Truth be told, I was smitten the first time I laid eyes on her.
You know. After the whole Nightmare Moon thing.
The little alicorn princess who emerged from the charred remnants of that haunted armor, cowed beneath her sister’s gaze even as she was offered another chance at friendship was a far sight from the nightmarish visage of her former self. Enough to tug at any mare’s heartstrings.
And, by Celestia, was she just adorable.
I realized later her smaller stature came as a result of the Elements of Harmony stripping her powers, but one could hardly fault me for noticing just how pretty the little Princess of the Night looked. How that nervous, uncertain smile made my heart flutter as she ducked and almost hid behind her bangs when she noticed somepony looking.
And her appearance?
If Celestia’s reminded ponies of warm, sunny days, Luna’s spurred feelings of cool winter nights with that midnight coat and powdery blue mane. Thinking on it a bit, her coat reminded me a bit of my dad’s. Though hers is a few touches darker, fittingly so. Her wings, of course, were powerful, but with feathers I’ve since learned to give as soft and delicate a caress as cloudfluff.
But what caught my eye, silly thought it may seem, were those little splotches of black dusting her coat. They began at the bridge of her snout, just a few inches from the tip of her nose, and fanned out across her cheekbones to frame those piercing teal eyes. Then, from the back of her neck, all the way down to the splotch of black with a crescent moon emblazoned on either flank, they wandered, almost daring my eyes to follow each time.
Dapples. Luna had dapples.
Yes, I was over the moon—oh, do go right ahead and laugh—that she was dappled. So what? It’s a rare feature in ponies!
And on Luna, it was damn cute.
So, when I saw her again that Nightmare Night, when she showed up expecting some grand welcome and was left distraught at her own legacy until we managed to get her to have a little fun and enjoy the chance to play, there was some small part of me that felt just a bit disappointed.
No, not that I had to put my crush on hold for a little bit. Rather, I noticed that her dapples had disappeared.
Instead, she sported a long mane of pure starlight which flowed and shimmered in the cool autumn breeze, and her coat seemed barren of those lovely markings I’d so adored.
It didn’t diminish my affections for her—I’m the one who made the first move after over a year of us dancing around our feelings, much to Cadence’s ire—but I won’t pretend I didn’t miss them.
Or that I didn’t start to wonder if my eyes had been playing tricks on me that first night.
Until I awoke one innocent morning in her bedchambers and caught her red-hoofed.
The morning Operation: Dapple was put into action.
Well, calling it “morning” would be a bit of a stretch. Only a madmare could possibly wake up at what most might call a decent hour after adjusting to Luna’s schedule.
So, really, that we awoke around eleven or noon on a good morning was nothing short of miraculous.
It was just about the only time Luna’s heavy blue curtains, the very ones with shooting stars and constellations which sparkled in the candlelight, failed to stop my teacher’s unyielding sun’s light from filtering through the crack to bathe the room in its warm glow. Having accustomed myself to the cooler night air, any such touch upon my back as I slept was enough to drive me to shift.
Then it would hit me right across the face and force me to toss and turn to try to escape.
And never failed to earn a low chuckle from the mare holding me close against her chest. “You never cease your efforts to escape her command for all to wake,” Luna whispered into my ear. I felt her teeth nip my ear and let out a whine, arching my back. Her hooves tightened around my barrel. “Silly little mare.”
I huffed and opened my eyes so I should turn and glare over my shoulder at her. “Says the mare who kept me up all night,” I shot back. My smile betraying any want to feign indignation.
“Ah, but I don’t recall you complaining,” she replied, wise to my tricks. Another nip to my ear drew a sharp breath, and a kiss stolen just beneath my jawline had my feathers fluffing in excitement. “Nor do I presently. However, you and I both know there are things to be done.”
That much was true. And if I’d had my coffee and gotten to bed a little earlier that morning, I might not have let out such a foalish whine and tried to cover my face with a wing.
