Chapters There was only one throne room in Canterlot Castle, and only one throne. For a thousand years, that had been enough. This was no longer the case.
Luna squirmed on the uncomfortable chair. It wasn’t designed for her, and, no matter what her sister claimed, she didn’t believe for a second that it was as disagreeable for Celestia. Their old thrones had never been so bad. Then again, Celestia always had something to do when she sat upon the stiff chair.
Rather than dwell on her annoyance and agitation, Luna turned toward her seneschal and gave a reluctant nod. The twitch of Soft Whisper’s leathery wings was the only sign that she shared her princess’ displeasure. At the seneschal's bellow, twenty four heads bowed and turned to leave, exiting without complaint to do… whatever they did with their—all too common—hours of unscheduled free time. Only Soft Whisper and two other sarosins stayed behind to escort their princess wherever she decided to go.
No pony spoke as Luna led them out the side exit. The guards were too busy being guards, while Luna and Whisper had already discussed every topic which needed her attention. She was grateful for the quiet. Conversation seemed like it would take far more interest than she could muster at the moment.
The trek to her private apartments took forever, no matter that only a scant few minutes had passed. The plush carpets did nothing to quiet their steps, each hoof fall ringing in Luna’s ears, pounding like a minotaur’s war drum to sound retreat. She was fleeing, running from a foe that failed to even notice her existence.
It had been nearly two years since her return, and the number of ponies who sought her over Celestia could be counted on the first bar of her abacus. That wasn’t to say she had no work or responsibilities. Celestia ensured that was not the case. No, it was that the only ponies who came to her were those in her own employ or who had been re directed to her as a matter of course. She tried reminding herself that most ponies slept at night, but it never seemed to help.
When they came upon her sister’s door—the two guards outside snapping to attention—she considered entering and seeking comfort.
Though Celestia was undoubtedly fast asleep, she would be nothing but welcoming to Luna. She would wake up groggy and a little bemused, but upon seeing Luna all that would fall away. Her silk covers would pull back and a wing spread wide to invite Luna to join her. Luna would of course, for that would have been the point. There, she would curl up against her sisters warmth as Celestia held her tight. Their conversation would start light, a great deal of nothing said until Luna was ready to broach the topic which had brought her. Sometimes, they wouldn’t even get that far, the physical reminder that, the rest of the world be damned, her sister still loved and cared for her would be enough. Then morning would come, perhaps they fell asleep, perhaps not, and they would see to their duties before enjoying a meal and finally parting company.
It would be… nice. It would feel good, and she would hold no regrets for the time spent. But when evening came, nothing would be resolved.
Sympathy was not what she needed now. No. She needed action, to do something more than wallow in her sister’s loving presence. If her subjects would not seek her help in their waking, she would seek to help them in their sleeping. Perhaps if she helped enough, they would begin to see me as more than just the other princess .
Outside Luna’s own door, Soft Whisper bid her a good evening and left for her office as the two guards took up their posts on either side.
Her suite was a luxurious thing, filled with divans, a massive bed, and a smattering of bookcases and other cluttered shelves. Carpets covered the floor and tapestries the walls. The ceiling was crafted of a glass enchanted to mimicked the night sky with thousands of moving diamonds that followed her more consistent constellations as they moved from season to season. Every ounce of wood was ebony and the cloth ranged in colors from dark blue to violet, with white and silver accents throughout. Sunlight never fell within the darkened walls, not because she didn’t enjoy it—she often spent hours on the balcony just bathing in her sister’s light—but simply because it would have ruined the esthetic.
There had been a time when she’d believed she loved her room in their old castle, of which it was an almost exact copy. Now, she was not so sure. It seemed more and more designed out of expectation rather than desire, not that she’d entertained any ponies beyond her sister and Twilight Sparkle on a single occasion since her return.
Shrugging off the melancholic thoughts as she had many times before, Luna lounged on her favored divan, closed her eyes, and took solace that there was at least one thing she could do that amounted to more than keeping her sister’s throne warm.
The dreamscape stretched out before her, an infinite black filled with uncountable stars twinkling in and out of existence as ponies fell in and out of dreams. Unlike the real nightscape, the stars of the dreamscape were never a simple white, but rather shifted through a kaleidoscope of colors dependent on the content and emotions of the dream.
She’d once thought to mimic the effect in her own night sky, to show her ponies the beauty of the world they created without realizing it. It turned out to be far more than she could manage. Just the blinking effect had nearly put her down after ten minutes, much less altering the colors.
While putting a name to those little spots of light was no mean feat, there were a number that stood out to her. Her saviors, the six mares from Ponyville, were always brighter than the rest. She’d not decided why this was, be it the potency of their destinies or the earnestness of their dreams. But then, she knew them little and had never had a reason to visit their dreams. Then there was sister. Her golden orb, larger than all the rest, hung in the same place as ever… despite direction having no real meaning in the realm. Luna had wondered about that in the past. The only answer she’d come to was that her own perspective placed it there, Celestia having always been her anchor, even in her darker days.
It came as some shock when she found herself drifting closer to her sister’s dream. She’d not visited her there since her return, uncertain if it would be appropriate. That, and she was more than a little worried she would find the old barrier still in place—the one devised as a bulwark against Nightmare Moon—and what that would mean. Better not to know.
She neared, and a small spark of joy filled her chest. It was not there. Nothing stood between her and Celestia’s dreams. Had she hooves, she’d have danced in place. Celestia trusted her, really, truly trusted her.
Long untended memories of more innocent times surfaced the closer she drew. Times when she would spy on her sister’s dreams, both in search of ways to prank her sister and to ensure there were no pranks waiting for her. It had taken Celestia years to figure out how she avoided so many well laid traps. Perhaps it was time to end the ceasefire.
Luna reached out and touched the golden star.
Celestia’s bedroom was spartan. The work desk to one side, the four post bed (large, yes, but not extravagant) on another, the bookshelves along the walls, and the cushions piled about the fireplace, all barely filled the space. Everything was rich by virtue of age and craftsponyship rather than the wealth of the materials used. The only ornamentation was to be found with the small gifts and trinkets collected over her long life; their value marked more in memories than wealth.
Celestia herself sat behind the desk, her eyes scanning over reports. Luna made to roll her eyes, leave it to her sister to dream of paperwork.
Trotting around the room, invisible and unnoticed, Luna admired the detail her sister had managed within her dream. Even skilled dreamers had difficulty reproducing the world as it was, even the book titles were legible. Luna’s circuit of the room produced nothing that she’d not seen before. Any nuggets of useful information were hidden where Celestia had yet to manifest them. Even a dedicated search of the furniture failed to turn up so much as a journal or box of interesting missives.
Uncountable minutes later—dreamtime being what it was—Luna was laid out across Celestia’s bed and growing bored of watching her sister sign one scroll after another. Well, perhaps her time wasn’t so horribly wasted, needling Celestia about her truly uninspired dreaming would provide some entertainment in the morning. Either way, Luna was done waiting for something to happen. She rose from the bed and bowed to her sister, silently thanking her for being such a dullard.
Just as she was opening the way out, the great doors swung open, crashing against the walls and shaking a number of books and trinkets off the shelves. Bold as brass, a pony strode into Celestia’s private quarters as though he owned the place.
Luna watched in shock, a smile forming on her lips, as the stallion marched toward a stunned Celestia. The pony was dream sprite, a simple manifestation of Celestia’s mind. As was the nature of dreams, sprites were unstable by default, their appearance always shifting at the whims of the dreamer’s mind. This one, however, was even more mercurial than most and a stark contrast to the solidity of the dream thus far.
At first an entirely nondescript guard, every step brought with it a change to his appearance. Starting as a white coated earth pony, his coat and mane grew progressively darker. His features and form changed as well, horn and wings fading in and out as his body and muzzle became more and more feminine. Halfway across the room, he was securely a she. The armour disappeared entirely and the horn and wings both stabilized.
