Early frost carried on the wind as the doors of the balcony opened to the night outside. Owlowiscious shivered on his perch and puffed himself into a ball of feathers in a bid to keep some of the precious heat about himself. The wind scattered a few loose papers on the desk, which were swiftly enveloped in a dark blue glow and placed back down carefully. The balcony doors closed with a quiet click as silver-shod hooves sank into the soft carpet, and a pair of majestic wings folded along the flanks of the new arrival as she looked around the room.
Owlowiscious gave an excited and friendly hoot at his favorite princess. Or possibly second-favorite, right after the one who usually fed him.
Princess Luna stroked the owl along the back in greeting. “Greetings, Owlowiscious. Is Twilight Sparkle here?”
The owl replied with another hoot and took off, gliding silently off in search of his owner, though he prefered to think of her more as his associate.
Luna occupied herself by looking over the work neatly laid out on the desk. She picked up a scroll and studied the neatly written equations and magical theorems. She nodded quietly at the elegance of the work and picked up a second scroll, looking between the two.
“Princess Luna? Oh, that’s some of my work on the topology of manafold complexes and Whitetail’s theorem. I have been trying to make some contributions to the field myself.” Twilight’s voice came from behind Luna as she ascended the stairs from the floor below. She bit her lip and looked down at her hooves. “It’s not quite ready for publication yet.”
“I see. Your approach is remarkably elegant,” Luna said and put down the scrolls as she turned to face Twilight. “I am certain the Royal Academy will be very excited when you present it to them.”
Twilight blushed at the compliment. “You really think so? I can show you more of the details I have been working on, if you like,” she said and nearly galloped up to the table, smiling at Luna as she pulled out scrolls and began going through her work at a breakneck pace. “Here, this is my favorite bit. I believe I have discovered a generalization of—”
“I would be delighted to hear more,” Luna said and held up a hoof to stop Twilight before she became too enraptured by her own work. “But it will have to wait for another time. I came to discuss an important matter with you.”
Twilight visibly deflated, holding her notes and papers in front of her. “Oh, uh, of course.”
“Tell me, have you heard of the Feast of the Moon?” Luna asked and trotted across the room to look at the bookshelves. “It is an ancient festival, traditionally held after the first snow has been strewn across the land.”
“The … Feast of the Moon?” Twilight gnawed on her lips, her eyes searching some imaginary library and bookshelf. “I … um, I don’t think I’ve read about that anywhere.”
“Hrm.” Luna picked out a book and flipped it open with a hoof on the first page. She wore a slight frown as her eyes drifted down the page. “It was discontinued many centuries ago. My sister revived it during my absence as the Autumn Banquet, in my honor, albeit in a … heavily altered style.” She put the book back on the shelf and paced a bit in front of the wall.
“I’m sorry,” Twilight said, still holding her papers to her chest.
“So am I, Twilight Sparkle,” said Luna and turned around to face the younger princess. “And that is why I have decided to revive the Feast in its original form, to be held in Ponyville on the night of the first snow, and I have chosen you to prepare and lead the festivities.”
“But …” Twilight’s ears folded back against her head as she looked at her mental calendar. “That’s in two weeks, and I don’t even know anything about this tradition. Surely there is somepony better qualified for such a job than me.”
“I have every faith in your abilities and dependability,” Luna said to brush off Twilight’s concerns. “I would not trust you with something this important if I did not. You are the only pony I can think of who I would want to be in charge of this celebration.”
“But where do I start?”
“I suggest you start by researching the topic,” Luna said and produced a small stack of ancient tomes from the darkness behind her. “These should get you started. If you have any questions—and I know you will have many,” Luna said with a deadpan look “—you know where to reach me.”
Twilight brightened up as she took over the stack of books. “Oh, of course. I can do research!” she said and grinned with giddy enthusiasm at the prospect of a new research project for the princesses. It had been some time since she had been given one, now that she was a princess herself. “I won’t disappoint you!”
“That is good.” Luna turned to the balcony and opened the door. A cold breeze blew through the room. Twilight managed to stop a scroll from flying off as Luna stepped outside, looking back over her shoulder at Twilight. “You probably should get started. Good luck,” she said before taking to the sky.
