It was a moonlit night, and the watcher stood guard, as she always had. Two softly glowing eyes of teal pierced the cloak of night.
"'Luna?” a small voice purred from the alleyway below.
The watcher blinked, the white glow fading, and she looked down at the purple cat below, watching her as she climbed up and stood on the wall next to her.
“Oh, good evening, Twilight,” Luna said, before pausing to lick her paw idly. “How is the night treating you?”
“Well enough, I suppose.” Twilight smiled, her tail curled around her feet as she took a seat. “The library doors were all locked by the time I woke up, but, you know, a little bit of yowling goes a long way. I didn’t want to miss out on enjoying the night.”
Luna looked up from her grooming. “Of course.”
“I even got some tuna for my efforts!”
Luna smirked. “I’m not surprised. The old librarian is a sucker for such a cute ball of whiskers like you.”
Twilight purred at the compliment before leaning forward with a smirk. “I still have some on my whiskers. Wanna lick?”
Luna’s fur rippled as she stared blankly at the purple cat giving her a lidded gaze from across the length of the wall. She hoped Twilight didn’t notice the blushing heat rising beneath her midnight blue coat.. Luna gave thanks to Bast above for gracing her with the perfect camouflage.
“Um.” Luna hesitated. Stricken with guilty paralysis, she couldn’t bring herself to say yes. On the other paw, to say no would be a personal regret she couldn’t forgive easily.
Twilight batted her eyes playfully at Luna, standing up along the thin wall and prowling over to her. “What is it, Luna? ...Cat got your tongue?”
“Yes, this Cat has my tongue. You would be honored if this Cat’s tongue...had...you?” Luna frowned. “Twilight, help. I’m bad at metaphors.”
“Well, you are a cat.”
“This is true.” Luna meowed.
Twilight purred and pawed playfully at Luna’s tail. The dark colored kitty flicked her tail just out of reach and looked back at Twilight, her whiskers wrinkling as she fought to keep a smile off her face. “I can smell the tuna on your breath.”
Twilight smiled like the cat that ate the canary, except it was tuna. “You know what I just realized?”
“What?”
“Your name rhymes with tuna. Tuna Luna!” Twilight meowed and giggled to herself.
“Har har.” Luna rolled her teal colored eyes and flicked her tail back and forth.
“Aww, come on. I’ve been cooped up in the house all day.” Twilight slumped forward with a sigh. “You’re no fun.”
Luna glared at her. “I can be fun.” She went back to licking at her paw, occasionally swiping it over her ear. Their moment had passed, her heart rate finally settling back to normal. “But this time of night, on my favorite perch, I like to relax,” she mewed.
“Oh?” Twilight started to lick her own paw. “Do you like the view from here? I can see...this back alleyway. Oh! And the building over there on the other side of the alley!”
“They have dogs there. I detest canines.”
Twilight shrugged and went back to licking her dainty claws clean.
“It is not the alley that makes this perch a favorite.” Luna smiled and narrowed her eyes to mere slits. “Nay, tis the view it offers me of the Moon. The great face of our beloved Bast!”
Twilight looked up from her grooming and tilted her head at Luna. “The Moon?” she asked, following Luna’s gaze. “Oh my. It really does look quite beautiful from here, doesn’t it?”
Luna just nodded, smiling peacefully.
The night was silent for a moment, save for the sound of the wind whipping through the trees. Then Luna was startled by a sudden mewl of surprise from beside her. “Oh! Speaking of the Moon and stars and night and stuff…” Twilight turned and leapt from her post, landing on the stairwell opposite. “C’mon, you old grump!” she called up, before disappearing down into the alleyway below.
Luna blinked. “Hey, I’m not a grump,” she growled. “And wait for me, dammit!” She wiggled her grumpy rump and pounced, bounding off the walls before alighting on the street just outside the alley, spotting Twilight running only a few metres ahead of her down the sidewalk.
“Get back here, Twilight, or I’ll show you just how ‘grumpy’ I can be!” Luna took off after the giggling purple feline, and the two led a merry chase through the streets and across the roofs of the sleeping town. They leapt over bins, danced past dogs, and ran in sync with one another as they swept through the streets.
