signature pink streak running through the middle.  “And these?  How marvelous!” Luna quipped, as she wrapped her forelegs around Twilight’s midsection and began playing with her ample human chest.

“Princess...please...”

“So soft and squishy!” 

“Ahh....stop...”

Luckily for Twilight, her marefriend was distracted yet again as she began to inspect Twilight’s fingers and toes.  Twilight breathed a sigh of relief and looked down as Luna began a rant about the wonders of ambidexterity.  To further illustrate the point, Twilight took both of her hands and gently cupped them around Luna’s muzzle.  Luna closed her eyes as she nuzzled into the touch.  Twilight’s hands were warm, and her fingers were now stroking gentle lines across the Princess’ face.

“Hands are wonderful.” Luna sighed blissfully, as Twilight used her fingers to reach up and stroke her marefriend’s mane.

Having fingers running through her mane and over her body was a completely different sensation for Luna.  It was hard to explain the feeling, but she felt warm all over.  Twilight’s saddlebag suddenly opened and a blanket flew out of it.  She then sat down, motioning Luna into her lap.

“How did you do that without your horn?” Luna asked, dumbstruck.

Twilight grinned and raised her pointer finger.  It sparked for a moment, emitting a small amount of magical energy before the light dimmed and it returned to normal.

“You managed to transfer your magic into this form as well?” Luna asked, incredulously.

Twilight nodded, reaching out with her arms to pull Luna down to the blanket with her.  Luna looked up at her with awe.

“You....are....AMAZING!” Luna said, wrapping her forelegs around human Twilight.

“Have I shocked and amazed you?” Twilight chuckled, running her fingers up and down Luna’s tummy.

“More then you’ll ever know.”  Luna cooed, loving the belly rub.

“Well Princess, I’m afraid you haven’t seen anything yet.”

Luna felt Twilight’s fingers as they ran up from her tummy, over her chest and once again to her face.  Before she could question Twilight, she felt warmth on her forehead, right below her horn.  Twilight smiled as her finger pressed softly into Luna’s forehead and she closed her eyes, concentrating slowly.

“What’s happening to me?” Luna asked, as her body filled with magical energy.

Twilight’s finger sparked once again and her saddlebag was opened.  An object floated towards Luna and as she reached up to grab it, she realized it was a mirror.  Her fingers wrapped easily around it and that’s when she realized something wasn’t right.

FINGERS????????!

Luna grasped the mirror shakily and looked at the figure staring back at her.

“OH SWEET CELESTIA!” she cried out.  “I’M...I’M...”

“Human?” Twilight finished.

“GORGEOUS!”  Luna grinned, breaking out into a huge smile as she admired herself in the mirror.

At that moment Twilight Sparkle experienced her first human facepalm.


To be continued...

> Baby, I Love You
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Luna smiled as she walked hand in hand with Twilight Sparkle down the beach.  It had taken a few attempts to get the two-legged walking thing to work for her, but finally she seemed to be able to move with ease.  Twilight gripped Luna’s hand tightly, squeezing with her fingers.  The two former mares had quickly discovered that although wearing clothing was optional as a pony, it really seemed to be a necessity as a human.  Luna looked down at her dress.  It was black, simple and strapless.  Twilight was wearing something similar in a soft shade of mauve.  Luna had tried hard to convince Twilight that she didn’t need clothes.  The Moon Princess had been quite enamored with her marefriend’s soft, squeezable chest.  She wasn’t sure what was so hypnotizing about the large mounds but she liked them.

A LOT.

The Princess couldn’t help the permanent smile that sat fixed on her lips as she felt the soft, wet sand squish between her newly formed toes.  Twilight was now leaning her head against Luna’s shoulder as they walked.

Out of the blue, Twilight looked up at Luna.

“Are you happy?” She asked, in almost a whisper.

The Moon Princess gazed down into the inquisitive violet eyes of her lover.  She contemplated an answer before she spoke.