Twilight closed the balcony door and put the books down. She picked up the first one and trotted up to her bed, settling down as she began to read.
* * *
Twilight Sparkle stared at the page of the book before her, mouth open. She blinked hard and tried to read it again. Surely it was getting late and her eyes were merely deceiving her. She tried to read it out loud, in case that helped.
“The central part of the Feast is the ritual sacrifice of the Princess of the Night before her gathered subjects, followed by the shared consumption of her flesh and blood by participants of the Feast.”
Twilight Sparkle stared at the page. She stared at it even closer. She looked up and chuckled uncertainly, looking around the empty room. “Ha ha, t-that’s a really funny joke, Princess,” she said to the emptiness and received only her own echo in response. Her eye twitched. “H-ha ha … right? It’s a joke! Right?”
Twilight Sparkle stared back at the page.
Twilight Sparkle looked up again. “I know this is a dream, Luna. Come on … It’s a dream, right?”
No reply. Owlowiscious dug his beak a little further into his warm feathers and cooed softly.
Twilight Sparkle looked at the page again. Slowly, when it seemed like there was nothing else to do, she continued to read.
“By giving her life and sharing her flesh and blood with her loyal subjects, the princess brings renewed life into the world, ensuring growth and prosperity for the future. Care must be paid to the ritual and proper procedures laid out for the Feast. The princess elects one in which she trusts to oversee preparations and carry out the sacrifice and the ritual according to tradition. The Feast is one of the most ancient and powerful traditions among ponies.”
* * *
“You can’t be serious!”
Luna looked up from her desk straight at Twilight. “Nevertheless, I am.” There was not a single twitch of a muscle on her face, no sign that she wasn’t in fact deadly serious.
“You’re serious,” Twilight repeated in a monotone. “You want me to cut your throat, drain your blood and mix it with wine and spices. Then you want me to gut you, skin you, and stick a … spear up your …” Twilight coughed before skipping ahead, “And then you want me to roast you over an open flame, before serving your flesh and blood to all my friends in Ponyville.” She tried to keep her face blank, staring straight into Luna’s bright blue eyes.
“Very succinct. Indeed,” Luna responded in dead seriousness. “That’s part of it.”
“Oh yes, and then we leave the remains for the wolves,” Twilight added and threw her hooves in the air. “At least that makes sense, because they’re carnivores, you know. You do realize that we’re not carnivores, right?”
“Yes,” Luna said. “It went out of fashion long before my banishment. It used to be a sacred thing to consume the flesh and blood of your princess, reserved for the yearly Feast of course. Ponies from all across Equestria would gather for a chance to share in the celebration. It was very symbolic, very … emotional.”
Twilight stared at Luna, trying to find some tiny crack in that unmoving face, some kind of sign that it was all a joke. She found none. “What does Celestia think?”
Luna turned to look out the window. “She was a little apprehensive at first. It has been a long time, and she worried that it was a little quick, a little soon. However, in the end we agreed that there would never come a better time than now.”
Twilight opened her mouth to respond. She lifted a hoof to point at Luna, but it just hung there without a word. Finally she closed her mouth and set her hoof back down, looking down at the carpet as if it held some kind of answer.
“I know this is unusual and difficult—”
“That doesn’t even begin to describe it!” Twilight protested.
“No. It doesn’t.” Luna stood up and walked up to Twilight, resting a hoof on her shoulder. She smiled at the younger princess. “But it was once a great and important tradition for all of ponykind. And it is important to me. I chose you because I know you can rise to this challenge. It won’t be easy—as my sister said, it has been a long time, and times have changed—but I have complete faith in you, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight sighed and lifted a hoof, resting it on top of Luna’s. “You know I won’t let you down, Luna. But I really don’t think this can work.”
“You will find that many will say the same about your theorem,” Luna said and smiled. “But you may yet prove them all wrong and share with the world something of eternal beauty.”
* * *
“You’re joking, right? That’s like totally creepy and not cool.”
“Yeah! What kind of party would that be? That’s no fun, Twilight, and you can’t spell ‘party’ without ‘fun’!”
“Yes, I have to agree with Pinkie and Rainbow Dash. It sounds positively ghoulish! We are civilized beings with a refined taste and cultured habits, not … uncouth brutes eating the flesh of others. I can’t believe you could even suggest such a thing!”