Eventually, they arrived at a small library in a cozy, tucked away corner of the tiny town. It looked almost like a fairytale, with orange firelight spilling out of the windows like a tiny slice of Heaven. In the air, they could smell tantalising things. Is that… fish? Fresh cream, too? Luna thought as she paused near the front door. She would be drooling if it were possible for her to demean herself to such a level. Her traitorous stomach, however, held no such illusions and gurgled audibly.
Twilight smirked. “C’mon, I know you’re hungry, but that’s not why we’re here.” She spirited away as Luna fought down mild disappointment. They climbed a convenient drainpipe and slipped in through a balcony window, alighting upon the floor of an empty, darkened room.
“Aaaaaand…” Twilight swept a paw at the balcony. “Ta-dah!”
Standing there, the polished metal gleaming in the starlight, was a telescope.
Luna gawked, skittering to a halt upon the hardwood floor. The moon’s soft light flitted in between the windows, gleaning her pelt silver. A stool stood before the telescope, right beside its eyepiece. Without a word, she leaped up onto the stool’s cushion and peered in.
“I figured that this belonged to a youngling, because it’s too small for a full twoleg to use,” Twilight said softly. “I know you used to look into one at your old house, before you and Celestia had to move out. Do… Do you like it?” She smiled hopefully, gazing up intently at the feline above.
But she garnered no reply. Luna was engrossed with her telescope, pawing at its knobs and dials. Her whiskers occasionally flickered, but whether that was from happiness or not, Twilight could not tell.
“Luna?” Twilight asked. But again, Luna said nothing. Stepping forward, she prodded more forcefully, “Luna.” After seconds more, she sighed sharply. “Are you even listening to me?”
“WOOF!”
Luna’s head shot up, ears perked and swivelling like radar dishes. “Twilight,” she said, deathly serious. Her voice was as the swipe of a claw – quick, subtle, and pointed. “Was that…?”
Another earth-shattering bark reverberated throughout the house. There was the distant sound of something rumbling up the stairs.
“Aheh.” Twilight grinned nervously. “Yeah, I probably should have mentioned that before. But don’t worry, he–”
She was cut off by a low hiss, one that slowly began to increase in volume until it reached an ear shattering pitch. The rumbling from the stairs stopped suddenly as a particularly large, particularly muscular and - this is especially notable - particularly slobbery dog burst into the moonlit room. Beady green eyes surrounded by short purple fur locked on Twilight and Luna instantly. Now that it faced them, the dog stalked slowly forward, the light from the window glinting off its spiked collar and highlighted a green stripe that ran down the dog’s spine from head to tail.
Luna arched her back, fur bristling and tail plumed to make herself as impressive as she could be. She flexed her paws and extended her razor sharp claws, gouging the wooden stool she perched upon. “Twilight, run! I will deal with this cur!”
“Feh, cut it out Luna.”
“What?!” Luna blinked rapidly. She glared at the dog, not taking her eyes off it, least it pounce.
“As I was saying, you don’t have to worry.” Twilight smirked and padded silently closer to the dog, her every step eliciting a low noise from the beast as it tracked her. “This is Spike! He’s a good doggy, aren’t you boy?”
Luna could not believe her eyes or ears. The mindless beast started to whip its tail back and forth like an angry cat before attacking the hand that fed it. She knew that she would have to be quick, Twilight’s life was at stake!
The hound wiggled its butt, bunching up its hind legs as it prepared to pounce. Springing into action, Luna flung herself at the beast, but, in her rush of adrenaline, her front paws slipped on the smooth cushion, falling forward as she flipped towards the floor. She met the ground like a sack of potatoes.
Spike hopped towards Twilight, landing with a goofy tangle of legs before her, front paws splayed out in front of him while his rump remained high in the air. He yapped at her, before rolling over on his back, tail wagging back and forth, tongue lolling out of his mouth.
Luna awoke from her daze on the floor, upside down against the base of the stool. Twilight nuzzled Spike’s face, before turning to face her. She giggled at the upturned feline, bounding over to her. She lowered her face towards Luna’s, staring at her from a scant couple inches away. “Whatcha doin there, Luna?” she asked with a snicker.