Luna grinned devilishly at the image of Twilight Sparkle. This was too good to pass up, and Luna resettled to watch what drama might play out.
Context was provided by the lustful gleam in the young alicorn's eyes. There’d been no doubt in Luna’s mind that Twilight held a special place in her sister’s heart, but she’d always assumed it was as a daughter, not a potential lover. If she were harbouring romantic desires toward the young mare, well, Luna might have to do something about that.
Any plots or plans that started to form in Luna’s mind died. Five paces from Celestia’s desk, the dream sprite was no longer Twilight.
Luna nearly swallowed her tongue. A perfect mirror image of herself stood before Celestia, a hint of anger shrouding the lustful glint left over from its previous face.
Luna's face paled as the longing in her doppelganger's eyes failed to fade. Her insides twisted. No. No. Any moment now it would go away. Any moment now and she wouldn’t be watching this travesty. She wanted to run, to flee, but like seeing the tide roll back in portent of the coming tsunami, she could naught but watch.
A vicious grin formed on the false-Luna’s lips as she summoned a riding crop out of the air. Celestia stood, only to be struck across the muzzle.
Luna’s heart clenched as a wholly different terror took her. She wanted to scream, to shout that that was not her. That she would never strike her sister. How could Tia… She would never… Did Celestia... But she could do nothing. Fear and pain locked her in place, forcing her to watch what had to be her sister’s, and her own, worst nightmare.
Words passed between Celestia and the false-Luna, made incomprehensible to her by the dream save for the contriteness of Celestia’s tone and the annoyance of the false-Luna’s. A second swing struck the downtrodden Celestia’s other cheek. The false-Luna held out her left hoof and motioned to it with the crop. With head hung in shame, Celestia slumped behind the desk, crawling around it on her belly until she was laying prone before her tormenter.
The false-Luna’s smile came then, a cruel curl of her lips as Celestia’s own stretched out to touch the proffered hoof.
The unmistakable smell of lust reached Luna’s nose, a saccharine stench from which she recoiled even as it sparked a sympathetic warmth in her loins.
Celestia continued to pepper the false-Luna’s hoof with kisses and licks as though to clean it with her tongue. Luna’s eyes, however, were drawn to Celestia’s own hoof. She watched with horrified fascination as it disappeared under Celestia’s body. Luna’s horror only grew when Celestia’s tail flicked out of the way to reveal the missing hoof and display the sopping marehood it caressed.
The crop struck again, snapping Celestia’s head to the side. More words were spoken by the false-Luna, only the tint of passion soaked annoyance filtering to Luna's own ears. Celestia obeyed the command, slinking toward her bed. Her tail swished from side-to-side as she crawled, flashing her wet cunt and filling the room with her arousal.
Luna followed close behind the crawling mare, and, as Celestia lifted herself to the bed, gave a hard shove that sent her sprawling over the covers. Cooing, Luna nuzzled the emblazoned suns as though in apology for her misdeed. Light nips and kisses followed, each causing Celestia to twitch or hum in response.
So close, Luna was drowned in her sister’s scent. Her own arousal rose in response, offering its own unique tang that drove out the last dregs of restraint from her already drugged mind. Whispering that she was not to make a sound, Luna licked at her sister’s soaked inner thigh, tasting her juice for the first time. The sharp spice of it sent a shiver down Luna’s spine. She could hold back no more.
Luna clove her sister’s opening with her muzzle before drawing her tongue over the pink flesh. Celestia bit her lip, repressing the urge to moan.
It was futile. Luna desperately needed to hear her sister call out and continued to press into her folds until her will broke. The sound of Celestia’s moan was almost enough to send Luna galloping over the edge, and that would not do.
The crop followed swiftly, striking Celestia’s flank as punishment for her transgression. That only served to drive her deeper, and Celestia let another gasp of pleasure pass. Strike followed moan, followed strike, Luna’s muzzle driving toward the hard nub until her teeth raked across it.
Celestia quivered and screamed out her name as Luna nibbled.
When she could take no more, a violent spasm locked Celestia's white thighs tight around Luna’s head. Warm, sticky juices poured over Luna’s muzzle and into her waiting mouth.
Luna fell off the divan. Her heart raced in her chest as her hooves scraped at her muzzle and tongue, desperate to clean herself of the stain that existed only in her mind and her sister’s dream. Confusion, disgust, and fear swirled, a whirlpool of half-formed thoughts and emotions that slipped from her grasp even as they formed. Only the pulsing, moist heat between her hindlegs a constant rock upon which she could anchor. One which made her stomach heave even as she desperately clung to it.
Celestia awoke just as the first spasm shook her. Balling and squeezing the bed-sheets between her legs, she rode out the orgasm as best she could. Her hindlegs bucked, kicking the hoofboard with each crest. Even at the height of her climax, the whole experience was as dismaying and repugnant as it was inconvenient.
When the peaks leveled out, she was left with nothing but the sound of her panting breaths, the slick of sweat in her coat, and the pressure of tears against her eyes. She lay there, curled into a knot of self-loathing, until her breath returned and she was able to think past the revolution churning in her stomach.
With care, she used the already soaked sheet to wick away the pungent fluid from between her legs. Each pat, no matter how delicate, touched the border of pain and pleasure, making her twitch and kick. When she was satisfied that she was a clean as she could be without a shower, Celestia held the defiled, bunched-up sheet out in her magic.
Even at a length away, she could smell her… unique fragrance permeating the sheet. It would need to be washed, or better, replaced entirely for what it represented. No amount of detergent could remove that stain from its fibers. She could just burn it, a quick, simple spell would see it reduced to ash in the blink of an eye. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to look the maids in the eye for at least a month. No, that would only leave them all the more curious about what had happened…
It wasn’t like they ever met her eyes anyway.
Sighing, Celestia dropped the wad of soiled silk to the floor, laid back down, and closed her eyes. It wasn’t like the sheet mattered. She was a pony and needed release no less than any other. In a way, it would be good for them to see it, to know what it represented. Maybe it would help them see her as something more like a pony instead of an untouchable icon. Yes, that would be nice. Perhaps she could start letting that mask slip a little now that Luna was…
Celestia groaned and rolled over, it was far too soon after… that to think of her sister in any capacity. She needed to focus on something else, to banish the image of her sister muzzle deep between her legs.
Growling and gnashing her teeth, Celestia stood and began pacing.
Two years! For two years she’d managed to put all of that behind her, to bury it in an unmarked grave where she could forget that it had ever existed. Why was this happening now? Luna was back, her sister was home and everything was supposed to return to normal. She was there, in the flesh just down the hall. She was real and strong and she needed her sister, not some… some… Celestia snorted, her pace quickening.
Her door was halfway open before she realized what she was doing and slammed it shut again.
Retreating back to her bed, she fell to her haunches, leaning her back against it as she gripped her head between her forehooves. Tears threatened to burst from the edges of her eyes, so she closed them tight. Memories of the long, lonely nights after banishing the Nightmare surfaced only to add to her misery. Try as she might, every thought turned back to the horrible solitude that had defined her life for so long. Now, with her sister returned, she could no more go to her than she could for the past thousand years.
Fate, it seemed, had a thing for cruel irony.
She huddled herself there, between the floor and her bed as she waited for the feelings to pass. Tears came despite her best efforts, but she never devolved into sobbing or crying out. This was a hole she’d dug all by herself, and she was determined to suffer it in the same silent isolation that had spawned it.
Celestia started out of her half-sleep an hour before she should have woken up at all.
Between her disrupted sleep and the whole ordeal that had followed, she was exhausted. Unfortunately, even if she could call in sick, her own morals wouldn’t allow her to do so unless she was physically incapable of anything else. Because I’m the pinnacle of morality , she thought with a sneer.
Stubbornly focusing on the task at hoof, Celestia dragged herself up and into her bathroom.