I say tried only because Luna knew my habits well enough to block it with a hoof and nuzzle into the crook of my neck. “Come, come, none of that. You have educational bylaws that need rewriting, and I have a rather lengthy debate with Tia regarding a certain piece of legislation against nightclub noise levels.” I felt her lips twitch into a smirk. “I by no means intend to lose this one.”
Of course not.
She had ponies who loved her nights and delighted in partying until they dropped, and legislation forcing them to lower the volume would ruin the atmosphere to which they’d grown accustomed. Whyever should she want to let them down?
And to her credit, I really did need to get to work ironing out some of the details of our educational bylaws. Really, you have no idea what a mess those things are. Trying to get a nation both steepled in the traditions of each tribe and united in the harmony of their differing cultures …
Let’s just say I asked Discord for input at one point. He took one look, laughed, and wished me the best of luck before he popped back to Fluttershy’s for tea.
Stupid Chaos Spirit.
Sighing, I rose and brushed my messy bangs out of my face. A quick glance at my wings drew a little frown. I’d definitely need a good preening before I got started.
More and more things to do, more and more reasons to get out of our warm bed.
A couple years ago, this would’ve been inconceivable to me, and a definite cause for Spike to round up the girls to grill me for what was wrong.
Luna nuzzled into the back of my neck, purring at her victory, and slid out of bed with a sinuous little motion I just had to appreciate. She trotted her way to the bathroom, her hips swaying and tail swishing in perfect time, a hypnotic little dance she so perfected to tease me before she slipped through the door and began her morning routine.
Minx.
Now, here’s where things got a little wonky for Luna. You see, her routine is to run a bath, brush her teeth while the water warms, and then set about washing. I take my shower at night, but I usually take a couple minutes to look over my day planner and map everything out while I had my first cup of coffee. This morning, I was content to grumble a couple things about teasing Moon Princesses and getting better drapes for a second before I dragged myself over to the bathroom.
So when I pushed open the door, I was just in time to see a little ripple of light across my marefriend’s back and, with it, just a glimpse of those little splotches of black upon her coat before she caught sight of me in the mirror. “Dapples?” I breathed.
“T-Twilight!” she yelped. The ripple came again, robbing me of those dapples. Luna turned and pressed herself back against the counter, her lips curved into a nervous little smile. “Y-You startled me!”
I blinked. Her dapples were gone. Again. Was I losing my mind?
“Sorry,” I replied, feigning a sheepish smile. “Didn’t mean to ruin your, uh, spell.”
Rarely am I granted the chance to see Luna caught off guard, especially when it’s just the two of us.
So, when her smile faltered and her eyes darted about, I knew something was up. “Spell? What spell?” she sputtered. “I’m not casting anything, are you sure you’re not seeing things?”
I arched a brow.
Luna forced a laugh. “Er, well, look at that! Water’s warm and you probably need your coffee! Maybe that’ll help wake you up!” Her horn flashed a brilliant teal.
I barely had time to reach out and cry, “Luna, don’t you even—”
With a crackle of magic and telltale snap of air filling the spot I’d just left, I found myself sitting at my desk in my study with my hoof still outstretched and holding a cup of steaming coffee.
Two corridors away from the bathroom.
“—Think about it,” I deadpanned. Narrowing my eyes, I drew in a sharp breath. She was hiding something.
And I was just the mare to figure out what.
“Very well, Luna. Let the games begin.” I took a deep sip of coffee and hummed. “Hot damn. Just the way I like it even when she’s frazzled.”
Coffee made by Luna. The perfect drink to enjoy while formulating a plan or twelve to test the limits of that spell of hers.
I vowed I would see it broken. Broken, in the name of dapples.
Shut up, I’m a princess of happy, magical ponies, not an evil mastermind. I just play one when I DM.
My first plan had little chance of success. That, however, was entirely by design.
Much like Celestia, Luna’s probably forgotten more about magic than I’ll learn in my lifetime—though not for any lack of trying, I assure you. But she learned them in an age where most of Equestria still had to be tamed and monsters walked more freely.