“Dragons eat flesh,” Spike interjected quietly next to Twilight, looking a little offended at having his entire race described as uncouth brutes. Even if it was largely true of most.
Twilight smiled at her number one assistant. “Exactly, Spike. So you see, girls, there is nothing wrong with what I propose. We have simply been conditioned by centuries of cultural norms to consider it beyond the pale.”
“Yes, but our little Spiky-Wikie is nothing like those awful wild dragons, with their brutish ways and uncivil manners. I thought we already established that he is as much a pony as any one of us. If not in appearance, then at least in spirit and certainly in manners!”
“Yeah, uh, Twilight—” Rainbow Dash hovered next to Twilight and whispered in her ear. “Maybe we shouldn’t encourage him. He might, uh, develop a taste, you know.”
“That is preposterous!” Twilight turned to give the pegasus a glare. “Spike is not going to turn into a ravaging monster because of one little taste every now and then. Besides, there are also griffons. Didn’t Gilda eat flesh?”
“Yeah, but not ponies.” Rainbow Dash looked down at the floor with a glum face. “Besides, Gilda was a massive jerk.”
“And what’s that got to do with it?” Twilight huffed. “Gilda may have been a bully, but griffons are civil creatures just like ponies. They even live among us. Even you have to admit this, Rarity!”
Rarity scraped at the floor with the tip of a hoof and looked away. “I suppose. But still—” She livened back up “—we’re talking a fellow pony and princess! Are you sure this isn’t some awful joke? I can’t believe Celestia would ever agree to this sort of unseemly thing.”
“I talked to Celestia myself, and she confirms that it is indeed an ancient tradition. I know it sounds crazy, but this is really important to Luna, and that makes it important to me!”
“I, uh, hear it was a right good thing for the crops back in that day.” They all looked at Applejack. The farmer looked a bit sheepish at the attention. “Y’all don’t hafta look at me like that. That’s just what I heard. I never honestly believed it was a real thing until now.”
“I still say it’s wrong,” Rainbow Dash muttered. “Fluttershy, you’re with us, right?” She turned around at Fluttershy who had been sticking to herself in the corner.
“Um …”
“Come on, Fluttershy. You’d never hurt a fly.”
“Actually, um … I hear it helped appease the wild animals and monsters. Each year they got the remains from the Feast, and in return they left ponies alone the rest of the year.”
They all stared at the shy pegasus.
Fluttershy almost shrank away to nothing behind her pink mane. “A-and, um … a-actually, i-it doesn’t taste t-that bad.”
“What?” Pinkie burst back into the conversation and right into Fluttershy’s face, making Fluttershy squeal. “You’ve tasted pony?”
“Um, n-no … n-not a pony,” Fluttershy stammered. “B-but I help f-feed all my animal friends. And s-sometimes when they can’t feed themselves, like when they’re sick, I have to help them a bit. And when they’re really sick, s-sometimes the best I can do is to, um … to make it quick. I’ve tasted, um, fish and worms lots of times and, um … hare, squirrel, and … um, one time a deer. I guess I don’t mind trying pony, too, if it’s that important to the princess.”
“That settles is!” Twilight exclaimed to break the silence and take the attention away from poor, brave Fluttershy. “If Fluttershy can eat it, then so can we! Princess Luna has ordered me to supervise this celebration here in Ponyville, and since it is important to her, I want everypony to do their best. Rarity and Rainbow Dash, I want you in charge of decorations and weather.”
There were some uncertain looks before Rarity nodded. “I … suppose we can do that.”
“Good.” Twilight turned to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, you can handle the music as usual. And since you have experience with … well, with this sort of thing, perhaps you can also help me with the, uh, sacrifice itself?”
“I-I’ll try,” Fluttershy squeaked.
Twilight sighed and looked to the last three. “Applejack, Spike and Pinkie, you’re in charge of cooking. It’s a big feast, so we’ll need lots of food, and not just the, uh, royal main course. We need the usual spread. I’m sure you have that all in hoof.”
“I reckon we do.” Applejack nodded.
Twilight smiled wearily. “G—”
“Nuh uh, nuh uh, nuh uh! No! No no no no and double-no!”