Like everything else that was hers , her bathroom was large only compared to a normal sized pony. The sink, level with her collar, was unusable by any other pony without wings or a step-stool. Her toilet could have been used to bath a foal, and her shower was large enough to fit a small family. At best, she could see to her daily needs without dwelling on it, at worst, it was a grotesque reminder of just how far removed she was from everypony else.
Stepping into the shower, her field instinctively grabbed the hot water valve. Before it turned, however, she stopped herself and opened the other instead.
The water crashed into her like an avalanche, shocking ever muscle into a stiff rigidity and expelling the air from her lungs in a single, harsh gasp. She stood there, head level with her spine and wings flared, locking her limbs and fighting the urge to flee from the frigid chill.
It had the intended effect. Every ounce of her mind was either scoured away by the gelid temperature soaking into her fur and feathers, or consumed by the struggle to remain under the frigid fall of liquid ice.
The blessed few minutes of thoughtlessness did not last. Eventually, her body acclimated enough that she regained her mobility and sentience. With this small amount of control, she set about cleaning herself.
The deluge of frigid water had worked to repress the lingering scent of her shame, but that would not last. With the vigor of an irate parent presented with crayons drawings on her walls, Celestia set about to scour away the lingering evidence of her dream.
By the time she stepped out of the shower, she’d managed to put all thought of the night behind her. It was, after all, a single slip. Such things happen to even the best of ponies. And I am proof enough of that , she thought, with more than a little rancor.
Dawn was still some ways off when Celestia finished her daily fomentation. Returning to her suite, she didn’t bother looking about. Her magic picked up her regalia, floating it to her. The peytral and tiara slipped easily into place while the shoes were dropped onto the floor between her and the door, expertly placed so she need make no adjustments in her path, stepping into them without slowing in her steady march toward the Solarium.
By the time she returned, every last speck of evidence would be gone and, she desperately hoped, forgotten.
Immediately upon Luna’s return, Celestia had set aside two hours every morning and evening for them, a chance to eat and enjoy each other’s company away from prying eyes. She’d gone so far as to carve a number of privacy wards into the stone walls, floor, and ceiling to ensure that that privacy was not breached by anypony, even attempting to do such would have very… unfortunate consequences for the offending party. Aside from their private chambers, this was the only room where they could leave their crowns behind and just be sisters.
And all the work to cleanse her mind was burnt away like so much morning fog to reveal the repressed imaginings of her sister in situations no sister should ever lust to see.
Celestia forced her mask into place, and it nearly broke her.
Every thought, emotion, and desire was hidden behind an image of calm patience. She stood, alone, in the most private and secure room in the castle, hiding everything that was not ‘Princess Celestia’.
Her stomach clenched. Luna would notice; there was no way she could not. The instant she stepped inside, she would see the mask for what it was and know that Celestia was hiding something from her. At the very least, she would read an inherent mistrust and two years worth of striving to repair their relationship would be lost. But what choice did she have? Either hide herself and cause her beloved to suffer, or let herself be known and destroy everything.
Celestia moved with a calm poise that hid the turmoil beneath and took her seat, pouring her first cup of tea as though it were any other morning.
A few minutes later, the door opened a crack and stopped. Another few seconds passed as Celestia watched the door and waited. When Luna finally stepped through the portal, Celestia’s heart caught in her throat.
Something was wrong.
Luna stared at her hooves and walked with a slow, careful gait, as though afraid she’d trip over her own hooves. Her withers were slumped and head down in a half bow. Closed tight against her sides, Luna’s wings nearly vibrated with a restrained tension that Celestia had only ever seen in terrified pegasi.
No matter how much she wanted to immediately find and fix the problem, Celestia was well aware that broaching the subject head on would get her nowhere. Luna would come around in her own time, but Celestia could hurry things along with gentle prods. “Good morning, Luna. How was your night?”
Luna didn’t pause, or even glance her way. With nothing more than a shrug and a dismissive gesture with her wing, Luna took her seat and cut into her dinner salad.
“Sister?” Celestia asked, a slight tremor creeping through, riding on the sudden, intense desire to hold and comfort her.
Luna glanced up, her beautiful, teal eyes finding Celestia’s for only the briefest second before turning back to her meal. She made no move to resume eating. “Yes,” —a pause and a silent struggle— “Tia?”
Even with Luna’s downtrodden demeanor, the use of her pet name put a flutter in Celestia’s heart. Whatever the damage she had done, there was still hope. “Is something the matter?”
“No,” she relied far too quickly. Her gaze fell to the side and the stained glass doors that led to the balcony. After a breath, she added, “I believe it is time.”
It was not. There were a solid ten minutes before dawn.
“Of course.” Celestia set her half finished cup aside and stood. Luna followed suit a second later.
It was not necessary for them to be outside, or even to see the sky. The Sun and Moon were as ingrained upon their magic as their marks upon their flanks, and touching either took no more effort. That said, it felt more natural to be outside, where the stars twinkled and the sun shined.
Celestia walked up to the banister, her peytral clinking against the cool stone. She let her eyes wander over the heavens displayed above, fighting to maintain her mask and against the nagging desire to glance at the pony standing by her side, to revel in the shape of her, the soft curves and softer—
Celestia squashed that train of thought, but it was too late. And when Luna stepped into her peripheral vision halfway across the balcony, her heart fell into her stomach at the lose. The last time she’d distanced herself so far had been the day before she…
“Luna?” The tremor was back, but, as before, if Luna noticed, she gave no sign.
“Oh,” Luna glanced away again. “Sorry, I was… I was just thinking.”
Before any more could be said, Luna’s horn ignited and the Moon began its descent, drawing Celestia’s attention back to the sky.
It was almost depressing to watch. With every passing second, more and more stars began to fade away, slipping behind the veil of inky black. For those disheartening few seconds, Celestia let the ennui wash over her and drown out the thoughts and desires that she could not repress on her own.
All too soon, it was over, and all of Equestria awaited on her.
The Sun and Moon were as different as the ambiance they brought. Those first few nights after Luna’s… They’d never discussed what it took to shift each other’s charge across the horizon. That first day, the Elements had done the work of bringing forth the day for her, resetting the balance that had been lost during the war. When evening came, however…
She’d spent hours groping for the Moon with her magic, calling out to it with a desperation that approached, but never quite reached, the moments before she brought the Elements to bear. At the end of her rope, and nearly exhausted, she’d been on the verge of collapsing when she noticed the gentle strum along her horn.
If ever asked, Celestia would have described the raising and lowering of the Sun as singing it to wake and to sleep. A pair of operatic arias sung with magic, its meaning carried only through tone and cadence. In both cases, they were loud and boisterous, filled with notes that strove to touch every corner of the world.
In her ignorance, she’d assumed that the Moon and stars would be the same. That night, she learned just how wrong she’d been.
The night sky, as should have been plain as the nose on her muzzle, was a thing of subtle beauty. It was a lullaby sung in the hushed whispers of a mother putting her foal to sleep… or one sister to another.
She’d cried herself to sleep for a month, then at least once a week for many years after.
Celestia closed her eyes and reached for the horizon. Her magic called out with the opening notes of her song, deep and low, building a solid foundation for the highs that were to come. She let herself be swept away by the familiar tune, falling into a light trance that offered another—all too brief—reprieve.
When the last thrum faded, the Sun set on its course, Celestia opened her eyes with reluctance. “Lulu,” she started as she turned, intent on forcing Luna’s troubles to light while she could hold onto her composure. No matter her own difficulties, she could not stand the thought of her sister suffering if she could do anything to lessen it. “Please tell me… what’s…”
Her voice ebbed into the empty space beside her.
She sighed and turned back toward the Solarium and the long, lonely day ahead.
Most ponies, and indeed most sentient creatures, have an innate fear of darkness and shadows. There is no great mystery behind this predisposition, after all, the darkness is where the monsters hide.
The first time Luna heard this, it confused her. Shadows, after all, were just places the sun didn’t touch. Growing up away from… normal ponies, neither Luna, nor Celestia, realized that they were the only ones who could see just fine in almost any light.
