Late Nights With Luna

Twilight perked her head up as she heard the knock sound again.  “Who could that be at this time of night?” she thought to herself as she rose from the pillow.  She smoothed out her mane just in case it was somepony who wanted to look around the library “Good luck with that.” She mumbled sarcastically.

She walked into the next room and approached the door.  She placed her hoof on the knob and slowly turned it, and gasped at what she saw outside, while at the same time scrambling to a bow.  “P…Princess Luna?” she asked unbelievably.  The beautiful dark blue Princess Luna placed her wings on Twilight, signaling to her that it was now alright to get up.

“Yes. It is us… I mean I Princess Luna.” She said.  “Can we… I mean” she cleared her throat and looked away “Can I come in?” she asked nervously as she smiled at Twilight.  Twilight snapped from her stare and stepped across “Of Course Princess!  Come in.”  Princess Luna thanked her and walked inside, looking all around at the countless numbers of books and shelves; it was apparent that cleaning had been done recently.

Twilight trotted up beside her and asked in a friendly voice “Can I get you something to eat or drink?”  Princess Luna shook her head and replied “No, but we… I mean I thank you for your hospitality.”  Twilight nodded her head in understanding and said in an encouraging voice “If you don’t mind me saying Princess,” Twilight nodded her head for a moment “You’ve really improved with your voice and tone!  You’re almost as quiet as Fluttershy!  And I see that you’re trying to get the hang of your grammar.” Twilight bowed again showing that she meant no disrespect.

“Thank You Twilight.” Replied Princess Luna “I…” Luna smiled now that she had gotten it right “I know that you are wondering why I’ve come to visit you.”  Twilight continued to stare at Princess Luna for an explanation “I wanted to come and thank you for all you’ve done for us, I… I… mean me.” She cleared her throat; Twilight could tell that she felt embarrassed when she used the old royal tongue “ I can actually walk the paths now, and nopony runs away!  I can have friends over at the palace! I don’t yell, I can go to the spa, I can go to the stores, I can…” Luna cut herself short and in her excitement, rushed forward to hug the surprised but uncaringTwilight Sparkle.

Twilight felt Luna wrap her hoof tightly around her neck; “I’m glad I could help you Princess, I’m glad that you have all you have now.” Twilight said in a soft voice.  Without thinking, Twilight put her hoof around the Princess’ neck and embraced her back; Twilight knew that the Princess didn’t mind, and (of course) Luna didn’t.  Twilight was the best friend Luna could ever ask for, that anypony could ask for as Luna saw it.

The two stood there locked in their embrace for a few moments until Luna finally broke them apart.  Luna cleared her throat and looked away shyly from Twilight.  “I… I’m sorry about that.” Said Princess Luna.  Twilight shook her head and told Luna that she didn’t mind one bit.  But, somehow Twilight could tell that Luna wanted to ask her something.  She knew Luna too well, and despite how much Luna loved being a social butterfly, she wouldn’t leave Canterlot just to come all the way down to small-town Ponyville in the dead of night just to thank Twilight…Would she?  Twilight pondered it secretly within her mind.

Suddenly though, Luna answered Twilight’s question  “Twilight?  We, I…” Luna shook her head at her errors “I mean I… was wondering if maybe you’d perhaps let me…” she hesitated “What’s the phrase?” she asked Twilight.  “Something that ponies do at night with their friends.  You know, like a gathering where they have “fun” and they “sleep”.” Inquired Luna.

The hint instantly struck Twilight.  “You want to sleepover?” she asked in disbelief “Here? At the library? Around all these musty old books?  I’m not sure if…” Luna raised a hoof to silence Twilight.  “Yes, I was wondering if I may “sleep over” with you?” Twilight could barely believe her ears!  She had wanted to get to know the Princess for a long time, at least since Nightmare Night; but she never had the chance.   Neither of them were tired, but Twilight had a gut  feeling that they would end up falling asleep one way or another, as strange as Princess Luna sleeping at night seemed she giggled to herself.  She knew that the Princess didn’t have to be awake to keep the moon high in the sky.

“That sounds wonderful!” Twilight exclaimed all at once.  “I knew you’d say that Twilight.” Said Luna as she approached Twilight and wrapped a fore-hoof around her.  “So, what have you to do Twilight?  What have we to do?” she corrected herself.   Twilight, still wrapped around Luna, led them into the next room over.  This was what Twilight and Spike often considered being the living room, though Rarity insisted on the term “foyer”.  Like the rest of the home, its walls were covered with shelves stacked full of books, but in the center of the room sat a desk, two sofas on the far walls, and a projector and films that her and Spike often used on weekend nights.  It wasn’t much, but it kept the two entertained.