They all turned to stare at Pinkie, who had dug her hooves in and returned the stare. Twilight took a step towards the pink pony. “Pinkie?”
“You can’t all be serious!”
“Pinkie—” Twilight tried again.
“No! You’re all crazy!” The pink pony pointed an accusing hoof at them all in turn. “And … and you’re not my friends!” she cried and spun around, galloping across the room before jumping through a window, shattering the glass in dramatic fashion.
There was a moment of stunned silence before Rainbow Dash set off, racing after her. She was stopped mid-air by a purple glow of magic. “Whoa!”
“Settle down, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said and set the pegasus down on the floor. “I’ll go talk to her. The rest of you start planning.”
“She said we weren’t her friends,” Fluttershy said and looked down. “Do you think she—”
“I’m sure she didn’t really mean it,” Twilight assured her before heading for the door.
* * *
Sugarcube Corner lay shrouded in shadows, and all the windows were dark. Twilight spread her wings and rose a bit clumsily until she reached Pinkie’s window. She knocked gently on the glass and called out, “Pinkie? It’s me, Twilight.” There was no response. Twilight’s horn glowed as she cast a light spell on a flower on a table inside. The glowing flower lit up the room but revealed no sign of Pinkie among the usual mess of party props.
Twilight turned around and gazed across the rooftops of Ponyville. “Where could she be?”
“Peekaboo!”
Twilight blinked and looked straight up at where the voice had come from … and straight into the wide open barrel of the party cannon. “Wh—”
BOOM!
“Headshot!”
* * *
A bright white light shone her in the face, obscuring the world around her and intensifying her pounding headache. Twilight groaned and shut her eyes tightly. Slowly she tried again, cracking one eye open. The light was blinding at first, but slowly the stern face of Pinkie appeared behind the lamp. “Pinkie, wh—” she tried to speak.
“You’re good,” Pinkie interrupted her. “You’re real good. You didn’t turn back into a bug when I shot you in the face, so you must be the Queen bug!”
“What are y—”
Pinkie moved into the cone of light, slamming her front hooves into the back of the chair next to Twilight’s head, her massive blue eyes staring right through Twilight’s skull. “Where’s the real Twilight Sparkle! Where are my friends!”
“I am the real Twilight Sparkle!” Twilight shouted back and quickly regretted it.
“The wrong Twilight would say that.” Pinkie narrowed her eyes.
“So would the real Twilight.” Twilight groaned at the noise and the light. Being hit in the face at point-blank range with the party cannon was no party indeed.
“No!” Pinkie pressed her face even closer to Twilight’s. “The real Twilight Sparkle would know something that only the real Twilight Sparkle could know, and she would know to say that so that I would know that she knew what only the real Twilight would know to say she knew. Because the real Twilight is super smart and knows lots of super smart stuff that only the real Twilight knows!”
Twilight sighed. “Very well …” She thought for a moment before finding a useful memory. “When we were transporting the Mascarpone Meringue Madness to Canterlot on the train, you chased three suspects away during the night—”
“Ha! You could have heard that from one of the bakers!” Pinkie protested. “It’s always the bakers,” she added in a low, conspiratorial voice to the empty room.
“Yes.” Twilight smiled. “But afterwards you slept the rest of the night instead of guarding the cake. And I know that you never told anypony that except me.”
“Hmm …” Pinkie looked at her closely. “Unless … you were a buggy queenie meanie all along!”
“This is dumb,” Twilight said and disappeared in a flash of light.
“Hey!” Pinkie said as Twilight reappeared in the air and landed on top of her.
Twilight held Pinkie down and looked at her. “Pinkie, what is the matter with you?”
Pinkie struggled back. “No, what is the matter with you?” she cried. “You’re the one saying we should eat Princess Luna, but Princess Luna is our friend! We don’t eat our friends! That’s just not something friends do, so you can’t be my real friends!”
“Pinkie—”
“No!” Pinkie shouted into Twilight’s face. “Do you know how many stories are out there about me killing my friends and baking them into cupcakes or or or … or moonpies!” she cried.
“What are you tal—”
“A lot, Twilight! That’s how many! And I can count to a lot, but not that many lots.” She sniffed and lifted a hoof to wipe her eyes. “They talk and say mean things, you know, but I’d never do something like that! Never ever ever ever ever! Never four ever!”
