The one who died young - Part 1
Princess Luna's royal chamber was lit with carefully enchanted candles that cast a glow just bright enough so that her guest would not have to stumble around yet so soft were its light that it would not overtake that of the stars themselves.
Twilight Sparkle was seated comfortably on a pillow filled with the softest possible clouds and watched in silent fascination as Princess Luna brought out one star after another on the great dark canopy that was the night sky. She had chosen to let the Moon sit just behind the mountain range in the horizon so that its silvery light did not dominate the firmament before giving the stars a chance to show themselves in their full glory to her friend. To the younger mare it felt like watching an artist of mythic proportions paint before her very eyes.
The principle behind the technique was simple enough. The stars were already out there, folded in darkness and just needed to be coaxed out of it. And yet the amount of focus and energy it would take to bring even one star out was staggering. She doubted that a regular unicorn, provided he knew the techniques required would be able to bring out a single star and was quite certain that she herself collapse after the first hundred or so, Alicorn apotheosis be damned. Princess Celestia, with her vast reserves of power, could probably bring out over a thousand ones before needing to stop and rest.
But Luna brought them out at an unwavering pace, looking like she enjoyed decorating the night with every fiber of her being, practically dancing out there on the balcony. How many had she brought forth now? Ten thousand? 50 thousand? A million?!
There must be some trick to it. No way that she's doing that using raw magic... Twilight lifted her cup of tea to her lips and sipped the warm liquid without taking her eyes of the spectacle for a second.
“It’s like you’re poking holes in a tapestry to let the light through.” She said with a tone that betrayed her amazement. Luna, without even turning around chuckled approvingly and nodded.
“A crude allegory but not inaccurate, Twilight Sparkle. The dark reaches of space blot out the light of the stars so the..."tapestry" needs to be pulled aside to let their light through. Like so!” Luna bowed down low and leapt, her horn leading the way and a broad swath of constellations burst out of the darkness. To Twilight it reminded her of seeing seashells becoming unearthed as the waves swept away the sand covering them.
She felt that she had to say something to acknowledge the beautiful display.
“This tea is terrific by the way..!” She bit off her sentence, berating herself for the choice of subject. To her relief though Luna laughed.
“I’m pleased. This is an old recipe consisting of two-part steamed green tea, one-part roasted oats and one-part lavender leaves...”
“Lavender!" Twilight beamed. "I was way off, thought it was hibiscus or something…Did you know that lavender has been used as a sleeping aid for…generations…?” She sank down in her seat sheepishly as she remembered to whom she was speaking and when Luna turned to regard her, Twilight thought for sure that her blush would every bit as visible as the stars in the night sky.
The older princess arched an eyebrow, a look of amusement growing on her face. “I might have heard it mentioned once or twice, aye.” She winked at her friend and the feeling of unease was dispelled with the gently clink of their teacups meeting in a toast.
“Lo. The heavens are uncovered for you.” They walked out onto Luna's balcony to stand beneath the open sky which bathed Canterlot and all of Equestria in its gentle light. The stars cast the heavens in shades ranging from a deep black to spots of bright purple and shades of pink. Every single star shone brightly in their constellation and Twilight, who had up until now done an outstanding job to contain her giddiness, was like a filly in a candy shop.
“There’s the Ursa Major! And the Sirens! And the Dragon’s Roost and…” Luna stepped aside, took a drink of her tea and waited patiently for let her excited friend’s excitement run its course. It took ten minutes before she stopped to catch her breath.
“This is incredible, I’ve never seen them so clearly before...It’s just like the charts in my books!”
"Books. Of course." The Princess of the night shook her head in delight. "Am I correct in assuming that the star gazing Twilight spends most of her evenings devoted to study the heavens with her muzzle buried in her dusty tomes?"
"Hey! My library is perfectly dust free!" She said, with a new blush signaling that the princess had guessed right.
“It’s time, well overdue in fact.” Said Luna as she turned towards the horizon. “The Moon must take its place amongst the stars." Her horn flared, and the great celestial body made its way up past the mountains.
“Wow.” Said Twilight as the orb swam across the dark expanse. It almost looked like a giant pearl swept through a dark ocean on an unseen current, its nacre gleaming.
And it was this moment, when all of her attention was focused on it, that she noticed movement around the Moon itself. A small moving mote of light shining even brighter than the stars adorning the sky that travelled in the titan’s wake.
“What in Equestria is that?” She asked of Luna who was facing her and not the sky itself.
“Ah so you’ve noticed her. I would presume that she is hard to spot on a regular evening when the Moon does not traverse the heavens so swiftly. Doubly so for one who's too busy reading to look at the sky itself.” She added with a mischievous wink.
“But all stars are supposed to stay in one place." Said the clearly flustered Twilight. "That one looks like it’s tethered to the Moon or something.”
“Aye that one is very special…” Luna turned her head back towards the Moon and the bright star next to it, which had begun to settle snugly in a nearby constellation. “She likes to hide behind the other stars. Still a shy little child that one."
Luna's otherwise piercing gaze grew unfocused and distant as she looked at it.
“And a good friend.” Princess Luna whispered into the night air. Twilight could swear that words travelled upwards into the sky, as if she was addressing the very heavens themselves.