“Happier than I can ever remember being.” She replied sincerely.  “But I do have to know why?  I mean why this spell?  Whatever gave you the idea for any of this?”

Twilight smiled and stopped walking.  She gingerly reached into her saddlebag, which she was now carrying like a purse as it no longer fit her body shape.  She rummaged for a moment before she pulled out a book.  She then handed the book to Luna.

Luna took the book in her hands, running her fingers slowly along the edges.  She still couldn’t believe the difference in how everything felt in one’s fingers compared to one’s hoof.  She was lucky, when it came to trying to hold things in her hooves.  She had always had the power of magic to get by, but sometimes she wondered how the earth ponies and pegasi managed without.

She looked down at the cover.

“This is...” she trailed off.

It was the first edition copy of the Harry Potter book Luna had given her a few months back. 

“You enjoyed it that much?” Luna asked incredulously.

Twilight shook her head.  “I knew YOU enjoyed it that much.”

Luna could feel her cheeks begin to redden.  It seemed the feeling of embarrassment was the same regardless of what body you were in.

“Celestia told me.” Twilight continued, casting her gaze into the rolling waves of the ocean.

“Gah..”

“She told me all about cute, adorable little Lulu...” Twilight started, enjoying how Luna’s blush now covered parts of her forehead and neck.

“Lies!  All lies!”

“She also mentioned how little Lulu would lay in the Canterlot library, curled up in her cutesy wutesy little blankie, with a few good books scattered around her, almost all of them about humans or the human world.”

“Hey!  I liked the subject matter.  And I did not have a blankie!” Luna seethed.

Somepony’s older sister was getting a beating later this morning.

“Well, I enjoyed the tales, true or not.” Twilight laughed as Luna pouted.  “I worked every day that I could for the past few months, when I had a spare moment.  Most of all, I just wanted to do something that would make you smile.”

Luna stepped closer to Twilight, reaching out for her face.  She ran her fingertips slowly up and down Twilight’s cheeks, before cupping them lightly.  She then leaned down into Twilight’s neck and spoke in a hushed tone.

“It’s amazing.  I can’t even describe how impressed I am by you right now.  In fact, I think it’s time I wrote Celestia a letter, celebrating your accomplishments.”

Twilight buried her head into Luna’s chest as the Princess wrapped both arms around her and held her tightly.

“Dear Princess Celestia...” Luna started, causing Twilight to giggle.

“Since I began teaching your faithful student Twilight Sparkle, I never doubted for one moment how beautiful, intelligent and talented she was.” Luna continued.

“Oh stop...” Twilight murmured.

“But tonight, I am about to discover if that talent follows her to the bedroom...” Luna added slyly, reaching down to squeeze Twilight’s backside.

Twilight let out a little yelp.  “Y-You can’t send that!”

“P.S.  As payback for the little Lulu stories, I have decided to send Twilight Sparkle back to magic kindergarten.”

“You wouldn’t!” Twilight gasped playfully.

Luna leaned down and rubbed her nose against Twilight’s.  

“Short skirt? Yardstick? You bent over my desk?  YES PLEASE!” 

Twiligh let out a tiny moan as she felt the butterflies begin to dance around in her stomach.  Luna laughed evilly, arching her eyebrows maniacally.  This caused Twilight to burst out laughing as well.  The two stayed like that for awhile, laughing and holding each other while enjoying the gorgeous stars above, until Twilight turned to Luna.

“Luna, I can’t hold the spell much longer.”

Luna nodded.  She could feel Twilight’s energy decreasing even as she held her.

“Thank you, for this.” Luna murmured into Twilight’s ear.  

Twilight felt her body beginning to give out, but Luna held onto her as tight as she could.

“Luna, can you do one more thing for me, before we return to normal?” She asked, weakly.

“Anything...” Luna whispered.

“Kiss me?”