Twilight sighed and let go of Pinkie, stepping back a little. “You don’t have to participate, Pinkie. And if some ponies are really writing such mean stories about you, then you should have just told us. But if that’s your concern, then think of it like this: The whole town will be participating in the Feast, so it will be them who has to eat their words afterwards if they were mean to you.”
Pinkie sniffed a little and sat up, wiping her nose with a hoof. “Oh yeah …” She laughed a little. “Then I’ll be the one writing stories about them!” She grinned, pulled out a mustache and twirled it.
“You know, it’s not nice to bully back,” Twilight said and gave Pinkie a hard look.
“I know.” Pinkie stood up and hugged Twilight. “I’m so super sorry about shooting you in the face and calling you a buggy queenie meanie.”
Twilight smiled and returned the hug. “It’s okay, Pinkie. But I really could use your help. If you don’t want to help with the food, I’m sure Applejack and Spike can handle that, but it’s going to be a hard sell to convince the whole town. Think you’re up for helping me with that instead?”
“You got it, Twilight!” Pinkie smiled and bumped Twilight’s hoof.
* * *
The balcony door cracked open. Twilight looked up from her papers full of schedules and planning and rubbed her eyes to see Luna closing the door behind her. “Oh, hello Luna.” She looked the princess over. “You’ve gained a bit of weight, I see.”
“That is not normally something you would say to a mare, much less a princess, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said with a slight huff, almost reminding Twilight of Rarity for a second. “But you are indeed correct. As a sacrifice for the slaughter, I must ensure that I am properly fed and fattened, and as such I have been on a diet of cakes and cream for the last few weeks. Once the day approaches, I will switch to a strict fasting regimen in order to clean my bowels.”
“I … see,” Twilight said and wished that she had been given a little less information.
“How are preparations going, Twilight Sparkle?” the princess said and looked around the room, mercifully switching the topic.
“It’s not been easy convincing everypony that we’re not utterly crazy nutbags,” Twilight admitted and put down her work for a momentary break. “But we’ve been working hard, and we’re going to be ready and on time,” she said with a proud smile towards Luna.
“Excellent. I knew my faith in you was not misplaced,” Luna said and returned the smile. “Are you certain you have studied the ritual in full detail? This is very important to me, as you know. I can not accept any mistakes.”
“Yes. I have read everything several times and made exhaustive checklists, and checklists of checklists, to ensure that nothing is overlooked. You have my word that everything will happen according to your exact wishes.”
“You have my complete trust,” Luna said with a nod of satisfaction. “I look forward to playing my part in this most blessed event. I shall be glad to lay my head on the block come saturday, but for now I must return to work. I have much to do before the Feast. Salutations and farewell, Twilight Sparkle!”
Twilight watched the princess disappear into the night. She stood for a time looking out the window before returning to her desk and her work. “Maybe we are crazy nutbags.”
* * *
All of Ponyville was gathered for the event, and many more from outside Ponyville. Whether it was to participate in this most unusual of traditions or simply to gawk, ponies were nothing if not curious by their very nature. Twilight was certain that many of them expected what was scheduled to be some kind of stunt or prank. Twilight’s couldn’t say she didn’t understand the doubt. She certainly had her own. Perhaps any second now Luna would reveal the joke, and then they would all laugh and celebrate.
But she didn’t. Instead, the Princess of the Night stepped forward, facing the crowd to raise the moon and begin the night. She had taken off the obsidian necklace and crown she normally wore, and now stood naked before her subjects to initiate the first Feast of the Moon in many centuries.
Twilight watched the crowd from the torch-lit platform where she stood, dressed and ready to perform the grim rituals of the night. Even Celestia was here, smiling placidly in front of the crowd. Twilight couldn’t understand how she could be so calm. Twilight herself could feel her insides flutter around nervously, twisting and turning.
Princess Luna addressed the crowd. Twilight was too busy going over everything for the thousandth time in her head to hear anything of what Luna said. Fluttershy placed a wing on her back and smiled at her. Twilight smiled back and felt a little more calm. Of all the ponies to have by her side in this, Fluttershy was not the first she would have expected, but somehow, now that she was standing there, it made perfect sense.