For Luna, the confusion didn’t stop there. She’d always had an affinity for shadows, feeling somehow right when inside them. They were always her preferred playground, before and after becoming a princess. It wasn’t until she saw the ponies shunning her and her night that she described them as safe or comforting. Before then, it had been Celestia’s presence that she sought when doubt or fear gripped her. But when she became the cause…
Laid out on her bed, drowning in what other ponies might describe as a complete and oppressive darkness, Luna was searching for that old sensation. She hated herself for it, for breaking that promise she’d made upon her return, but, once again, she could not make herself face Celestia anymore than she could stomach the notion of going to anypony else.
Dinner had been too much. Every time she glanced at her sister, all she saw was that look of desire, of irrepressible lust from her dream. Celestia wanted her. She wanted her. Her sister wanted her. It was disgusting. It was reprehensible. It was… intriguing.
She drew deeper into herself, focused all of her attention on her breathing.
Inhale. Hold. Exhale.
The steady rhythm of her heartbeat pushed out her cluttered thoughts, filling all the nooks and crannies of her mind to keep everything else at bay.
Inhale. Hold. Exhale.
She let everything drop away, from the noises filtering in through the balcony to the small sounds of the castle at large. The little aches and sensations of her own body slipped into the background.
Inhale. Hold. Exhale.
She was at peace.
“Luna?”
Luna jumped to her hooves, heart racing as she turned to face the sound of her sister’s voice.
There she was in all her glory, all of a length away from Luna’s bed. Celestia, her pristine white coat glimmered in the non-light of Luna’s room, the hairs of her spectral mane caught in the same solar wind as her own. She was everything everypony imagined her to be, tall, regal, calm, radiant, beautiful…
Luna sighed and rolled her eyes—the adrenaline already gone because it had never really been there. Even in Luna’s dreams, Celestia was the pinnacle of the equine form.
Laying back down, she turned away from the dream-sprite. “Go away.”
As is the way of dreams, she could feel Celestia mimic her eye roll as she approached. “You know I cannot do that, sister.”
Her frustration built until Luna’s teeth were on the verge of grinding together. She should have known that trying to meditate would only put her to sleep. Worse still was her lack of control. There was nothing she couldn’t do in her dream… but her subconscious was just that much better at it.
“You can, and you will. This is my dream and I do not want you in it. Begone!” she shouted, then, in a more petulant tone than she would have liked, added, “And you are NOT my sister!”
The dream-sprite wearing Celestia’s skin, clicked her tongue. “Of course I’m your sister.”
She lifted herself onto the bed, her weight shifting the mattress and drawing a low, warning groan from the heavy frame. A series of smaller creaks followed with each of her movements until Celestia finally settled down, the hairs of her white coat just barely mingling with those of Luna’s back. Her great, sail of a wing stretched out, settling over Luna, wrapping around her and pulling her tight against the dream-sprite’s side.
Despite herself, Luna could not stop a pleased hum from escaping her lips. There was just something about the warmth of Celestia’s coat that was beyond relaxing, like spending an hour under the hooves of an expert masseuse.
“There. Now isn’t that better?”
“No,” Luna pouted, nuzzling against Celestia’s shoulder. “I want to be alone.”
Celestia chuckled at the dissonance between Luna’s words and actions, her whole body shaking with mirth.
Luna tried to hide behind her mane, but a long, white feather brushed over her muzzle, lifting the fall of cornflower locks out of her eyes. She stuck her tongue out at her sister’s still laughing face before burying her own into Celestia’s shoulder.
“Come now,” Celestia said, managing to sound both mollifying and chiding at the same time, “there’s no need to be foalish.”
“This is my dream.” Luna’s little wings ruffled against her sides. “I can be as foalish as I want!”
Another chuckle rumbled out of Celestia and through Luna. “I suppose that is true, and if it makes you happy…” —Luna nodded— “Then far be it for me to stop you.”
A smile found Luna’s lips for the first time since she’d fallen asleep… since she’d stumbled blindly into her sister’s…
She pushed that thought down before it could ruin the mood. This moment was too nice to let it be corrupted so easily.
Then Celestia began to sing.
It was an old song, so old she almost didn’t recognize it at first. There were no words, none that anypony alive understood. Ancient memories, little more than half-formed pictures, found their way up from the depths of Luna’s past. A gentle kiss over a scraped knee. Trying to fly, and being caught in a loving embrace. A long, rust-red mane parting to reveal a face she’d nearly forgotten.
Tears flowed freely down Luna’s muzzle. How long had it been since she last thought of her mother? Centuries at least, discounting her abeyance.
Luna wiped her tears into the silken warmth of her sister’s coat.
The song stopped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“Yes you did!”
“Why would I—”
“Because thou art trying to break us!” Luna screamed, her starry mane rippling like it was caught in a hurricane. She tried to stand, but with her legs tucked beneath her, she lacked the leverage to overcome Celestia’s wing. Even her sudden return to size did nothing to improve her situation. Twisting and thrashing, she fought to escape. “Get thee away from us, thou perverted whorse!”
Celestia’s horn sparked and a crack of magic burst against Luna’s flank, making her yelp in surprise. “A princess does not use such foul language.”
“We shall speak with words of our own choosing! Now get thee gone or suffer our wrath!”
The dream-sprite chuckled again, holding Luna in place with almost no apparent effort. Realizing that she would never be able to force her way free, Luna started to charge her horn.
Unfortunately for her, Celestia was ready for that. Her long feathers curled under Luna’s barrel and started running along her ribs. In an instant, Luna’s struggle for freedom became little more than squirming, twitching, and writhing as she fought a losing battle against the giggles rising in her throat.
Her protests were ignored, and she didn’t last long, her first laugh bursting out and paving the way for many more. Before she knew what was happening, Celestia had paused, granting her a respite as she was rolled over onto her back. Now straddling her younger sister, Celestia was far from finished. Mercilessly, she brought both wings to bear before Luna could properly catch her breath.
Fully exposed, there was not a sensitive spot on Luna’s body that went untouched. From tickling her ear with a feather to poking a hoof where her legs met her body, Celestia drove her little sister to the point of exhaustion.
Luna fought back as best she was able. She kicked and flapped her wings to in futile attempts to ward off Celestia’s prodding. Going on the offensive only left her that much more exposed, and, even when she managed to reach her older sister, it never seemed to affect her at all.
“I give up!” Luna gasped, all her limbs wrapped in a bid to protect herself. “Please!”
Celestia relented, drawing long strokes with her wings to help cool her sister off and catch her breath.
Luna was left a twitching, gasping mess. The not-quite hairs of her mane were a complete shambles, with tangles and clumps splayed out around her head like a sparkling halo. A light sheen of sweat glistened on her coat.
Gradually, she came back down, a content sigh falling as the last spasm subsided. She gazed wearily into her sister’s bright pink eyes, basking in the ebbing euphoria.
The beautiful, slender muzzle lowered until Luna could smell the hint of jasmine tea on Celestia’s breath. “I love you, Lulu.”
A tear rolled out the corner of Luna’s eyes, tracing a jagged trail to the pillow below her head. “I—I love you too, Tia.”
Celestia closed the last of the distance, brushing her lips against Luna’s before slipping into an affectionate nuzzle to wipe away the lone tear.
The dream-sprite of Celestia cooed, nibbling tenderly at the base of Luna’s ear and sending a shiver down her spine. Her own hooves reached up to touch Celestia’s chest, to feel the beat of her heart through her skin and coat. She knew it wasn’t real. That it wasn’t Celestia, that it didn’t even have a heart.
She wanted so badly to be mad at her, at it. She wanted to believe that she didn’t want this. That the feeling of her sister’s body pressed against her own wasn’t something that she’d always sought after. More than anything, she didn’t want to be Celestia’s sister for the next five minutes.
The first kiss was chaste, a peck just below her ear.
Three more followed, tracing a line up her muzzle until their lips touched a second time. It was an ephemeral thing, as delicate as a cherry blossom caught in the wind. The bare contact drew out a pained moan, leaving Luna on the brink of begging for more when Celestia pulled away.