“I am merely, well, in a bit of a position,” Luna grumbled, kicking her legs in the air as she tried to roll over. She flailed as such for a brief second, before finally becoming undone and landing with a hearty thump on the floor.
“Oh, you poor kitty.” Twilight sat before her. “Well, it’s the thought that counts. You were very brave, trying to protect me from Spikey-wikey,” she purred. “He’s a big softy Luna! Don’t you remember when I told you my family got a puppy?”
“Perhaps.” Luna straightened herself and tried to piece her dignity back together. “You were not, however, clear on how big this puppy was. I feared for your life, Twilight.”
“Awwww!” Twilight smiled and leaned in to plant a quick nuzzle on the tip of Luna’s nose. “You don’t have to fear for me, I’m not a kitten anymore. Why don’t you go back to the telescope, Luna? I’ll keep Spike out of your fur, okay?”
Luna once again thanked nature’s forethought in granting her a dark coloration to conceal her blush. Her nose tingled where Twilight’s had touched her and it made her want to wrinkle her whiskers just for the excuse of bathing herself and capturing a taste of it. Twilight always had that effect on her and at times she couldn’t tell if the younger cat was toying with her or if it was something more.
Luna sighed. “That would be acceptable. Perhaps you could also bring me some of that tuna as well? Stargazing makes me hungry.”
Twilight rolled her eyes and lowered herself in a faux bow. “As her majesty wishes.”
Luna awoke, and immediately wished she hadn’t.
“Aaaargh,” she moaned, closing her eyes and hugging the soft thing in her paws tightly. “Nooooo.”
The Sun is dumb, she thought. Go away, Sun.
The thing in her paws started shifting. Luna frowned and held on tighter, but she was unable to stop the sinfully soft thing from wriggling out of her grasp. Something whipped her softly on the cheek, and she opened her eyes to see a half-asleep Twilight Sparkle crawl out of her paws and yawn cutely.
Luna looked down at her now-empty paws, and sniffed. “B-But…”
Something booped her on the nose, quieting her moans. “Luna,” it said. “Get up.”
Luna turned over. The bed in Twilight’s basket was heaven. “No.”
“Luna.”
“Nooooo.”
“Luna.”
“Noooooo–”
“Woof!”
Something long and wet and rough slapped across her face, and she shrieked, leaping into the air and falling out of the basket she’d been sleeping in.
The basket that – unfortunately – had been right on the edge of the countertop.
The accursed laughter of a certain Twilight Sparkle followed Luna as she just barely landed on all fours on the floor of the bedroom. She sighed. She really did not like canines.
A few muttered curses and prodigious giggle fits later, Luna sat on the balcony, squinting in the brightness of the early morning sunshine. It was odd, being here, in Twilight Sparkle’s home. They’d known each other for a long while now, and while Luna had always been somewhat aware that she had a place she belonged, she had also never been confronted with the idea like this before. Regardless, it was a pretty place – homely, if a little rough, though that was probably just the dog.
Twilight leapt up next to her and gave her a cheery smile. “So, what’s on the agenda for today? Uh, besides sleeping, of course.”
Luna pondered for a moment. There really was never much to be done during the day – that was her sister’s domain, after all. The Night was where Luna’s talents lay. “I think I should go wake up my sister. She’ll probably be sleeping, still.”
Twilight tilted her head. “Your sister?” She gasped. “You don’t mean…?”
Luna sighed. “Yes. Her.” She heard a gasp, and quickly plugged her paw into Twilight’s maw. “Please don’t talk about how much you adore her. I get enough of that.”
Twilight removed the errant paw and pouted. “Awww. But I haven’t seen Celestia in weeks!”
Luna grumped. “Fine, but keep to muttering under your breath, ok?”
Twilight nodded and followed after Luna as she leapt - gracefully for a change - to the ground and slipped silently back out the window. They ran through the town, now busy and loud in the full light of day, until they reached shady, tree-lined Equestria Avenue. Large houses set back from the road peppered the long street on both sides, their lawns all meticulously groomed and manicured. At the top of the hill rested the largest and oldest of the stately domiciles; Canterlot Manor.