While I doubted she would use some ancient ritual to hide those lovely dapples, I had a feeling it was a bit stronger than a Please Don’t Notice Me spell.
So, plan one was just testing against that spell with a simple disruptor. Barely noticeable to even a trained pony.
I waited until she was about knee deep in a rather spirited debate with Celestia about that noise ordinance legislation. They weren’t yelling—this time—but there was a definite heat to things as certain biases came into play.
Namely, that Celestia tended to favor those who had to wake up during the day, while Luna argued vehemently against limiting nightly activities, especially on the weekend.
“I’ve received several complaints of loud music during the week, Lulu,” Celestia chided as I skirted around the table and slunk my way toward my target. “Lady Quartzite in particular states they’ve been playing well into the waking hours.”
“My guards say otherwise,” Luna replied, her tone flat. “And, please. I’ve heard that old nag complain about the angle of the sunlight filtering into her room every morn. What next? Will we cancel sunrise to appease her sensibilities?”
“I never said she couldn’t be frivolous, but combined with other complaints—”
“Which, I’ve noticed, are not regarding weeknight playing. And we’ve both agreed that the clubs were permitted to operate at higher volumes until one in the morning.”
“That was on a trial basis.”
“Indeed. And I find it most trying that of all these complaints, none come from ponies living in the surrounding area.”
So focused were they that they paid me little mind. I think Celestia gave me a bit of a nod while she listened to Luna’s counterarguments, but other than that, I might as well have been a ghost. Like one of Luna’s trusted guards.
They’d probably laugh and shoot me the same look I used to give the Crusaders when they told me some of their tamer, but still ill-fated, ideas if they heard me say so.
Still, no attention on me was good. A heated debate was better.
It meant my feeler wouldn’t be noticed at all.
The spell I cast was little more than a brush against the spell, about as delicate as trailing one of my primaries along the bookshelf to check for dust, but layered with a basic charm cancelling spell from school.
Luna’s illusion didn’t so much as flicker. In fact, I felt the slightest crackle of magic feedback as a secondary spell slapped mine away like the foal’s play it was. Again, expected.
But now I knew it was there. Equally important, she didn’t so much as blink or flick an ear in my direction. Just the response I’d wanted—none at all.
A hint of boldness crept into my chest, enough to make me feel a little adventurous. She hadn’t even reacted to the probe, so it was time to see if something with a bit more sophistication might do the job. To that end, I’d brushed up on a neat little spell that didn’t so much cancel magic as it did act as a disruptor. Rather like null stones, in some respects.
I bit my lip and concentrated, carefully reaching out with my magic to brush across her back, the perfect spot for the disruptor’s ripple effect to begin.
The perfect spot so even if it failed, I’d know if I was right or losing my mind.
As soon as my spell touched, I saw it. The slightest little flicker, as though I had pulled back the curtain to see some hidden prize.
This time, the little snap back was more forceful, and with it came a flick of midnight ears. I froze in place, my breath hitched. She’d noticed. Of course she’d notice anything more than some basic spell.
Luna glanced about, her brows furrowed. No doubt, she had a thing or two to say to her assailant.
When she found me standing stock still in that low, “please don’t pay any attention to me” stance just a bit too close, I saw confusion. “A-Are you looking for something?” she asked.
“No, just hanging out,” I lied. Poorly.
“I thought I felt magic …”
“Huh. Imagine that.” Okay, sneaking was now out. It was time for some alternatives. Unfortunately, the castle doesn’t exactly have a good supply of naturally running water for me to try to ground out her spells.
“And you’re supposed to be looking over educational reforms. Yet you’re here, and I feel spellwork.” My marefriend narrowed her eyes, suspicious. “What are you up to?
“Really, Luna?” Celestia huffed and reclined in her cushion.
“It’s not like your points have any more merit than my own.”
“Then I suppose you’d just like me to send somepony to measure audio signals on random nights and put this on hold?”
