Fangs and all

Celestia paced through the shelves, levitating the entire content of one shelf in her golden aura. Luna stood by, trying fruitlessly to calm her down. "Sister, please! You are overreacting!" Celestia whirled on the younger sibling, her magenta eyes filled with rage.

"Luna!" She yelled, and the books within her magic dropped. "Sister, I care for you but do you realize what would happen if someone knew that there was a batfoal of the royal line! We'd be the laughingstock of Equestria!"

Luna recoiled, white eyes suddenly filled with hate despite being blind. Her tone cold, she replied with raw fury. "I am sorry, sister, that you feel as if a single innocent foal that was conceived from my 'romps' in the hay, ruins our monarchy." Celestia's eyes softened and she reached for her sister, but Luna was already walking away. "Goodbye, sister of mine." She said over her shoulder. "If thou wishes to find us, we can be found living in thy students castle, where thou's influence does not reach far."

She only had to go a few steps and stumbles before noting a golden aura about her. "Sister, I have no need of your.." Shock registered on her face as she realized she could see again. Giving a short curt nod, she strode the rest of the way out.

***

The night was a dark one, the kind of dark that reached out and swallowed you up without a second thought. Smiling gently, the lunar Diarch lifted her blue wings, settling comfortably into the blanket-like embrace of her beautiful night. As she looked down on the soft and fading light of the sunset, she heard her sister's words echo in her head. Her expression contorted into one of hatred. "How dare she." She spoke aloud, to no one in particular. Looking down at the homes of various ponies, she felt guilt and some self pity.

How could she have thought eternal night was a good thing, when farmers needed sun for their crops, a brightly burning ball of light to help them. Her night was beautiful in its own way, the dark and mysterious call of it. She was truly the avatar of the night, with the appropriate coloring and a darker side to herself now. Her jealousy of Celestia was not her own. Looking up at her beloved Selene, she sent her mind out again to where she had been imprisoned for a 1000 years.

'Selene?'

'Yes?'

Came her moons answer. Thinking carefully before she spoke, she quickly reflected on the past. Her mother and father, Galaxia and Cosmos, had always warned her that one day they would not be there so she must help rule. Celestia, as the oldest, was the heir to the throne. Luna would not have ascended at birth unless the very universe approved of her. The essence of the universe. It was a funny thing. It had made great cities into towns. Earth ponies into alicorns. She should know, she was one herself. Well, by origin at least. Turning her mind to the conversation at hoof, she once again sent tendrils of her consciousness into the air.

'Selene.... was it necessary, threatening eternal night upon Equestria?'

The answer came immediately and had this conversation not transpired between the two before Luna would have been shocked at the amount of pure hatred in Selene's voice.

'Yes. Helios was truly hogging all the attention, you should have been the one to receive the sun and Celestia the moon.'

'But then Celestia would have been corrupted of your envy.' She objected.

She heard a sigh from the force of nature, then nothing. Taking that as a forced ending to the small conversation they had she rolled her eyes- Selene could be so foalish and childlike at time. She was a little filly, demanding to be honored in every way. What was funny, thought the lunar princess as she flew, was that for being the dark and mysterious person of the two forces of nature, she certainly wasn't calm. It was as if they took some of the attributes they had and traded the rest. Helios- The sun- was a calm, yet revealing and mature character. Selene was extremely hotheaded and would go off on a tangent about how 'something wasn't fair'.

Luna often imagined Selene as a white filly with a blue mane like hers, sticking out her tongue and folding her arms.  But enough of that. It was a long way from Canterlot to Ponyville, yet she could see the crystal spire up ahead, glimmering in her and Selene's moonlight like a star. 'A fallen star.' She thought with some amusement, finding as she touched down her wings were tired. Now that she had the chance to reflect on her actions, she realized with a sinking feeling that in the heat of the moment she had forgotten how Twilight was taking care of Nova.

Her blue face going purple with guilt and seething shame, she backed away from the door she was about to knock on. 'just a few more steps...' She thought, hooves carefully maneuvering backwards. Then she froze as she heard the door. It was a small sound, considering that all of the outside was made of pure blue crystal, but it was loud and amplified in Luna's ears. Her heart went beyond the charts in its wild beat, and it was all she could do not to scream. The door opened and instead she held in a giggle as she beheld an exhausted Twilight.

Twilights usually calm mane had turned into a giant frazzled disaster. Her fur was extremely unkempt, splattered here and there with various colors of-was that blood? Luna squinted and inwardly sighed with relief as the scent reaching her nostrils proved it to be pomegranate juice. So... if she had it right, it was currently her darling's feeding time. No matter the situation, Twilights face lit up in a smile. "Princess Luna! I haven't seen you since.... Tirek."

Luna's expression twisted into a momentary scowl before settling into her trademark gentle smile. With a lavender hoof, the unicorn mare pulled Luna inside with a enthusiasm that matched a certain party pony. Luna smiled dryly at this thought. "You'll have to excuse me." A familiar voice brought her out of her reverie. "I got the weirdest package the other day and now I have to take care of a bat pony." 'You don't say....' was Luna's only thought as she continued, realizing a second later that Twilight wasn't beside her. Turning, she beheld a larger grin then before. "But of course you know all about them!" Luna rolled her eyes mentally. 'I should have seen this coming...' "Can you tell me the dietary habits of thestrals? Ooh! How do they groom their wings if they can't preen because of their fangs!"