Twilight took a deep breath and turned around to face Luna as she finished her speech. The Princess of the Night smiled at Twilight. “I give my all for Equestria. May it forever prosper and bloom under the caring hooves of my beloved subjects.” She stepped forward and knelt down on the ground before placing her head on the block. A long trough to collect the blood was already placed below her slender, outstretched neck.
Twilight smiled at her and took her position, standing above Luna with two legs on either side of her. Twilight placed her front hooves on Luna’s head and pressed it down against the block. Her horn glowed as she unsheathed the long ceremonial blade by her side. The crowd was deathly silent as Twilight held the silver blade high, its metal and runes gleaming in the blessed light of the moon and the stars.
“Cut deep and quick,” Fluttershy whispered by her side, as a mantra to remind her. They had gone over that. Fluttershy knew a surprising amount about how to kill quickly and painlessly. Twilight supposed it was a special sort of kindness, but at another level it was a mildly disturbing thought and certainly put their slumber parties into perspective.
She lowered the blade and pressed the sharp edge against Luna’s soft, exposed neck. Twilight hesitated. If this was all an elaborate joke, now was certainly the last chance to point it out. She looked at Luna. “Princess?”
Luna smiled calmly. Her eyes were closed. “Trust me, as I trust you, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight smiled and nodded, feeling tears on her cheeks. She took a deep breath and braced herself, positioning the blade and pressing it firmly against Luna’s throat. She closed her eyes and focused. The blade became an extension of her mind. She grasped it and pulled it hard to the side in one swift and powerful cut. There was a gasp from the crowd as the razor sharp edge nearly severed Luna’s head in that one single cut, sending a thin spray of crimson across the floor of the platform.
Twilight opened her eyes and looked at Luna as the life swiftly faded away with the rush of deep red blood. The Princess of the Night still smiled, her eyes closed in peaceful death.
It was one thing to read about how much blood a pony had in her body, another thing entirely to watch it rush forth from the severed neck to fill a trough. Twilight forced herself to watch the whole thing and not throw up. If she couldn’t deal with this part, then the next would be completely hopeless.
The crowd was staring at the scene in the flickering light of the torches. Twilight didn’t pay them any attention. Celestia’s calming presence would hopefully assure them that this was perfectly fine. Twilight needed to keep her mind on target and not get distracted. The last drops of blood left expanding rings in the deep scarlet surface of the trough.
Twilight let go of Luna’s head and stepped to the side. The dead alicorn slumped over a little as Twilight’s grip on her was released. Twilight lifted her up in her magic and lay her reverently on her back on the cutting block. Fluttershy stood ready to help next to her. The pegasus seemed way more comfortable with this than Twilight.
The blade shook a bit in her magical grasp as Twilight stepped forward and placed the sharp tip at the base of Luna’s exposed abdomen. She steadied her grip a little and breathed slowly as she started to cut along the barrel towards the sternum. The sharp blade cut easily through the soft flesh and fat of Luna’s gut, exposing the viscera. Twilight paused to marvel at the sight of things she had only ever read about. There was something strangely fascinating about it.
With care and utmost respect for the mare she was dissecting, Twilight dug into Luna’s warm gut with her magic, cutting organs free with the knife. It was not as easy or nearly as clean as it looked in the books. She grasped the long, smooth intestines and pulled them out slowly, giving them to Fluttershy who stood ready with the various troughs carefully designated for each particular organ.
One step at a time, following the mental checklist with utmost precision, Twilight removed each organ. Stomach, liver, lungs, and last came the heart. Twilight held up the large lump of muscle and stared at it with strange fascination. She reached out and gently lowered it into her hooves, letting go with her magic. It was heavier than she had expected, and bigger too. She stroked the smooth muscle with a hoof before reluctantly turning around to put it in the trough Fluttershy was holding.
Twilight washed the blood off her hooves before continuing her grim task. Applejack and Spike were already busy cleaning and preparing the organs behind her. Soft music was playing in the background, and the crowd were mingling and murmuring about the things going on up on the platform. Twilight left them to it as she pulled Luna’s wing open and began cutting at the base where it connected at the shoulder. The first wing came off with an unpleasant tearing.