The Moon Princess had no objections to the request as she tilted Twilight’s head to the side and gently placed a soft, sweet kiss on her mouth.  She held her lips there as she felt an immense surge of power surround them, and then Twilight was kissing her back.  Luna felt Twilight’s tongue slip past her lips and roll against her own.  Although she normally would have allowed her tongue to spar with Twilight’s, this was Twilight’s moment and so she gave herself fully to her marefriend, allowing Twilight to dominate the kiss.

Twilight’s lips were the last thing Luna remembered before her eyes closed and she was engulfed in a glowing purple light.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Twilight groaned loudly, sitting up.  She had a throbbing headache.  She struggled for a moment to recall the events before now that had resulted in this immense pain.

“Hey now, not so fast.” A familiar voice said.

“Luna?” Twilight called out, her eyes adjusting to the light in the room.  “Where am I?”

Twilight’s eyes scanned her surroundings.  She could tell she was in a bedroom.  She looked down and noticed that she was lying in a rather large bed.  The comforter that adorned the bed was a dark royal blue and was adorned with stars.  In the middle was a large crescent moon, an exact replica of Luna’s cutie mark.

“My room.” Luna said, levitating a glass of water and some aspirin to the bewildered purple mare.

Twilight was shocked.  In all her time at the castle, she had yet to see Luna’s room.  She hugged the comforter tightly to her chest and inhaled deeply.  She took the pills and downed the water, still in awe as she looked around.  The room was simple, yet elegant and Twilight felt as if her chest was about to burst.

“Twilight?” Luna asked, as Twilight sniffed the pillows.

Twilight grabbed a pillow and rolled around happily, with the comforter now wrapped around her.  Luna slid into the bed beside her and put a hoof to her head, making sure Twilight hadn’t suffered a concussion.  Twilight realized what Luna was doing and she stopped rolling, her entire body becoming as red as a tomato.

“Sorry...”She said, reaching out to wrap her front hooves around Luna.  “Everything smells like you.”

Luna laughed.  “Hey the real thing is right here.”

Twilight nodded, the blush on her nose deepening.  “Your bed is so big.”

Luna unfurled her wings and they made a loud flapping sound.  “I like to sprawl, and these babies can get in the way.”

Twilight smiled and gently reached out to stroke Luna’s right wing.  Luna shivered and moaned happily.  

“You are getting sooo good at preening.  You sure your special talent is magic?”

“Maybe...” Twilight said coyly.  “But I do have other talents.” She said, arching her eyebrow suggestively.

Luna jumped on top of Twilight and the two began to roll around in the bed.  They continued to play fight until finally Luna pinned Twilight down underneath her, both of them panting heavily.  As Luna looked down, their eyes met and the playful nature of moments ago changed.  Their lips met once again and they shared a passionate, sensual embrace. 

“Stop me now, or don’t stop me at all.” Luna said, her breathing heavy.

“Don’t stop.” Twilight moaned, inadvertently bucking her hips in the air.

Luna smiled softly at the mare beneath her, kissing down from her lips, to her neck.  She then left a trail of wet and hungry kisses down Twilight’s neck to her tummy.  She stopped only momentarily to look up before parting her marefriend’s thighs.  

“Stop teasing...” Twilight whimpered.

Luna licked her lips and grinned, before diving right in.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Luna rested soundly with a smile on her face.  Twilight was spooned against her back.  It had been a long and satisfying night, and Twilight was currently giving her a lesson in spooning 101.  Although Twilight claimed to be sexually inexperienced, she sure knew a lot about spooning.  Luna was pretty sure that SHE should be the big spoon because clearly she was bigger, but Twilight had insisted and Luna had decided that for this one time, she could be the little spoon.

As Luna continued to ponder the big spoon/little spoon dynamic, she was unaware of what was happening behind her.  Just as she was about to finally drift off, still thinking of spoons, she felt a small poke against her back.  At first she ignored it, and tried to readjust so she could get comfortable.  As she closed her eyes again, the same poking sensation was now pushing against her flank.  Luna thought for a moment and then she realized EXACTLY what was going on.