More tears followed the first, leaving dark rivulets in Luna’s fur as she stared into her sister’s eyes. “Please,” she whispered, her voice shattering across the simple word. “I can’t.”
The droop in Celestia’s ears did nothing to alleviate the longing in Luna’s heart. She nodded though, accenting to Luna’s decision and turning to leave.
Luna reached out, touching a hoof to her sister’s cheek. “Don’t go… just… don’t go.”
Again, Celestia nodded. With careful grace, she lowered herself back to the bed. Laying on her side, Celestia pulled her into a tender embrace, warping Luna in legs and wings, holding her sister’s head to her chest.
For the first time in centuries, Luna wept.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Thank you so much for sending me The Correlations and Causal Effects and Affects of Harmonics on Leylines and Aetheric Manipulations. I know I was skeptical when you first mentioned it, but I'm not above admitting when I'm wrong. It has opened my eyes to a whole new line of study that I'd never considered before. I've already started with my old recorder and have managed to produce some measurable results! I was so excited yesterday that I immediately sent out for a wide array of instruments to expand my test groups. The first stage of small scale experiments is already planned out and you can expect my preliminary findings some time next week.
I was also wondering if you could extend my admiration to Princess Luna for today's nightscape? They have all been amazing since her return, of course, (Not that they weren't wonderful before! You know I've always enjoyed the night sky.) but those streams of color she added to the north are breathtakingly beautiful. I've never seen anything like them before, and I was wondering if she would be willing to talk about them and answer a few other questions that I've been contemplating. I know that you and she have enough on your plates already, but would it be possible for her to visit me in Ponyville, or for me to visit in Canterlot to discuss what she has been doing? If neither of those, then perhaps we could begin a correspondence?
Always Your Faithful Student,
Princess Twilight Sparkle
Celestia could not keep the small laugh from rumbling through her chest and her sister by association.
"Most lovers would consider it rude to be ignored in favor of scratches of ink on dried wood pulp."
"Most lovers also lack a student with a penchant for attracting disaster like a candle attracts the moth."
Surrendering the point without argument, Luna continued, "I take it something of amusement has occurred in Ponyville?"
Celestia turned her attention from the scroll above her to the sister lazily sprawled across her chest, tired but glowing in post-coital bliss. The letter had arrived at a decidedly inopportune time some minutes prior, though it could have been worse. She doubted either of them would have been able to save it had Spike sent it even ten seconds later.
"Not as of yet," Celestia said, letting her natural smile shine through, "but it appears my former student is set on amending that oversight shortly." Luna hummed with curiosity as she began to trail small kisses along her sister's chest, journeying north across the expanse of sweat soaked white fur. "She has decided to experiment on the interplay of harmonics and magic."
"Tia!" Luna scolded, raising her head sharply to stare Celestia in the eye. "How could you be so cruel? Even I have heard tell of Twilight Sparkle's calamitous endeavors to master the musical arts."
"It is an important aspect of her magical studies, as you well know! That I lacked the fortitude to foster it properly in her youth is no reason to keep it from her indefinitely... no matter how unfortunate it will undoubtedly be for Spike. Besides, it isn't like she need be the one playing. She has friends to help her now. I am certain she'll recruit one of them before too long. Still," Celestia said, pausing with a thoughtful expression, "perhaps you should make that suggestion when you go to visit her."
Luna snorted, her ears folding back. "You know I despise when you do that."
"I know nothing of the sort," Celestia retorted with a haughty sniff as she presented the letter for Luna's perusal. It was a beautiful sight, watching her sister read the letter. The way her eyes sparkled, dancing across the page, a deep blush filling her cheeks, turning them a shade of violet that almost matched Twilight's mane. "You will go, won't you?"
Despite her excitement, Luna looked away. "Are you certain that is wise? I am not nearly the liar you are."
"Such honeyed words you whisper in my ear."
Luna's hoof dug between Celestia's ribs, making her jerk. "You know my meaning."
Celestia's magic drew Luna's drew Luna into a short kiss. "Then do not lie. Tell her... tell her you found new inspiration in an old dream." Seeing another protest forming on her lover's lips, Celestia continued, "If not for yourself, then for me?"
"You aren't going to give me a choice are you?"
"Consider it another anniversary gift."
"I fail to see how this would qualify as such."
Celestia wore mischievousness like a mask. "That is because you have yet to unwrap it."
Luna carried her skepticism like a shield. "I will do this... but I reserve the right to say 'I told you so'."
"Deal." Running her feathers through Luna's mane, she continued, "But for now, we have a few more hours to celebrate, and you have not screamed my name nearly enough times."
Author's Note
The story continues in Cuori Intrecciati .
A dinner of stuffed, roasted eggplant grew cold on its plate; across the table, the belgian-style waffles did the same; the pot of tea gave off a pleasant melody of chamomile and mint as it cooled, and outside, the Sun rested at the horizon.
Celestia waited in her seat, the empty cup of tea hovering halfway to her lips the only flaw in her illusion of calm patience.
Finally, she sighed and set the cup down. It was time, and Luna still had not shown up.
She did not rise as she called the Sun to set. Like a bored painter, she went through only the most necessary of motions, her song dull and uninspired, but enough to get the job done. Briefly, she wondered if anypony would even notice, but quickly cast that thought aside. She knew where that path led.
The following beats of her heart grew progressively more strained as worry constricted her chest. Each second that followed dragged out the painful expectation as her ears flickered and her heart fluttered, until, finally, Luna’s magic flowed out to touch the Moon, and Celestia released her bated breath.
Celestia left the Solarium. She could put it off no longer. It was time to speak with her sister.
Luna’s bedroom door, like so many of her sister’s things, was styled after what she’d had in their old castle. The thick slabs of ebony were bound by black iron and accented with silver constellations, a large moonstone replica of her cutie mark at its center. Though eye level for Celestia, any other pony would have their neck strained by looking at it.
On her worst days before Luna’s return, Celestia had found a great deal of comfort just sitting in the furnished, but unused room. She would remove all the dust sheets that protected the furniture and lounge around, doing… thinking… No, denial had already failed. She would sprawl out on her sister’s bed and imagine that they were together. That Luna was there to comfort her in all the ways ‘her little ponies’ could never willingly bring themselves to any more than she could stomach the idea of forcing them.
Oh there had been takers, but none of the good ones could bring themselves to do it, and none of the ones who could bring themselves to do it were any good.
None of that was any comfort now, though. The time for fantasy was over. Luna was back. Her sister was back. She was no longer the conjured up figment of a lonely mind, and she needed her big sister, whether she realized it or not. No matter her own amorous desires, Celestia could not stomach the thought of losing Luna all over again.
Not that that made knocking any easier. Just the thought of seeing Luna stretched out on her bed, her hindlegs spre—
Celestia bit her tongue, hard. She would have stomped a hoof, but the guards were probably already worried enough with her just standing there staring at the door.
Finally, she knocked. And waited.
Her hoof rose again, poised to knock a second time when she heard Luna’s voice, dampened as it was by the thick wood.
“I am not feeling well, Sister. Please convey my apologies to everypony.”
“Of course,” Celestia called back, only to hesitate.
She could leave now and let it drop. If it was important, Luna would come to her; she’d promised not to let things stew. Pushing would only serve to drive her further away, a sign that she didn’t have Celestia’s complete trust. It would be better if she just—No. She was worried and had every right to be. She could not turn her back on her sister’s suffering… not again.
“Do you mind if I come in?”
“Ye—” There was a pause, one that Celestia recognized from a number of student’s she’d taken on over the years. It was a hesitation that said, ‘I don’t want to do this, but I know that saying so is not going to make anything better.’ When Luna finished, her tone was laden with regret, “No.”
It was Celestia’s turn to reflect, to steel her mind against her own impulses. She briefly considered asking Luna to step out, to go somewhere that didn’t hold any improper memories for herself. But, no. Luna’s room was her haven. There was nowhere else that she would feel more comfortable, and Luna’s comfort was paramount over her own.
