Luna sighed. It had been a long month for her away from Canterlot, made up of duties that she didn’t want to attend to and hours spent arguing with ponies that she didn't particularly like in the first place. Fortunately, the tiring time came to an end, allowing her to finally return home.

As it was still the dead of night, she knew that Celestia was deep in her slumber, so she turned her attention to a smaller room that was adjacent to theirs and was cozy enough to be a home for a young mare. With a smile and a soft push, she opened the door to a dark, and in her opinion, a little too pink room.

Luna silently sneaked in and kept an eye on a sleeping light-blue alicorn in bed for a little while before she stepped toward the filly and placed a loving kiss on her forehead. "You're not sleeping, little one," she whispered.

The gesture was countered with a tight hug from the filly almost immediately. "Aunt Luna!"

"H-hey! Not so tight! I'd still like to breathe…"

"Oops, sorry," the filly breathed and quickly pulled the small hooves to herself.

"You are up quite early, Twinkle. Couldn't sleep?" Luna asked in a mere whisper.

Twinkle shook her head. "I, uh…" She pulled out a big book from underneath her pillow.

"Reading? This late?"

The filly shrugged. "I like the story, so…"

"Little Red Riding Pony," Luna read the title. "Isn't that the story where the grandma eats the wolf?"

"Aunt Luna! That's not how the story goes!"

Much to the filly's dismay, Luna giggled. "You should be sleeping instead of staying up to read the entire night."

Twinkle nodded and gave Luna a goodnight hug. "Aunt Luna?"

"Yes, little one?"

"Could… uh… would you like to be my mom?"

Luna blinked. "That's an odd question. Where did this come from?"

Twinkle shrugged. "A few of my friends have two moms, and I'd wondered if you'd be mine…"

"Oh, really? What does your mom have to say about it?"

"Dunno," Twinkle said meekly. "I hadn't asked. But… would you?"

Luna giggled. "Twinkle, she's my sister, you silly. Sisters don't—"

"But you love her, no? And you spend a lot of time with her, no?"

Luna smirked. "Of course I do. What kind of sister would I be if I didn't love her?"

"And me too?"

"I love you too, you silly filly."

"Then if mom agrees, will you be my mom? My second mom?"

Luna shook her head. "You don't like me being your aunt?"

Twinkle groaned. "Not the same."

"You should be sleeping," Luna said, amused, "not pouting cutely in the middle of the night."

"I'm not cute!" the filly breathed harshly.

"And you’re not asleep either," Luna whispered back. "Sleep tight, Princess Twinkle."

Twinkle nodded and curled into her blankets, leaving Luna to tuck her in and kiss her goodnight.

* * *

With one room visited, Luna carefully opened the door to her sister's room and sneaked to the nethers of Celestia's bed. The sight was something to behold; the snow-white princess was lying on her back, her wings and legs spread, and her head partially buried in the small lake of pillows. Her hooves were clinging an odd dark pillow, something that was gifted by Luna before her departure. Nothing about her posture screamed "princess-like", but Luna knew better.

After watching her sister somehow coping with that posture for a while, Luna stepped onto the bed, careful not to disrupt her sister's slumber just yet. She smirked at the scene, leaned forward, and pressed her muzzle to Celestia's.

Startled and confused at first, Celestia quickly released the pillow, wrapped her forehooves around Luna, and pulled her closer to deepen their kiss.

"Good morning to you too," Celestia said with a smile. "I was hoping that you'd be home earlier… How did it go?"

"I arrived as soon as I could," Luna groaned. "With nobles present… It all went as well as expected…"

"That bad?"

"Hrumph."

"That bad."

"Worse. But it's not something that I want to talk about just now. I just want to spend a little bit of time with my princess…"

Celestia smiled and ruffled her sister's feathers. "Twinkle was asking when you would be coming back almost every day."

Luna nodded. "I just spoke to her. She was reading through the entirety of the night, and…"

"I know…" Celestia shrugged. "Twilight gave her too many books. While you were away, the only way that I could make her go to bed was allowing her to read in it…"

"Mhm," Luna murmured. "She also said that she doesn't want me to be her aunt anymore."

Celestia blinked. "Wait, what?"

"She wants me to be her mom."

Celestia smirked. "Well, considering she's just as much yours as she is mine… Should we tell her?"

"Tia…"

"I know, Luna, I know. It wouldn't be fair to her if she finds out just yet…"

"Or at all…"

"Oh, I'm sure she will. She may still be a little filly, but she already asked me why I often look at you that way… So it's just a matter of time…"

Luna nodded. "We'll talk about it when the time comes, then. But right now, I desperately need some very late dinner, a shower, and a lot of sleep."

"Mmm… Luna?"

"Hm?"

"We've been together since I birthed Twinkle, but I never asked… Do you… Did you ever wanted things to turn out differently?"

Luna smiled. "And give up on our daughter, my pretty, but sometimes annoying marefriend, my—"

"Secrecy? After all of this time, only a hoof-full of ponies knows about us… And if word ever gets out—"

"I thought about that," Luna murmured after a pause. "But I got used to being nothing more than a sister outside of our rooms. And even if everypony finds out, so be it. There's nopony else that I'd rather share my life with."

"Glad to hear," Celestia whispered into her sister's ear.

"Why?" Luna asked curiously.

With Luna still firmly in the grasp of her hooves, Celestia, with a flick of her horn, teleported a small, plain white box into her sister's lap and silently watched. Her heart started to race as Luna’s light-blue magic pulled the ribbon and opened the miniature package.

The impact of it was tremendous. Luna's wings shot up, and she wrapped her hooves around Celestia, pressing her lips on her sister's counterpart and refusing to let go.

At that moment, a sisterly bond, virtually unbreakable, became even stronger still. Within the box, there was a tiny ring, its white-gold trim infused by a tiny turquoise gem. Beside it, there was a tiny piece of paper, sporting a small but easily readable text: "Will you marry me?"

Author's Note

https://youtu.be/yCjJyiqpAuU?t=19