Next came the skinning, a slow and delicate procedure. The fire was getting ready, the flames slowly turning to embers. Hair and coat was discarded in another trough and set aside, to be given to the wolves later. Twilight wiped her brow and stretched her back, looking down at the gutted, skinned carcass of Luna. It was a surreal vision. The regal head and face of the princess she had known was still attached, though barely, to this dead piece of exposed flesh and bones. Her eyes were still closed, and the smile had never left her lips.
Twilight lifted the knife again and cut the head off at last. She lifted it up in her magic and turned it to look at Luna’s face. She stood for a long time, feeling the tears soak her cheeks. Fluttershy placed a hoof on her shoulder and looked at her. “Are you okay, Twilight?”
Luna’s severed head smiled its calm and deathly smile at her. Twilight closed her eyes and reached out to hug it, nuzzling the cold cheek. Fluttershy rubbed her back to comfort her. Twilight sighed and let go, lowering the head into the trough along with the hair and coat, resting it on the soft bed of fur.
“It’s what she wanted,” Fluttershy reassured Twilight. “It was important to her.”
Twilight nodded. “Only one thing left,” she said after collecting herself. Somehow it had seemed like the most unseemly part of this whole ritual while Twilight had been reading and planning the procedure, but now that she looked at the anonymous carcass in front of her, gutted and reduced to a bloody lump, it didn’t seem quite so difficult as the rest had been.
She turned and lifted the long metal spear. Twilight considered it for a moment before carefully inserting it into Luna’s—the carcass’s—backside. It slipped through the hollowed body and out through the open neck almost too easily. Twilight lifted it, letting the legs dangle lifelessly from the spear as she carried it over and placed it over the fire.
“It is done,” she said with a blank stare, as Luna slowly roasted on the spit.
* * *
“I’m very proud of you, Twilight Sparkle.” Princess Celestia smiled as Twilight stepped off the platform and joined her in the crowd. “As always.”
“For killing your sister?” Twilight asked, looking tired. She wasn’t sure if she would believe any of this when she woke up tomorrow, but she had no doubt that it would still be true anyway.
“For doing something so difficult so well,” Celestia said and picked up a glass of wine, offering it to Twilight. “She was very afraid that you would refuse, that she wouldn’t be able to restore this tradition and make this sacrifice for Equestria. You made her very happy, Twilight.”
Twilight took the glass and sniffed it carefully. Even above the smell of the wine and spices, the metallic scent of the blood stood out. She looked at Celestia.
“You don’t have to,” she said. “But I know Luna would have appreciated it.”
Twilight looked back at the wine, then lifted it in a toast to the moon before putting it to her lips. It didn’t taste as bad as she had imagined. It was mostly the smell, and once you got past that it was actually quite nice. It left a light heat in her body as she sank it.
Celestia picked up a glass of her own and sipped it as she and Twilight trotted slowly through the crowd together. Around them ponies were starting to liven back up, eating snacks, gingerly trying the wine and talking about the strange experience. Off in the distance, the body of Luna was slowly roasting to perfection under the skillful eyes of Spike and Applejack.
“What now?” Twilight said and glanced up at Celestia after a while of silently walking.
Celestia smiled and looked at the moon. “For now, we enjoy the rest of the evening in good company. Then we take each day as they come, as we always have.”
Twilight stopped and followed Celestia’s gaze. “Will she be alright?”
“No bones broken?”
“No.”
“And the wild wolves get the remains?”
“Yes.”
Celestia smiled and nuzzled Twilight. “Then she’ll be fine.”
Twilight smiled as well and leaned into Celestia. They sat down in the soft grass together and looked up at the night sky full of stars. They just sat there for a long time, close together without saying anything. Finally Twilight looked down and bit her lip before glancing at Celestia. “Celestia?”
“Yes, Twilight?”
“I just wanted to say …” She lingered a bit. “Dibs on her heart!”
Twilight grinned and disappeared in a flash of purple.
“Oh no you don’t!” Celestia laughed and disappeared a second later.
Twilight appeared by the fire and was surprised to find Celestia already waiting for her. “How did you—”
Celestia grabbed Twilight in a glow of golden light before she could run off. She lifted Twilight and levitated her closer, grinning wolfishly at the surprised mare. “How about we share it, Twilight Sparkle?”
Author's Note
Bon Appétit 