“Oh Twilight!  I see you want to play THAT game.” Luna giggled, pushing backwards against something hard and rigid.  “Are you sure you know how to handle that thing?  I’ll have you know I like my ruttings hard and rough.” She finished seductively.

Twilight made no sounds, but Luna could still feel the hard object pressing against her skin.

“Twilight?” She asked, turning her head.

It was when she turned that she finally saw Twilight’s body.  The purple mare was no longer in the spoon position, in fact her back was completely turned to Luna and jutting out from her back were two large, beautiful wings.

“Twilight!” Luna gasped, as she backed up on her haunches and promptly fell off the side of the bed.

“Luna...” Twilight said, panic rising in her voice.

“Twilight calm down...” Luna said, scrambling to get up off the floor.

“LUNA!” Twilight shrieked.

The shriek was followed by another and then another.  As Twilight’s screams bounced off the walls of the Canterlot castle, they eventually reached the royal ears of Princess Celestia.

Celestia knew that shriek well.  It was Twilight’s signature panicking sound.  Quickly without another thought she took off towards the sound of her student’s voice, her hoofsteps echoing loudly as she rushed to her destination.  As she raced towards the sound of Twilight’s voice, she realized where exactly the sounds were coming from.

Her eyes went wide with shock and she clenched her teeth.

“LUNAAAAAAA!”

To be continued...

> La Fin (Luna wasn't prepared for this)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike hugged Applejack and Rarity tightly, not wanting to let go of his surrogate mothers.  When he finally did, he stepped back on the balcony, taking his place beside the newly crowned, Princess Twilight Sparkle.

“Y’all write us everyday ya hear?” Applejack said.

“Twice a day!” Rarity added, leaning her muzzle on Applejack’s shoulder.

The teenage dragon nodded enthusiastically as the pegasi drawn carriages lifted off into the air. Twilight and Luna waved as well, saying goodbye to the last of their friends.  It had been exactly a week since Princess Twilight Sparkle’s coronation.  The rest of the week had consisted of celebration, laughter and good friends.  So far, today had been spent saying goodbye to all of Twilight’s friends and family members.  

Luna loved her marefriend very much, but she wanted it all to be over soon.  It seemed like forever since they had some alone time.  After Celestia had discovered Twilight’s transformation, she had explained that Twilight had ascended and was now not only an alicorn, but a Princess as well.  It had been a lot to take in for both Twilight and Luna.  Everything after that seemed to happen so fast.  Because of the late nights, the guests, and Twilight’s new responsibilities, there hadn’t been time to play.  Luna outwardly pouted, thinking about her marefriend’s new wings.

The Moon Princess’ pervy thoughts were interrupted by Cloak and Dagger.  He introduced himself to Spike.  The dragon leered at the large and intimidating stallion, but offered his claw in a show of friendship.

“Welcome to the castle, Spike.” Cloak and Dagger smiled, motioning inside.  “I’ll show you to your room.”

Spike nodded and followed Luna’s advisor.  Now that he too, was an advisor to a Princess, he wanted everypony to know he was serious about his job.  He knew Twilight didn’t have to give him the job, even though he had been her assistant at the library.  The young dragon did his best to contain his excitement as he smiled at Twilight.  Although he loved Rarity and Applejack like family, he had missed Twilight dearly.

As Cloak and Dagger turned to the Princesses, he relayed an important message from Celestia.

“Princess Celestia wishes to speak with the both of you.  She asked that meet you her in the observatory as soon as you can.”

Luna and Twilight both nodded their heads, before bidding the dragon and stallion farewell.

“Well, I suppose we should go and see what my sister wants.” Luna sighed, draping a wing protectively over Twilight’s back.

Twilight shivered happily, arching her back as the feathers on Luna’s wing tickled her skin.  She sighed as well.  It had been a very long week and she was drained.  The newly appointed Princess secretly hoped Celestia was not about to drop some emergency upon them.  She wasn’t sure she could handle that right now.  The events of the past week were all still too fresh and had yet to fully sink in.