With more reluctance than she would care to admit, Celestia pushed through the door.
It was, of course, dark. Not that Celestia was in anyway impaired by it, but she did not gain the same comfort from it that Luna did. Hers had always been under the light of the Sun.
Nothing seemed drastically different from the last time she’d been there a few months prior. None of the furniture had been destroyed or tossed about. Luna’s treasures were all in their places, and the books were on the shelves. The bed appeared mussed and slept in. All of which Celestia counted as good signs that her worries were unfounded.
Luna stood a distance away facing her balcony, back to the door.
Celestia could not stop her eyes from tracing over her sister’s form. Traveling from her unshod hooves, up her neatly trimmed fetlocks, and along the subtle curves of her well-defined hocks until they came to rest on her strong, toned flanks. She forced herself to close her eyes, but the image was already there and she lingered on it, her chest tightening at the thought of touching—
“Luna,” Celestia began, opening her eyes once more but keeping them averted. Instead of her sister’s backside, they landed on the largest divan. The one that they could both stretch out on and… If Luna noticed the lapse, she made no show of it. “Is everything alright?”
“Everything is,” any other pony might have missed her hesitation, but Celestia was not ‘any other pony’, “fine.”
Despite her best efforts, Celestia’s eyes flitted back to her sister. They did not go to the back of her head like she’d intended, but watched the slight flick of her tail instead, hoping that it would move just enough to… and hating herself for it. Five minutes, she couldn’t stay focused for five minutes. “You know you can come to me with anything.”
“Can I?”
The question was sharp and quick. A dagger of ice that nicked Celestia’s heart. Her eyes shot up to Luna, wide with confusion and pain. Had she been any slower, she’d have missed the slight ruffle of Luna’s wings. Those words were not what she’d intended to say.
“You know you can! I would do anything for you, Luna.”
“Anything?” Luna asked, a jagged edge to her voice that sent a chill down Celestia’s spine and cut away the last of her ebbing arousal. “Anything at all?”
She’d been right, of that she was now certain. Something was most definitely wrong. When she spoke next, her voice came out more commanding than she would have wished, “What is going on?”
Luna turned to face her. Celestia had missed the muted glow of her horn, but not the bottle thrown at her face. It was a simple thing to snatch it out of the air, even less so catch a whiff of what it had recently contained. Before Celestia could process what was happening, much less get a word out, Luna was already yelling, tears running down her muzzle.
“Thou wilt do anything?” She shouted, bearing down on a stunned Celestia, each step of her unshod hooves producing a dull thump through the carpet. “Wilt thou crawl to me on thy knees?”
Celestia’s mask shattered alongside the empty bottle of moonshine as it hit the floor. She was not lost amid a torrent of screaming confusion. She was not inundated with a hundred different thoughts at once. There were only two, and both terrified her. The first for what she would have to—couldn’t—do, and the second for just how much she was willing to do.
“Wilt thou kiss my hoof and call me thy queen?” Luna roared with a vitriolic sneer as she closed the last of the distance between them. The heat between Celestia’s legs flared at the vile prospect, at the memories of so many fantasies playing out behind her eyes. “Wilt thou let me violate thou and then beg for more?”
A dark blue hoof rose from the ground and swung. It connected with Celestia’s muzzle.
And stopped.
Celestia’s eyes shifted back into focus, centering on Luna’s surprised, and slightly pained, expression. With her own, she trapped the lingering hoof against her cheek.
“Is that what you want?” she whispered into the oppressive silence that had fallen between them. Her cheeks were warm from shame and excitement both. “Do you want me to grovel at your hooves?” Celestia nuzzled the blue hoof tenderly, ignoring the growing moisture below her tail as best she could and placing a soft kiss just above Luna’s fetlock. “Because if that is what it takes—”
“No!” Luna pulled her hoof way. “No, I do not…” Turning, her frustration took her a few paces away before she spun back. “We are sisters! We cannot… ‘tis not right!”
Her head hanging limp, Celestia couldn’t summon the energy to cover her expression, a mix of relief and disappointment. She breathed deeply through her mouth, hoping that Luna wouldn’t notice the scent of her arousal. “I know.”
“Then why…” The anger or indignation that had been driving her fell into a suddenly pleading voice, “How are you okay with these desires?”
Celestia shrugged, but said nothing, unable to even look at her sister.
A pair of hooves took hold of her chin, forcing her to meet Luna’s gaze. “Please.” Luna leaned forward, pulling Celestia’s forehead to her own, both closing their eyes. “I need to know.”
Celestia shook her head just enough for Luna to feel it. “I am not. I never have been.”
Something halfway between a laugh and a sob shook Luna’s body. “Then what are we to do?”
“I do not know.”
Luna seemed to collapse, slumping forward, her head brushing down Celestia’s neck to bury into her shoulder, her tears wetting Celestia’s pristine fur. Celestia pulled her close, her hoof wrapping around Luna’s withers and sheltering her beneath a blanket of white.
The ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ refused to coalesce in Celestia’s mind. None of that mattered. Her beloved Luna was hurting, and the rest could burn for all she cared. Only… only there was naught that she could do. She had no answers. Eight hundred years had only taught her how to bear her misery in silence, to hide it deep beneath a calm mask and loving smile.
Celestia almost didn’t notice the first kiss, the stiff pressure of Luna’s lips on her shoulder practically indistinguishable from her nuzzle. It was only as she pulled back and moved closer to Celestia’s neck that she realized what Luna had done. The second was lighter, more natural, yet somehow more insistent. Half touching her golden peytral and half the base of her neck, and it forced a low hum from Celestia’s throat. The third made her wings flutter. By the fourth, Luna had moved up her jaw line.
“Luna?” Celestia asked though it sound more akin to a harsh wheeze than a name.
Her response might have begun as words, but by the time they reached Luna’s lips they were little more than a breathless pant into the small hairs of Celestia’s chin.
A drop of moisture soaked into her thigh, and Celestia swallowed. It was all she could do. Her neck would not move, the chosen battlefield for the war between her stubborn, stupid, infuriating mores and every other aspect of her being that ached just to look down. She was right there, calling to her with every warm breath brushing through her coat. Eight hundred years of dreams and fantasies, and she could not do it.
Luna’s forehooves slid up Celestia’s neck and along her jaw before coming to rest on either cheek. With forceless urging, she turned the tide, tilting Celestia’s head until their noses were naught but a hair’s breadth apart.
For centuries, those haunting, beautiful teal eyes had permeated her dreams. Now they were real, inches away, and staring right back into hers. A tear fell, only to be wiped away by a gentle blue hoof.
“I love you, Tia.”
“I love you, Lulu.”
She didn’t want to move. The world could end, the Sun could collapse in on itself, all the stars could blink out, never to shine again, and Celestia would not care. This moment, this precious moment, holding, and being held by, her sister, was perfect, and nothing could take that away from her.
Magic played along Celestia’s mane and neck, a gentle pressure that sent tingles down her spine, urging her to cross that immeasurable distance that still separated them.
Hesitantly, almost reluctantly, she relented.
Their lips met with all the force of a butterfly’s wings. Soft, warm, tender, none of these could begin to describe the sensation that first kiss carried with it. It was everything she had wanted. The beginning of every lust filled dream, and the end of every lonely fantasy. Her heart sang, and her mind drown in pure ecstasy.
The delicacy could only last so long before a desperate yearning took over. Their lips began to move, massaging together, a light pull of suction sealing them as they began twist and turn in search of a better vantage.
The sharp sting of lingering moonshine burnt the tip of Celestia’s tongue as she drew it across Luna’s closed lips, pleading to be allowed inside. She was not denied for long, Luna’s own tongue darting out taste of Celestia’s lips. When Celestia returned again, she slipped past the half-parted lips only to mewl as she ran against the smooth wall of teeth. Patience served her well, neither retreating in defeat or pressing forward, she awaited the inevitable, occupying herself on the slick pearls, dancing her tongue along the firm but frictionless ridges until they finally parted.