In the manor’s sunroom, they came upon Luna’s elder sister - who somewhat surprisingly - wasn’t asleep. The large, graceful Ragamuffin sat on a gold pillow in the center of the room where sun beams shined all day long, her white fur glowed bright enough she looked like she might be the sun itself. If the sun was a cat. Which it isn’t.
Luna slinked into her sister’s domain like a muted shadow, stopping before an invisible boundary between them. She sat down and kept her distance, casually licking one paw with extreme disinterest. Twilight followed her like a curious kitten, her eyes grew as big as saucers as she gazed on Celestia. Luna was glad that Twilight was too starstruck to offer comment and stretched herself out.
“Good morning, dear Luna.” Celestia smiled. “And to you too, young Twilight.”
Luna stared out across the room. “If you say-”
Twilight paused at the doorway, one paw raised as if she were awaiting a formal invitation to enter the room. A glance from the regal feline removed that perceived barrier and Twilight leaped forward to roll submissively onto her back at the foot of Celestia’s pillow and purr embarrassingly loud.
“–so.” Luna facepawed. “Twilight...Twilight, stop. You are embarrassing me!”
Celestia chuckled quietly and reached down to bat playfully at Twilight. “Hush Luna. Twilight is still young and learning to be a proper cat. You were like this once, long ago.” Celestia smiled again as Twilight caught her paw and started to kick at it with her hind legs before twisting away and rolling on the soft carpet.
Luna huffed as she eyed her sister as she watched Twilight act like a spaz. When Celestia leaned further off her pillow, however, Luna narrowed her eyes as she noticed a treat wrapper hidden behind her sister. Like an invisible ninja, Luna slipped around the pillow and reached out to snatch it.
Celestia’s tail landed on Luna’s outstretched paw like a cuddly whip, pinning the smaller cat. Celestia sat back and looked over her shoulder at Luna. “Those aren’t for you.”
“Hogging all the treats again, sis?” Luna tugged on her paw, shaking the pillow slightly, but was unable to free herself. “Remember what happened last time you hogged something and kept it away from me?”
“Yes. It was a nightmare.”
Luna growled and yanked hard and pried her paw free. “So share, or I’m gonna tell on you.”
“Those treats aren’t for me either.” Celestia turned and regarded her sister with both of her wide magenta colored eyes. “Do you remember our neighbor, Mr. Rocky?”
Luna nodded and licked the fur on her leg until it lay smooth. Mr. Rocky was a grey striped tabby that lived in the next house over. He had told Luna many fantastic stories of his travels and discoveries in the past, when she had been a kitten. She had believed every word until she grew old enough to explore the world on her own. She saw him less and less as the years passed. He would usually sit in the window facing their large yard sometimes and meow in greeting at her with his funny, high pitched, old tabby voice.
“Today is his last day, Luna. That is why I’m up earlier than normal. You two caught me just before I was to go see him.”
Twilight slowed her kittenish rolling and picked herself up into a semi-dignified position. “What do you mean by his ‘last day?’”
Luna held her tongue and curled herself into a ball. Celestia shifted and drew out the small bag of treats. “Everycat has a last day, Twilight. It is a fact of life that we must all deal with at some point. On a cat’s last day, if they are lucky, they are attended to by their friends and family and cared for to ensure that their final nap is peaceful. Mr. Rocky has no family of his own, but he has been a friend to me and Luna for as long as I can remember. So it falls to me to see to it that he has peace and company on this most important day.” Celestia turned the treat bag over and held it up for Twilight to see. “These are his favorites treats. He always had the odd habit of calling them–”
“Popsicles.” Luna covered her face with a paw. The light was too bright and her vision was blurred.
Twilight tilted her head. “Popsicles? But the bag says they’re chicken flavor.”
Luna sniffed quietly while Celestia set the bag on the floor in front of herself. Luna wiped her face and looked at the carpet, her voice, when she spoke was thick and hard. “Mr. Rocky always called his treats popsicles to entertain me as a kitten. The old puss was full of wisdom - if you want to call it that - and he would relate everything back to his ‘two favorite’ things: popsicles and chicken sammiches. It was a joke he used to make me smile when I wasn’t feeling well.”