Luna looked around, and Twilight was worried that she had offended the Princess in some way; she knew what conditions were like at the palace.  All of a sudden though Princess Luna perked up and exclaimed “I love it!  This is so humble, so serene!  I wish I could have something like this at the palace.”  Luna walked around the projector observing it, fascinated by its mechanical simplicity.  There was one in the Royal Guards’ briefing room, and another in the library at the palace, but Luna had never really seen it up close or in use for that matter..

Twilight watched as Luna stopped walking around the projector and walked casually over to one of the sofas, taking a gentle seat on the soft material.  Luna said “You have a very quaint home Twilight Sparkle.  It is very nice.” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief on the inside as she smiled her thanks over to the Princess.  She walked over to the projector and asked the Princess if she would like to watch a film or two.  The Princess, trying to hide her enthusiasm, nodded her head.  Twilight picked up one of the reels and placed it into the canister, she then dashed around and blew out the candles, aware of the quizzical look on Luna’s face.  Once the room was covered in dark, she flipped the switch on the projector using her magic and took her seat beside Luna.

“Twilight, why must you dim the lights?” asked Luna.  “Oh, it makes the movie look better.  If we leave the candles lit or the lights on, then it makes it harder to see the film.” Twilight replied, taking her gaze at the wall.  Twilight had picked out a favorite of hers and Spike’s, a film about the epic battle between the Earth and Pegasi ponies in olden times; the film had everything from action to romance.  She had a feeling that Luna would like it, because she had to admit that Luna seemed like the kind who would dash into battle at the first call.

“Boy was I right!” Twilight thought silently to herself.  For a while, Luna had her gaze locked on the softly humming projector, obviously amazed at the two spinning canisters on it, but about halfway through the film Luna had gotten really attached to the movie.  Princess Luna had asked questions all through it, but at times just silenced herself and kept her soft, yet powerful aquamarine eyes glued on the wall.  A few times she had even suppressed a giggle from one of the old time insults shouted, or had whispered to Twilight who was lying and who was telling the truth; Luna was an excellent observer.

The film lasted for only a few hours, but they each enjoyed it.  Twilight got up, faced away from Luna and arched her back stretching; she had become stiff after sitting on the sofa for so long.  Luna could not help but notice Twilight’s flank, she wanted to ask a question about it, but was too embarrassed to do so.  Twilight walked over to the projector, popped the film out, and placed it back into its case.

“Pr…” Twilight whipped around quickly, jumping as several of the films fell off the table and scattered on the floor.  “Shoot!” exclaimed Twilight.  “Do you need me to help you?  I notice that you are not using your magic.” Asked Luna. Twilight turned and looked back at her “No Thank You Princess.  I’ve been trying to use my magic for big things, and my physical strength for little things like this.” With that, she turned away from the Princess and bent over to gather the films.

A few had fallen out of their cases, and Twilight had to bend a little lower than usual to get them.  Luna looked away, but could not help herself as she took the occasional glance at Twilight’s butt.  Princess Luna blushed when Twilight’s tail shifted and revealed her organ.  “She looks so firm… so sensitive.” Luna couldn’t help that the thought of the now dead traditional intersex relationships had crossed her mind; Twilight didn’t seem to notice that Luna was now staring at her butt.

Princess Luna quickly looked away though, when Twilight placed all the films back on the table and turned back around.  “Sorry about that Princess.  Now what should we do?” Twilight asked in an enthusiastic voice.  “O… Oh.  I guess we could… well… read a “book””.  Twilight noticed that the Princess was blushing a little as she looked away from Twilight towards the bookshelves, she passed it off though and replied in a friendly voice “That sounds great!  What do you want to read?  I’ve got all sorts of books!  Action, Drama, Romance, History, Magic, everything!”  Luna had never seen one pony so excited over reading.

Luna rose from the sofa and walked over beside Twilight.  “It does not matter to me Twilight Sparkle,” she said “You picked a good “film” as you call it, so I trust that you will choose a good “book:”.  It was obvious that the Princess was still getting used to some of the material items in Equestria (scrolls had been the only form of written material before Luna’s banishment)  Twilight nodded her head and instantly dashed from shelf to shelf, using her advanced magical skills to pull books off the shelves and even from other rooms; the library was just so big!  Twilight observed cover after cover, putting some on the desk, and placing other back just as quickly as she had pulled them off; Luna had to duck one time as a 2,000 page drama came flying at her and landed neatly on the shelf.