A soft moan, almost a purr, poured from Celestia as she slipped easily and fully into her sister’s mouth. Luna’s echo was far more desperate, a sharp keen of thirst. Like a wild beast released from its cage, Luna surged forward, drawing herself up against Celestia. Her tongue shot out, leaving a tingling trail over Celestia’s as they crossed and hooked along the backside of her teeth.
Between the shift in weight and only having three legs to work with, Celestia her lost balance. Old, nearly forgotten, instincts took hold. Celestia’s wings and eyes flared open, the former catching the air to slow their fall, while the latter spotted the shards of broken glass below. A single pulse of magic cleared the floor as she gently set Luna down on her back and recovered her fourth leg. Despite the wordless protests flowing between their still locked lips, Celestia broke their kiss and rose to her full height.
Looming over her prone and exposed sister, her eyes lingered on Luna’s, drinking in her sister’s unabashed craving before feasting of the bounty laid out beneath her. She traced over every line, every curve, and every last not-quite-perfect hair that gave Luna her unique coloring. She inhaled deeply through her nose, savoring the scent of Luna’s arousal mixing with her own, tasting it on the back of her tongue. Every last minute detail was etched perfectly into her memory, because, if she lived another ten thousand years, she never wanted to forget this moment.
Magic encased Luna’s horn, a light flick of kinesis casting the tiara off Celestia’s head even as more tangled around her neck and collar, lifting the golden peytral from her chest and throwing it aside like so much worthless trash. Celestia barely noticed the loss, too captivated by her sister’s tail undulating between her legs, blocking her view of what lay beneath.
“You are so beautiful,” Celestia whispered, drawing her eyes back to Luna’s in time to see the deep violet bloom spread across her cheeks.
Luna stretched her hooves up, running them through the matted hairs of Celestia’s chest. They traveled further, grasping for leverage around her shoulders and neck, not quite able to reach. Celestia almost, almost didn’t acquiesce. The thought of making her sister beg, just a little bit, sent a pulse of heat between her legs, her tail flicking erratically. She lowered herself enough for Luna to take hold, the younger mare pulling her down into a brief kiss and nuzzle before she whispered into Celestia’s ear.
“Age before beauty.”
Celestia gaped, and in so doing, left herself wide open. With a single heave, Luna toppled her elder sister, rolling them to the side until she was on top.
“Why you little—” was as far as Celestia got before Luna’s teeth found the tip of her ear, the rest lost to a sharp gasp. Each grinding nip sent a shock through her body, her hindleg kicking at the open air as Luna worked her way around the edge. Groaning, she pawed at Luna’s chest and shoulders; grasping for something to hold on to while her wings twitched uselessly against the floor.
Luna moved, trailing nips and kisses down her sister’s long, elegant neck, on her long journey to map every inch of Celestia’s white coat with her teeth and tongue.
Celestia relaxed under Luna’s ministrations, reveling in a dream come to life even as it surpassed her every fantasy. In all her lurid imaginings, she’d never come close to capturing this yearning… this heart-aching need that filled her even as it poured out of her sister’s every act. She tried to speak, to offer guidance and encouragement, but so feared to break the spell that all she could manage were airy sighs.
Never before had she been able to convince herself that this was what she truly wanted. It had always been a black, putrid stain on her heart. Festering for centuries, it had been little more than a drug, an addiction of which she could never be rid.
Luna found her teat, pinching it gently between her teeth, twisting it just so with a roll of her jaw. Celestia let out a sharp cry and arched her back at the small pain, her splayed out wings pushing her off the floor. Luna held her there, squirming, until, pleading, almost whimpering, Celestia called out her name. She let go, suckling and massaging the hard nub with her lips and tongue as Celestia sank back down and regained her breath.
Just as she relaxed and took a single unharried breath, Luna moved to the next nipple to start over again.
Celestia writhed beneath her sister’s torments, panting faster with each new stimulation. Her wings, already spread wide across the carpets, tensed and fluttered. The intense pressure between her legs grew with each touch, urged onward as much by her own anticipation as by her sister’s ministrations.
Then Luna paused. She’d reached her prize. Hovering there, Luna placed a soft, lingering kiss just above Celestia’s clit.
Craning her neck, she looked down the length of her body to see Luna waiting, staring back. Heart hammering, wings fluttering, chest so tight she could barely breath, all she could do was stare down with impatience for Luna to move down, to at long last feel her sister’s tongue across her dripping sex and all that would surely follow.
With a heartbreaking, leisurely pace, never letting their eyes so much as glance away, Luna moved to the left, circling around Celestia’s swollen lips, kissing and licking, tasting her in every way that she could without giving her want she wanted, needed most.
“Please,” Celestia whined between breathless pants. “I can’t…”
Luna’s lips hovered above Celestia’s cunt, cooling the radiant pink flesh with her every breath. “Please... what?”
“Please!” Celestia twitched, mewling as Luna ran a feather down her inner thigh. “Don—don’t stop!”
Before she’d even finished, Luna’s tongue slipped along her swollen petals. Celestia bit her lip, her already tensed muscles edging to the point of pain. Again, Luna lapped at her sister’s lower lips, parting them just far enough to take a full measure of her flavor. Her forelegs slid under her, propping Celestia’s hips off the floor. Luna’s tongue returned for a third pass. Her nose brushed across Celestia’s sensitive flesh as her borrowed between the folds.
Then, with her tongue out as far as it could go, Luna began to push. The tip of her nose edged in first, nudging the opening a little wider. Biting her lip again, Celestia squeezed her eyes shut, holding back the slight gasp of pain. Luna pulled back, only to dive in again, her muzzle penetrating just a little deeper between Celestia’s legs. Each thrust stretched her opening a little more, letting Luna’s lashing tongue delve further, filling her, only to draw back and leave her empty once again. Luna’s tongue slid along Celestia’s moist inner walls, lapping at her juices and drinking in her sex.
Celestia writhed and squirmed, trying desperately to buck in rhythm with Luna’s thrusts, to bring herself that much closer to the edge. Her feathers curled, almost clawing at the air for something to hold on to. Celestia panted out her sister’s name, pleading with her, praising and cursing her for the euphoric agony in which she was suspended.
A spike of dismay stabbed through Celestia when the glorious pressure of her sister’s muzzle pulled out and did not immediately return, leaving the hollow ache to languish unattended. The postponement lasted only long enough for Luna to fill her lungs with a breath of fresh air before she dove back down, digging far deeper than before, even as her wing entered play.
With her longest pinion, Luna brushed the top of Celestia’s engorged clit, and it proved too much. The spring broke. Celestia screamed her sister’s name as her wings struck the floor, cracking the millennia-old marble in a thunderous explosion that surely echoed through the castle. Golden magic sparked from her horn, wrapping around the back of Luna’s head and neck, holding her in place as Celestia’s hindlegs kicked at the open air, trying to driver her deeper onto the shaft that wasn’t there.
Luna’s name echoed throughout the room, renewed with every gasping breath as spasm after spasm wracked Celestia’s body. Spurts of sticky, sweet fluid poured into and around Luna’s muzzle, forcing her to swallow it or drown in her sister’s sex.
Finally, after what seemed to her like an age, Celestia’s body relaxed, the magic locking them together dropping away.
Luna whipped her head back with a gasp, flinging droplets of cum from her soaking muzzle.
“Luna! Oh, Luna, I’m sorry! I—”
Luna held up a hoof, forestalling Celestia’s panicked apology while she caught her breath. A dollop of Celestia’s cum dripped from Luna’s chin to join the puddle soaking into the carpet between her legs.
Recovering enough to speak, Luna moved to stand over Celestia as she had mere minutes earlier, dripping a line of the pungent fluid up Celestia’s chest as she went. Leaning down, Luna kissed her lips. Celestia didn’t hesitate to lick her lips clean, tasting herself for the first time.