Luna paused and her fur bristled down the length of her tail. “It was a dumb joke that stopped being funny a long time ago.”
“Yes, perhaps. However, I always found Mr. Rocky’s advice to be very sound. Many of the lessons I have taught to the two of you hold a bit of his kind and wise words in them.” Celestia hung her head solemnly for a moment before she gave them her usual wise smile. “Don’t let it bother either of you my dears. Enjoy your day while I see to easing Mr. Rocky. It is a duty I take seriously and I will discuss it further, if you wish, when I see you both in the evening.”
Twilight sat and watched Celestia leave, the treat bag clutched in her mouth. She watched until the sunroom was empty except for the two of them. It seemed dimmer somehow, without Celestia. She turned, finally, and trod over to where Luna remained curled up and silent. She didn’t say anything. Luna didn’t say anything back.
Two cats, one purple, one black lay together in the sun and snoozed.
The warmth subsided around Twilight, as if the sun had been blocked out on her napping place. But as she opened her eyes, the glowing orb in the sky still shone brightly upon her. Poking her head up, she looked around the room.
Luna sat in the shade, just beside one of the room’s many windows, staring off into oblivion. She was statuesque, her teal eyes unblinking and chest unbreathing. Twilight hauled herself up, stretching her lithe body out with a luxurious yawn. Satisfied, she padded up beside Luna, grateful for the light flooding in through the window.
“Luna?” Twilight asked cautiously.
“I’m fine,” Luna mewed.
“Are you sure? You can talk about it if you want.”
Luna remained silent, whiskers twitching as she looked out into the afternoon world. The golden rays that adorned the dying day, while once a catalyst for some of the most beautiful displays of light, now only served a reminder for the grains of sand lost.
“I don’t want to.”
Twilight nodded. She shuffled on her paws, shifting closer to Luna so their coats brushed together. They sat like that for awhile, looking out into the world beyond, of lawns and fences and buildings and life. On the border of the shadow they waited, Luna submerged in shade and Twilight bathed in light.
Luna stood up and whirled around, tail flicking by Twilight’s face as she headed to leave. “I’m going to head out for awhile.”
Twilight sat, rooted to the floor, watching her go. With a sigh, she hung her head to the floor. She wondered what was going through her friend’s head at times like this. They had known each other for a while, that’s true, but in all those years, Twilight still had yet to figure Luna out. All she really knew was that, almost unerringly, she would find her at the same spot, same time, every single night.
But that wasn’t enough. Try as she may, even holding a conversation with the reclusive cat was a struggle at times. Luna was prone to sinking into a moody reservation, zoning off into the distance without muttering a single word in reply. Twilight wanted to know what was bothering her, she wanted to help. But, despite all of her attempts to get closer, she felt no nearer than ever.
The despair welled up inside of her. Luna was a good cat, she really was. She looked out for cats of all ages and status around the neighborhood, and lent her ear to anycat who needed it. Beneath her public image, she was sweet in a subtle, kind way. Her politeness was genuine, her smiles sincere. Her grumpiness was a masquerade for her inner compassion, presumably not comfortable being so open. It only helped that the same grumpiness was adorable.
Now, alone in the sunroom, Twilight felt cold. The warmth of hope was fleeting her, aspirations of unlocking the recluse barely more than glowing embers.
“Why, hello there, little kitty,” a voice purred from beside her.
Twilight gasped, spun around, and adopted a challenging posture, leaning back with her tail held high. Two yellow eyes gleamed in the darkness, leering at her, as the creature they belonged to stepped out of the shadows.
Twilight blinked, relaxing for a brief moment in surprise. “You’re… a fox?”
A fox did indeed stand before her, but it looked like no ordinary vulpine. Its coat was a mish-mash of colours – blue, brown, yellow, greens, all clashing together, like the work of a demented artist. Two distorted red eyes stared at her hungrily, framed by sickly yellow sclera. The fox smirked. “That I am. Pleased to meet you, little kitten.”
Twilight hissed. “How did you get in here? What do you want?”
The fox sat down and examined its odd yellow paw idly. “Oh, I have my ways. And what I want is none of your business.” He looked up at her, and sneered. “But I do know that you’ve been meeting up with a certain… acquaintance of mine.”