Twilight suddenly felt Luna lean into her, grazing the side of her cheek with a soft kiss.  The Moon Princess used her wing to pull Twilight closer.  Twilight smiled up at her lover, thankful for her marefriend’s warm embrace. 

As long as she had Luna, she knew she could get through anything.

Right?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“You want WHAT?” Luna spat, pounding her hoof on the table between them.

Celestia smiled politely and looked between the two mares in front of her.  She cleared her throat before speaking again.

“I said that I would like an heir to the throne.”

Twilight blushed as Celestia repeated herself.  She moved closer to Luna as the Moon Princess threw her hooves up in exasperation.

“How is that even possible?” She asked, clearly irritated. 

Celestia reached up to rub her temples with her hooves.  She then took a nice, long sip of her tea and set the cup back down on the table.

“If you would allow me to explain, dear sister, then I could supply you with the answers you seek.”

Twilight nodded and put her hoof on Luna’s shoulder.  She had to admit that she was definitely intrigued.  The thought of having foals with Luna gave her butterflies in the pit of her stomach.  She never dreamed it could be possible, and yet now Celestia was telling her it was.

“There is an ancient fertility spell from ages ago that has recently been discovered.  It is a rough draft at best, but I believe that with Twilight’s knowledge of magic, she can perfect the spell.  If she can finish the spell and perform it, then there is no reason that you two could not have a foal of your own.”

“Now just a minute, sister.  Who even said that either of us wanted a foal?”

“I do.” Twilight piped up.

Luna’s head jerked sideways, turning to face her marefriend.

“I want to have foals with you.” Twilight whispered, squeezing Luna’s hoof between her own.

Luna could feel her cheeks flare up as she searched Twilight’s serious face.  She hadn’t even thought about something like this.  Her mind raced as she considered her possibilities.  The intensity of her marefriend’s gaze spoke volumes. 

Twilight wanted a family.

Luna turned to face her sister.

“Well, it seems I reacted rather hastily, before considering all the facts.”

Celestia smiled regally, winking at Twilight.  “Very good.  I will have the spell drawn up properly and brought to your chambers.”

Luna continued to blush as Twilight whispered hotly into her ear.  “And if all else fails, we’ll have LOADS of fun trying won’t we?”

Celestia couldn’t contain her laughter. It looked like her plan had worked even better than she had imagined.  Yes, it had been slightly unnerving to see Twilight and Luna in bed together, but aside from that, she couldn’t have asked for things to have played out any better.  She continued smiling as her two guests made a hasty retreat.  

One could only imagine what they were off to do in such a hurry.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

300 DAYS LATER (APPARENTLY THAT’S HOW LONG IT TAKES TO HAVE A FOAL!)

“Oh sweet Celestia, somepony kill me now.” Luna moaned, trying to roll onto her side.

“Your majesty?  Are you okay?” Cloak and Dagger asked, rushing to her side.

“Do you see my hooves?  I haven’t seen them in months!  Are they still there?” Luna whined, as her advisor tried not to laugh.

“WE DO NOT APPRECIATE THY LAUGHTER!”  Luna roared, Royal Canterlot Voice in full effect.

“I’m sorry.  Please calm down, Princess.”

“WOULD THOU BE CALM IF THOU WERE THE SIZE OF A HOUSE?”

“You’re due any day now.  Hang in there.  Twilight will be home soon.”

“Bah!” Luna scoffed, “Twilight is the cause of this whole mess.”

“It was an accident.”

“Or so she claims.” Luna pouted.  “And now I bet she thinks I’m FAT!”

Cloak and Dagger sighed as he tried to comfort his Princess.  These hormonal surges would be funny, if he didn’t fear for his life at any given moment.  Between himself and Spike, Twilight had asked them to keep Luna calm and occupied.  

So much for that.

Twilight was helping Celestia, much to Luna’s chagrin.  The Moon Princess enjoyed being in the thick of things and not knowing what was going on day to day in Equestria was driving her up the wall.  Twilight had been the one that was supposed to become pregnant with their foal, but in the heat of passion, she had messed up the spell, reversing the energy between them and impregnating Luna.