“You owe me.”
Celestia nodded at the simple statement. She did. She really did.
Leaning up, Celestia licked the underside of Luna’s chin, lapping a long channel of her own fluids off her sister’s muzzle. Luna’s eyes closed, humming. Celestia smiled warmly and went back for more. With each lick, Luna turned her head, presenting a new angle to ease the grooming.
Celestia couldn’t help but smile wider at each of her lover’s contented sighs. It had been ages since either of them had been groomed in the old way. Modern ponies, with their soaps and shampoos, had left the practice behind generations ago. Even before that, though, it was deemed improper for a ‘princess’ to be subjected to such ‘barbaric practices’.
“Oh, Tia… I have missed this.”
Celestia only hummed some more, continuing her work as Luna gradually settled onto her chest. It made things a little awkward for her, but that was alright. A little break would do them both good, and it gave Celestia time to plan out how she’d return the favor.
She stopped, tongue sticking out halfway to the bridge of Luna’s nose.
Luna gave a disgruntled snort. “Why did you stop?”
Celestia ran a hoof through her sister’s mane. Her smile was not one of abundant joy or predatory lust, but of simple, happy contentment. “Goodmorning, Lover.”
Luna’s head rotated to the left, a look of bemusement on her face. “‘Tisn’t morning, Sister.”
“I know,” Celestia said as she started laughing, only to pull Luna into a short, but passionate, kiss. Dropping her head back to the floor, her quaking finally subsided into another sigh. “And isn’t that wonderful?”
“I believe I have missed something.” Celestia only hummed in response. “And you'll not tell me what, will you?”
“I shall do one better.” Celestia’s lips curled into a predatory grin. “I shall show you.”
Luna started to respond, but Celestia’s magic beat her to the quick. Dual flashes and pops saw both alicorns disappear from the floor, only to reappear with their positions reversed on Luna’s bed.
Standing above her sister once again, Celestia dropped down beside her. Whispered instructions saw the two embraced with the younger’s back firmly against the elder’s barrel. White and blue forelegs entwined, holding the pair together as Celestia rested her nose just behind her sister’s ear.
Celestia’s great wings curved around her sister, her long pinions touching Luna' chest, making slow, tentative circles through her silky fur. With the same slow patience for which she was renown, Celestia's wing tips began their languid odyssey toward Luna's already budding flower.
“Luna…” Celestia whispered, “I have been dreaming about this night for lifetimes.”
The light touch of her wings traced across Luna’s ribs, pressing down just enough to disturb the hairs and leave her shivering. Reaching Luna’s belly, they explored the delicate hairs and tight the muscles they hid.
“Every time was different.”
They found her teats and lingered, circling them with their tender, ephemeral touches, hardening the already stiff nubs and drawing soft sighs from Luna’s lips.
“Sometimes, you came to me, begging for my touch.”
The feathers moved on, brushing just above Luna’s clitoris, idling there with the same careful circles as her breaths grew shorter and heartbeats faster.
“Sometimes, I came to you for the same.”
Celestia ran her tongue along the rim of Luna’s ear, sending a shiver down her spine.
“Others, you tied me down, forcing yourself upon me, making me little more than your toy to use and abuse. And I loved you for it.”
The expedition continued, skirting the oasis, coming to Luna’s hindlegs and sliding up to her knees. With barely a touch, they were parted, exposing the blush pink lips in a nest of plush blue fur. Again, Celestia paused, craning her neck to finally gaze upon her sister’s sex for the first time.
“You are gorgeous,” she whispered. Her wings began to move again and she continued, “A few began with a spell or potion gone wrong… or right.”
Gracing Luna’s inner thighs, Celestia’s pinions grew heavy, almost sopping from the wetness seeping out of her marehood. Pulling a wing away, she took the length between her lips, savoring her sister’s flavor like a fine wine.
“Still more had their start in a happy accident. One of us walking in on the other in a… compromising situation.”
When the fibrous feathers finally brushed over Luna’s slit, she moaned, biting her lip and pulling Celestia’s forelegs tighter around her chest, shaking in anticipation.
“In all those years, all those dreams, the end would come…” —Spreading Luna’s marehood like a blooming flower, one wing tip slipped inside. Celestia listened to Luna’s racing pulse, her short panting breaths— “and I would lay there in the afterglow of my orgasm,” —Her second pinion followed the first, wiggling inside Luna, tickling at her inner walls as her vagina thrummed in time with her pulse— “and I would roll over, expecting to find you there beside me…”
Luna writhed in Celestia’s grasp, twisting until they were looking into each other’s eyes. The wings paused. “I will always be here,” Luna whispered. “Always.”
Tears pooled in Celestia’s eyes as they kissed. They loitered there, motionless save the passionate movements of their lips.
Then Celestia pushed, spearing her sister on her lithe pinions, sliding deeper and deeper until they brushed her cervix. The shock drove the air from Luna’s lungs and into Celestia's.
Back and forth, Celestia's wings worked against each other to massage the inner walls of Luna’s marehood. Their pace quickened as more and more of her juices coated them. When it finally became too much, Luna broke the kiss, begging her to not stop, to never stop. Celestia obliged, angling a wing to rub against her lover’s sensitive clit and nipping at her neck and ear.
The first orgasm washed over Luna, a cry of euphoria filling the air as a deluge of cum spilled onto the bed and her hindlegs bucked, striking the footboard and breaking off the rounded top. This only spurred Celestia onward, driving Luna to her second and third orgasms that were, if a little less wet, no less loud and only ending when she managed to plead that she could take no more.
Luna’s screams were quick to fade. Her spasms were not, the slightest gust of air against her sex enough to make her twitch and writhe. Despite her sincere desire to do so, Celestia did not take advantage of her lover's vulnerability. Instead, she simply wrapped her sister up once again, the two of them basking in the simple pleasure of holding and being held.
Celestia tried to ignore it, that creeping sense of doubt that followed. She buried her nose in Luna's mane, letting the scent of lavender and thyme that filled the starry tresses wash over her. It worked for a time, until a yawn, brought about by the length of her day and the effects of their recent activities, forced it's way out. Sleep beckoned to her, but she refused it. If she remained conscious and kept her eyes open, then she would never have to find out...
"Tia?" Luna's voice called to her, heavy with concern.
“Did you mean it?”
Luna turned her head to be able to see her, rubbing a hoof along the leg still wrapped about her chest. "Mean what, Si—” Luna caught herself, tasting her next words for the first time, “My Love?"
“That you'll…” Celestia’s voice hitched, “that this isn't just another dream. That when I wake up you'll—”
Luna turned fully, facing her sister and cutting her off with a kiss. “No, my beloved sister. This is no dream.” Luna wiped the tears from Celestia’s eyes. “This I swear to you. As long as the Sun burns in the sky and the Moon shines at night, I will always be here, by your side until my dying breath.”
Like the Sun itself had been lifted from her withers, a great wave of relief washed through Celestia, exploding from her chest in a single, hearty laugh. She nodded, smiling as her sister wiped away the last of her tears.
“I love you, Lulu.”
“I love you , Tia.”
Author's Note
This is what happens when I mix extra stressful air travel with four days of concentrated familial contact... Which probably says something very disturbing about myself that I really don't want to contemplate.
This was far more fun to write than I thought it would be. Not in the salacious sense, though it was that too, but more in the pure joy of writing. This story was, simultaneously, the easiest and most difficult I have ever written. Right from the beginning I knew what I wanted and how to get there, in a plot sense. I knew what Luna and Celestia were going to go through and how they would do it. What I didn't know were the technical details, like I had a road-map, but no idea how to drive a stick-shift.
Enough of my ramblings.
As this was my first foray into clop and, dare I say, 'romance', I'm curious to hear from you how I did. Was it believable? Was it actually romantic? Did you get off? (No, seriously, I would not mind knowing... that was kinda the point.) Let me know what you think.
Either way, thank you for reading,