“As a matter of fact, that’s a splendid idea.” Her eyes never left mine. Not once. “Prove that they’re going over the permitted volume and I’ll reverse my stance.”
Celestia paused, humming in thought. “Well, we couldn’t just go ourselves,” she admitted. “Though I do admit, this would remove our biases quite nicely. Who would we send?”
“Ask Octavia. I’m sure she’d be delighted if it means she gets to tweak Vinyl Scratch’s ears.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t they dating? And two of your favored ponies?”
Those teal eyes narrowed to slits. She was looking through me, deep into my very being. “Yes, and if you think for an instant she wouldn’t prod Vinyl for something like this, you really ought to take my invitations to meet them. They’re quite the pair.” Luna’s voice dropped, “And this one is most definitely up to something. Aren’t you, little one?”
Oh, dear.
Little one.
Definitely in trouble. Which meant I needed to reveal those dapples before she could—er—convince me to forget.
Yeah, that’s a great way to put it.
Celestia pondered the idea for a moment or two, a small eternity to one caught beneath Luna’s piercing gaze like me. Then, at last, she rose with a nod and said, “Very well. If that’s what will resolve this little issue, then we will proceed with your idea.” Her lips twitched into an amused smile. “I think I’ll leave you both to whatever—ah—business Twilight wishes to attend to.”
In a flash of brilliant gold and crack of air snapping in to fill the void, she was gone.
Luna leaned in close, her wings flaring. “What,” she repeated, “are you up to, little one?”
“Oh, just, y’know …” I took a step back. “Checking a theory.”
“I see.” Slowly, she began to rise, her starry tail flicking. “Dangerous business, you testing theories in secret.”
I feigned the best scoff I could manage. “What? Dangerous? My theories?”
“Incredibly, especially when you start acting shifty. Evasive.”
She took a step forward, her midnight wings spread wide enough to cast a great shadow across the room. The very picture of the Princess of the Night ready to extract whatever secrets I might keep from her.
“So,” she continued. “What theories might you be testing that sees you casting magic upon me, dare I ask? Dispelling magic, if my guess is right.”
Well, horseapples. She could tell by the feel.
I flicked my tail and set my jaw. Might as well give it a good go. If anything else, I could skip to plan thirteen.
“W-Well,” I began. “It’s a rather interesting one, you see. Basically … it involves noticing one or two inconsistencies.”
Her brow arched. “Inconsistencies with what, pray tell?”
The way her tone dipped sent a shiver down my spine. Warning. And just a hint of mischief of her own.
Luna’s “subtle” little way of reminding me that she commanded far more power than I knew and that she’d happily use it to see me squirming and writhing beneath her ministrations if that’s what it took to get this out of me.
Like the brilliant mare I am, I let that admittedly coy threat spark a fire within my chest.
Stop looking at me like that. You know how I can get.
No, seriously. Look, I loved her dapples the moment I laid eyes upon them and I’d faced Luna when she wanted to blanket the world in endless night. Is it really all that surprising that I’d opt to plant my hooves here?
I looked up into her eyes and gave my reply, “I saw your dapples this morning. I saw them the night you returned as well.”
The sudden shift in her stance and countenance were just precious. From strong, powerful Princess of the Night looming over her marefriend with the promise of utter defeat and merciless torment, to a wide-eyed mare, her wings folding and hooves carrying her back a few steps in horror.
So much like that nervous little princess who crawled out of the fragments her old armor.
“I … I’ve no idea what you’re talking about!” she squeaked.
Bingo.
I took a step forward, and she one back. “You let your spell falter in the bathroom this morning,” I accused. “And when you realized I’d seen, you teleported me across the castle!”
She gave another squeak, her wings flaring wide. “N-No, not at all!” Luna sputtered as she forced a smile. “I … er … thought you might like help getting there?”
Ironic, that her talent for subterferge so faltered those rare times I managed to turn the tables.