Celestia had been thrilled

Luna was about to begin a series of painful laments, when the door to her chambers was magically opened and Twilight stepped through.  The purple alicorn smiled happily at her bedridden lover, trotting quickly to her side.  The pregnant princess whimpered as Twilight leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her large belly.

“How are you feeling?”

“Terrible.” Luna moaned, burying her face in her hooves.

“Awww.” Twilight grinned and nuzzled Luna’s face with her muzzle.  “You look beautiful.”

“Liar.”

Twilight took this opportunity to climb into the bed beside Luna.  After some careful adjusting, she managed to wrap her front legs around her marefriend’s waist.  The purple alicorn snuggled up close to Luna’s warm body and buried her muzzle in the Moon Princess’ neck.

“I swear it.” She whispered, running her hooves up and down Luna’s enlarged tummy.

Having no strength left to fight, Luna relaxed her body and let Twilight hold her.  She closed her eyes and leaned into her lover.

“Okay.  But YOU are having the next one.” 

“Oh?  Already thinking about another one?” Twilight said slyly.

“NO WAY!” Luna spat, her cheeks reddening. 

“Maybe you’re more maternal than you think.” 

“N-no!  I was just saying...” Luna stammered.

“Shhh.” Twilight laughed, running a hoof through Luna’s starry mane.  “I’m just teasing you.”

Luna was about to make a snappy comeback when her eyes suddenly went wide.  Twilight could feel Luna’s breathing increase as her body went rigid.

“Luna?  Are you okay?”

Luna looked at Twilight and then at her belly.

“I think my water just broke...”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hours later, the future Princess of Equestria was born.

> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

EPILOGUE

Princess Luna and Princess Twilight Sparkle welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world a few short hours later.  They named her Moonlight Sparkle, in honor of the moon and the stars that they loved so dearly.  Although she would later go on record to describe the events of her pregnancy as torturous, nopony loved her foal more than Princess Luna.  She was still in shock and disbelief that the precious little bundle was something she and Twilight had created from their love.  Twilight and Luna went on to rule the night with their love and commitment to one another.  Their daughter grew up to be a kind, gentle and loving princess.

Rarity borrowed the fertility spell from Twilight and she and Applejack ended up having twins.  They were both unicorn fillies, much to the Apple family’s delight.  To Granny Smith’s knowledge all Apple family children up to this point had been earth ponies.  Needless to say it was cause for a large family reunion.  Eeeyup!

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom eventually got married.  They moved to Canterlot, where Sweetie pursued her dream of becoming a singer.  Apple Bloom became involved in many different design projects and currently has her own TV show on HGTV.

Discord kept Fluttershy barehoofed and pregnant.  Nuff’ said.

Soarin’ and Spitfire had another two foals before Spitfire filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.  Rumour has it, she caught Soarin’ surfing the website PlentyofPones.com.

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo continued to be involved with the Wonderbolts until their retirement.  They too had a foal, named Firefly.  She was named in honor of Rainbow’s late mother.  She also inherited her parent’s need for speed and was the youngest pegasus ever to become a Wonderbolt.  Constant romance rumours surround Firefly and her best friend, Princess Moonlight Sparkle.  Are they?  Aren't they? Only they know for sure and they aren't telling.

Pinkie Pie continued to fight for her right to party. It was her dream to rock and roll all night and party every day.  She never said sorry for party rocking.  It was her party and she would cry if she wanted to.  “Wasn’t that a party?” ponies would say after leaving her shindigs.  Yep, ain’t no party like a Pinkie Pie party.

And so my friends, this story comes to an end.  It has been a wonderful ride and I thank each and every one of you for reading, upvoting and leaving your wonderful comments.  Although this story is finished, there are many more to write and hopefully I’ll catch some of you on the flip side.

Take care,

ShotgunNeko