Sighing as the babble continued, Luna sat down heavily on a comfy satin couch that was most likely foreign. Struggling to keep her eyes open for Twilights sake, she couldnt and gave in to the deep pull of sleep. Twilight stopped, noticing that the Princess had fallen asleep and cringed sheepishly. A purple glow levitating the blanket over her friend, she smiled. "Night, princess."

***

Blearily, Luna's vision returned after a long nights sleep to see a curious set of eyes staring back at her. "Hello, Rainbow dash. Its not the first time you've seen me, go away." She rolled over on her bed spot and with a huff, went back to sleep. An amused giggle echoed through the room. Luna snapped her eyes open as she realized the maroon orbs she had seen didnt quite match Rainbow's eye color. Gulping nervously, she turned over again, staring with mixed shock and confusion. The pony was still there, but as she looked closely she made out the shimmering of an illusion spell over the colts eyes.

It was obviously her child. Twilight, who had now entered the room and was pushing a food laden cart like a serving mare, looked up to see Luna stare at him in fascination and an unseen flash of guilt. Nova, who did not yet understand emotions the way others did, simply shrugged. And proceeded to nibble on Luna's blue mane. Twilight dropped everything in horror and simply stared.

A foal was chewing on the Lunar Princess's mane.

Bemused, Luna stared at the young foal, who stared back with a questioning gaze. He dropped her now wet lock long enough to really and truly lock eyes with her and ask. "Mum? Mum?" Luna's eyes went wide. 'Good Faust, he can speak. No wonder bat ponies are a highly developed race.' Despite claiming monarchy over them, Luna knew little in the ways of the thestrals.

Twilight stood behind him, looking half sheepish and half angered. "Yeah, he can talk." Her expression twisted to one of sternness when she looked over at Nova, who was currently trying to get out of the room inconspicuously. "Come back here, buster." He crawled back, eyes wide with genuine shame, and Luna couldn't help but admire his eyes and the way Twilight handled him. His eyes must of opened during the trip to Ponyville because she had not seem them before.

"You are in trouble." She bluntly informed him. Realizing she hadn't had the chance to earlier, she took a look at Twilight. She was looking much.. different. Her hairstyle was changed. Somehow, as she deduced after a quick magical scan, her sisters student had used a 'shine' and 'hair growth' spell to accomplish a well cared for, flowing mane. Also, as she noticed, her crown had a glow to it.

All in all, she looked.. nice. Luna blushed. She wasn't supposed to have these thoughts about another mare! She berated her self harshly. "Thats a pretty hairstyle." Luna commented. Now it was Twilights turn to blush, her hoof going up in an attempt to hide the gorgeous locks. "Actually.. I'm considering changing mine too." Twilights eyebrows rose and if they had not been attached to her face, would have gone through the roof.

"Really?" She asked, eyes betraying the glee she was hiding. A princess-one of the higher ones, no less- Was copying her! Her!

"Yes, really." Luna smiled gently, seeing the excitement in the young alicorns eyes. "What do you think of this?

Twilight clapped her hooves with glee and brought out a book... full of hairstyles. "I got my idea from here!"  While Luna was looking at the pages, a random pink pony came up. And started batting at the tip of Luna's different tail.

"What the!" Luna looked back to see a giant ball of fuzz slowly stroking her tail with blue eyes full of wonder as she gazed adoringly at the rulers tail. Twilight face hoofed.

"Chrysalis!" She called, and Luna recoiled in horror. What was Twilight doing with one of the most feared villains in Equestria? Then, out of another room... came... her sister. She could only stare. How in the world had Celestia managed to come here so quickly, with other duties and whatnot? Then with a sinking feeling, her expression twisted into a scowl and she flew with impossible speed towards the impostor.

Round pupils wide, Chrysalis shifted to her normal form in a flash of illusionary fire and ducked. Luna braked just in time not to crash into the reflective surface of a crystal wall. She turned around, eyes narrowed with anger. "Twilight." She punctuated the word with a clack of her hoof against the cold floor. "Excuse us for asking, but WHAT IN FAUST is thou doing with Queen Chrysalis?" She refused to call her former 'friend' by her real name.

Chryssi smiled deviously, fangs gleaming. "Oh, come on, Luna. Dont be shy, I don't mind my real name." She purred, her dual toned voice making it sound odd. The pink pony was now slowly dragging her tongue across the changeling Queens chitin back with awe. Luna stared. And stared. And stared. And stared some more.

The scene in front of her was odd. She was observing a sheepish Twilight, next to a blushing Chrysalis while a pink rose colored pony was slowly alternating between chewing and licking the shell on her 'friends' back. "Fine. One question. Mariposa, what in the world have you got on your back." Chrysalis, or rather, Mariposa, blinked lazily.

"Meet Fluffle puff." She levitated off the offending earth pony with a simple spell, a shade of bright lime green surrounding her and setting the fuzzball on the floor. As Luna watched, this so called 'Fluffle puff' stuck out her orange tongue and her eyes sparkled as she watched the utterly baffled alicorn. Then, as if knowing he had been forgotten for the time being, Nova swopped in, grabbing her tail and taking the full tip of it into his maw. Luna blinked.

"Can someone tell me what in Equestria is going on here?"