And, at that particular moment, my thoughts were something along the lines of “screw it, show me the dapples.”
That’s about the only way I can adequately explain why I did something so ridiculous—as if any of this wasn’t already—as leap upon my marefriend with a war cry that went something along the lines of, “Lies! Give me dapples or give me death!”
I prefer to think that it was just another part of the cunning plan that was plan thirteen and involved stunning her with something so stupid she wouldn’t be able to stop me.
Really, I just wanted to see her dapples again. Also, plan thirteen was far more simple.
Like I said, it was the last gasp effort. I just threw it together in case Luna was onto me and was trying to pin me or something so I could brute force her spell away.
So when I leapt upon her and sent us both sprawling across the floor in a tangle of legs, wings, and tails, I already had it in my head. All I needed was to get the upper hoof before she could get me pinned and keep watch on my horn to stop my spells.
I’m not entirely sure how I managed it in that mad scramble, but I slipped around and put my weight right on her back, just between her shoulders. My horn shone brilliantly, I cast a slightly overcharged Obscurant Be Gone spell to rip that illusion wrapped around my marefriend like gift paper.
The air didn’t just ripple. It literally looked like I’d just shredded one of Rarity’s dresses.
And the instant I got a good look at her coat, free of that blasted illusion, it made my efforts well worth the while. Even as Luna suddenly shifted, slipping out from under me and pounced, pinning my shoulders to the floor.
“I say thee nay!” she cried, without a hint of irony. I don’t think Luna could if she tried. Her eyes flashed with fire, she leaned in and growled, “Submit, dear. You have lost.”
Nothing could keep the grin from my face. “The battle, sure. But I’ve won the war.” At the confused look upon her face, I giggled and conjured a pocket mirror to show her face.
Her midnight and dappled face.
Luna’s ears splayed. With a whine, she fell back on her haunches and covered her face with both hooves and wings. Those on her back, unfortunately for her, just couldn’t be hidden. “Noooooo!” she moaned.
“Oh, come on. Don’t be like that!” I sat up and pried her hooves and wings away—not an easy task—so I could nuzzle her nose. “They look good on you! You look cute!”
“That’s the problem!” She ducked her head. Her cheeks flushed a deep, deep blue. “How am I to be taken seriously if my subjects look upon me and croon? They already look at me as the little sister!”
Yeah. I sometimes forget how sensitive Luna can be about her position. A product of how stoic she tries to seem.
I cupped her cheeks in my hooves. “Luna, I don’t mean to poke fun at your age, but I think you passed the croon at cute princess stage a while ago.” The little snort of laughter was all the hint I needed it worked. “They suit you well and you look beautiful. I thought that the moment I laid eyes on you and I’ve been missing them ever since.”
She squirmed—my coy, teasing marefriend actually started to squirm! “Really?” Luna whispered.
“I just cast a spell meant to rip changeling disguises off so I could prove that you were dappled and that I wasn’t going insane. Yes, really.”
Her cheeks burned so at the praise. I swear, if she got any more flushed, I’d have needed to borrow Spike’s oven mitts.
“You won’t tease me for them?” she asked, her voice small.
I grinned a vulpine grin, the same sort she shot me the night she found out my ears were extra sensitive.
Silly old mare.
“Now, Luna.” I licked her nose slowly, planting a kiss right where her dapples began. Her own words that night she learned about my ears became my reply, “Don’t ask me to make promises I won’t keep.”
Though she whimpered and tried to hide her face again, she wasn’t quite quick enough.
I saw that smile.
I still see if every time I whisper in her ear how cute her dapples make her look. Always when she least expects it.
Author's Note
Oh also, as a result of this brainworming:
Now taking donations for the ~~Battered~~ Bapped Bug Foundation. Bapping bugs has a deep, scarring affect on poor, innocent changelings. While the noises they make might be construed as funny by SOME, this is a very serious issue. With your donation, we can make a difference. Please send your donation to—NOSTOPWAITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