Twilight raised a brow. “Wh-Who is that?” She blinked, and the fox was gone.
“Don’t play dumb with me, meat,” a voice spoke, right in her ear. Twilight yelped and leapt backwards, hair standing on end. “Surely there’s only one creature that could possibly draw the attention of a being such as myself.”
Twilight glared at the odd fox. “What do you want with Luna, you dumb fox?!”
The fox’s eyes flashed, that malicious smile still painted on his face. “Oh, I want nothing to do with Luna. Just you.”
“M-Me?”
The fox leapt up onto the windowsill. The sunlight made his dull coat glow eerily. “Have you at all wondered why this friend of yours has been acting so oddly today?”
“Acting oddly?” Twilight looked down, frowning. “W-well… I guess she has been a little weird today. But she has a sister like Celestia.” She looked back up at the fox. “How could she be so unhappy around her?”
The fox nodded gravely. “Ah, yes. I was afraid of this.” He heaved a sigh. “You see, Luna is quite… broken.”
Twilight blinked. “Broken? What are you talking about?”
“Exactly that,” he said. “She is not a good cat, Twilight Sparkle. I came here to warn you of that fact. Yes, perhaps she does seem like your friend, but that is just how she works.” He shrugged. “She keeps a lot of secrets, that kitten.”
Twilight frowned. “Alright, just who in the world are you? How do you know all this?”
The fox cackled. “Why, I’m glad you asked!” He leapt down from the window, landing on top of Twilight, fangs bared and eyes wide. “My name is Discord.”
Twilight blinked, and he was gone.
Twilight flattened her ears back and bristled her fur as she felt suddenly vulnerable in the empty sunroom. Whoever that fox claimed to be and no matter what he claimed to know about Luna, Twilight knew in her gut he was dangerous. She padded quickly for the door, her nose wrinkled as she scented after Luna. Twilight held her tail low with worry and wondered if the fox was right about her friend.
She found Luna in the kitchen. Twilight stopped at the doorway and watched Luna lap up the cream that had been set out for them. Luna noticed her and flicked her tail about but otherwise ignored Twilight. Twilight mewed quietly and started toward the cream when Luna suddenly moved and leaped up to the top of the counter and prowled past the sink to take a seat in the kitchen window.
“Luna…” Twilight frowned as her friend turned away and gazed at the outside.
“What do you want?”
“Um…” Twilight um’d. “I want to know why you’re acting weird.”
“No, I am not acting weird. You simply do not understand.”
Twilight frowned and leapt up to the counter and took a seat near the edge between some empty cups and plates that smelled faintly of last night’s pasta. “That’s not what the fox told me.”
Luna froze, the fur on her back and hackles rising. She turned her head toward Twilight with an alien, owl-like slowness, her eyes wide and the slits narrowed so much that they looked like teal colored orbs. “The fox?” Luna’s voice was a mere whisper but as she spoke shadows seemed to creep out of the corners toward Twilight. “What does the fox say?”
“Um, uh th-that-at um uh I-I didn’t…” Twilight swallowed and wished she hadn’t even mentioned the vulpine.
“That’s what I thought. Believe none of that snake’s lies, Twilight. He serves only himself and lives to cause chaos.” Luna’s icy tone dripped with open distain. “Stay away from the one who calls himself Discord!”
“But…” Twilight frowned. “Why do you hate Discord so much? And… and why are you so cold to Celestia?”
“That… I–I can’t…” Luna sighed in exasperation. “I can’t explain that right now! You just have to believe me, okay?”
“I–” Twilight sighed. “–okay.”
Luna brushed her cheek along Twilight’s, murmuring gently, “Thank you. I’d prefer not to talk about it… not now, at least.” She turned around and faced her, oblivious to Twilight’s sheepish fidgeting and wide grin. “If he ever attempts to talk to you again, keep walking and ignore him. Nothing good will come from listening to his lies.”
Twilight’s smile faded, but the heat in her cheeks and ears did not. Her earlier distress melted away. “Of–of course.”
Luna dipped her head. “Good. Now, would you like to join me along the fence? The afternoon is waning, and I have a hunch that the moon will look wonderful tonight.”