After Twilight was done dashing around, she turned and faced Luna who was staring at the towering pile of books; she blushed as Luna looked over to her in amazement.  “Uhh.” Twilight said running her hoof over her mane “Let me put a few of those back.”  She finished, obviously embarrassed about her love for reading.

Before Twilight could even make a move though, Princess Luna stopped her by placing a hoof on Twilight as she approached the table.  “No Twilight.  This is perfect.” Said Luna as she glanced over at the books; she took her hoof down from Twilight.  “Twilight?  Can… Can I tell you a secret?”  asked the Princess in an embarrassed tone.  “Of course Princess!  You can tell me anything, I promise I won’t tell anypony.” Twilight smiled up at Luna.

Luna looked away and cleared her throat and in a shy quiet tone told Twilight her secret.  “I… I do not  know how to read.” Twilight’s eyes widened at hearing this “Well, not in the new tongue anyway.  I tried to read some of the books in the palace, but I just can’t understand them.  They sound so strange to me, my mind.”  Luna finished, continuing to look down in saddened embarassment.  Twilight just stood there, half in excitement and half in shock.  Luna looked at her and asked “Perhaps you could teach me?”

Luna was half expecting a “no”, when all of a sudden she jumped as Twilight skipped around the room and start pulling more books off the shelves.  In the midst of her skipping and scanning, Twilight called over “Of course I’ll teach you Princess!  I’ll teach you more than just the words; I’ll teach you their meanings!”  Twilight continued to skip around for a few minutes, pulling books with only a few pages to books with thousands of pages off the shelves and placing them on the table, creating an entirely new stack.

After it seemed Twilight was satisfied with the type and number of books she had chosen, with little effort she took the sofa on the nearest wall and pulled it over in front of the desk.  Luna hadn’t expected such enthusiasm.  Twilight trotted over to Luna and smiled up at her as she took her place on the sofa and patted the soft material next to her, signaling Luna to sit.  Princess Luna moved forward and took a seat on the sofa; she stared up at the tower of books.

“Twilight, I don’t know if…” Twilight cut her short and replied in a gentle tone “Yes you can Princess.  We’ll start with something simple, and when you feel comfortable we’ll move on to longer and harder books.” She finished, trying to contain her all too obvious excitement.  “Here, let’s start with this one.” Twilight said as she took her hoof and pulled a thin book off the top of the stack; it only had about twenty pages.

Twilight placed the book in front of Luna and moved a little closer to her.  Luna opened the front cover uncertainly and looked deep into Twilight’s kind, loving, and gentle eyes for a few seconds.  Eventually though, she turned one more page to the Title page and with a shaking voice, read the words out.  The title page was fairly simple, for this was the very book that Twilight had used to teach Spike how to read as a hatchling.

After Luna finished reading the Title Page, albeit slowly, she took a questioning look at Twilight, who only nodded her approval.  Luna turned one more page, and for a few moments observed the small painting on the page and then looked up at the words.  With lots of uncertainty in her voice, she read the first few words correctly, but by the time she had reached the fourth and final line she began to mess up.  Twilight actually felt sorry for Luna, she had the same reading level of a foal, not even surpassing Sweetie Belle’s reading skills.

Luna read slowly along, frequently stopping at some words and glancing up at Twilight for help.  Twilight said the word out to her, and told her the meaning of it; sometimes Luna nodded her head in understanding, or cocked her head in confusion wanting a more detailed answer.  Eventually though, Luna read the very last page and closed the back cover.  But, without even being told, Princess Luna flipped the book back over, opened the front cover, and read the title page aloud.   She then turned the page, and read from cover to cover over and over again.

After about the third time of reading that little book, Twilight was surprised when Luna lurched forward and hugged her tightly.  Twilight could hear the tears Luna was choking back as she said “Thank You Twilight!  I can understand it now, I know what these words mean now!  You’ve done so much for me.”  With that, she unlocked herself from Twilight and pulled a thicker book from the stack; this one had about fifty pages.

Luna opened the cover and read the title page easily; Twilight was surprised at how quick of a learner Princess Luna was.  She only needed a little help, and she only needed to have three words explained to her.  Within only one hour, Luna had gone from a filly’s reading level, to matching Spike, and then in another hour matched Twilight.