Luna felt Twilight shake her. "Equestria to Luna, you okay?"

The blue alicorn sighed, the memory of Somnambula floating away on ethereal dust. "I'm fine. What did I miss?"

Twilight groaned. "Besides the whole Scootaloo beating Diamond Tiara within an inch of her life? Oh not much."

Luna cocked her head. "So that wasn't a perfect Heartswarming play?"

Twilight breathed, her hot breath fogging up in the late afternoon air. "Whatsoever gave you that idea? Was it Dash drunkenly cheering on Scootaloo? Or maybe when the Apples and the Riches almost got to blows over that."

Luna raised an eyebrow. She must have tuned that out. "I definitely don't remember any of that happening."

Twilight glanced over at Luna and shrugged. "Be glad. That was not the friendship problems I signed up for when I got this job."

Luna chuckled, her worried and thoughts far away for the moment. "That's what Celestia said when she found out she had to raise the sun everyday."

Twilight and Luna trudged home without much of a word, the cold day and their tired moods just making it easier to just exist in the same place, not speaking, just feeling the other pony there and feeling better.

The pair's mood only brightened when the lights of the Golden Oaks library twinkled in the dusky distance.

"Hopefully your drake is okay."

Twilight rolled her eyes at Luna's insistence on calling Spike that. "He's far more capable than he looks, though he has a few childish moments. As long as the library looks okay, it's probably fine."

"Okay." Luna sighed.

Twilight gripped the door in her magic and opened it, the heat and warmth of the inside warming the alicorns immediately as smells of a cooking dinner hit their noses, hay and daffodil crusted fish, a taste Twilight had picked up from being around Luna and growing into her wings. Fish was something that pegasi often dined on every once in a while, the taste of meat otherwise a no no for polite society.

Spike scampered into the room when he heard the door open, his baby phoenix perched on his spined head. "Twilight, how was the play? I kept hearing Pinkie talk about it."

Twilight groaned. "Went great. You missed out on the most action packed version I've ever seen in my life."

Spike looked crestfallen. "I knew I should have braved the cold."

Twilight lifted him up in her magic and smiled. "Well maybe next year. At least." Twilight took off her coat and stretched her wings, her body still unused to jackets that hang like that. "So you want to tell me about your day or am I going to have to tease it out of you during dinner?"

Spike shook his head, knowing full well what she meant. Both Twilight Velvet and Celestia had just loved making that really awkward and uncomfortable. "Uh, no, let's see. . .the restricted section books all are stacked in a pile so you can deal with them, I wrote down every question I was asked today by the few ponies that came in- mostly just the normal weird stuff for Lyra and-" The pair walked out and Luna smiled as she sat down, the day and her memories tiring her out. Curling up with a thick, woolen blanket she carefully angled herself on a chair too small for her and closed her eyes for a brief moment. She breathed in and let her mind wander again. She had disliked every memory so far, but she knew the importance of dreams and let it come wash over her.

***

Luna carefully whispered to Somnambula. "So about last night."

The foreign pegasus smiled, carefully hoisting her bag onto her back and tightening her shift. "If it's about when exactly we can do that again, I'd have to say we should talk about this after we defeat Stygian. And no, I don't know why you waited that long to get past you teaching me how to dreamwalk into something more." Somnambula winked. "I mean you had so much restraint in your affectation that I just thought you took a bit too much from Starswirl's lessons on how to never get with a lover."

Luna was taken aback. "I- that's not what I meant at all. " Her face felt hot as she tried to look away.

Somnambula laughed, her peals of laugher echoing through the hills. "Sorry but you have to be five hundred years older before you can get that classic horny colt question past me." She rustled the alicorn's hair, quitely picking out twigs and leaves that had got in her hair while she had been indisposed. "But I do have to say you weren't half bad. Now let's get us cleaned off, because I highly suspect Rockhoof and Magnus would just love joking about your rather musky smell. And while I'd love debating if we should run away and live our lives, the old coot would hunt us down."

Luna wrinkled her nose. "Fine. But I won't like it. Flash and Rockhoof are ones to talk. From how they talk, they seem to bed every mare in fifteen leagues."

The pegasus rolled her eyes. "Those two could swindle a dragon out of its hoard. From how the pair talk about mares, they don't even seem to be attracted to them."

Luna cocked her head. "Truly? I would have never suspected."

Somnambula stretched her wings as she quietly straightened her own feathers. "Both are the peak ideal of stallionhood in their own way, molded by years of training surrounded by men. It's not my place to deride their attraction. Now please focus so I can finish cleaning you up."

Luna huffed. "If only there was some way Stygian didn't exist. I mean from your stories he was once good."

Somnambula sighed as she poured water over the alicorn. "That's life. You have to come to terms that some things are just the way they are, and change the things you can. Stygian brought us together. Without his influence, the Sirens would still be here bringing endless winter."

Luna pouted. "But he went evil and brought darkness and winter anyway."

Somnambula rustled Luna's mane. "He did, but there's been hints of ponies growing food again. I see that as a possibility that there's a little sliver of the Stygian I knew deep in there somewhere and trying desperately to be heard. Unlike the Sirens, the cold isn't as biting as it used to be."

Luna shook her mane as she tried to get warm again, the freezing cold water in what should have been midsummer not making her believe all of Somnambula's words.

---

"Ay, where is the little lassie and Somby, I cannae belive that those two are off dallying their time away when we here are all waiting." Rockhoof stretched, his body sore and tired from yesterday, grog in hoof, quickly forgetting any of the last day's horrible findings.

"Rocky, please, don't be sassing out loud. We're all on edge, they are probably coming."

Rockhoof crossed his hooves. "Well I'm not the one bellyaching up a thunderstorm."

Starswirl paced back and forth, visibly agitated. "Celestia doesn't know where her sister is and we're already late for stopping the Pony of Shadows."

"They've been coming up the hill for the last two minutes, give them time." Flash Magnus adjusted his sleeping spot in his tree. "And no, I wasn't hiding information from you guys, I just thought that maybe you had more pressing matters. Luna and Somby are looking real close. They totally fucked."

Starswirl facehoofed. "I'm getting far too old for these things. If I had it my way, I'd have each and every one of you castrated just to keep you on task."

The late pair walked up and awkwardly looked around. "Good morn to you all." Luna stammered out not used to being so very noticeable.

"Hey, Som, how was last night? You didn't come back from your night shift. Did any good stargazing?" Flash giggled as he tried to see if the mare might react. He hadn't really seen her react since they had started on the journey.

"I did."

Luna tried to hide her face in her mane.

Starswirl quickly picked up Magnus in his aura and yanked him out of the tree. "I would love to see this farce continued, but let's just get on with our mission. Magnus, if you will. I seem to have forgotten where to go."

Flash quietly grumbled as her rubbed his shoulder. "Yeah, yeah. Well we've scoped out the darkest places in Equestria, except for one. He's probably in the Everfree Tangle. I mean we've searched out caves and everything. Though we'd have to be careful."

Mistmane piped up, unfamiliar with the dangers of the patch of land. "Why is that?"

Flash sighed. "Deer. Those antlered bastards took out an entire royal legion. If any of you have a map. I'd gladly mark out the death zones so we can give them a wide berth."

Starswirl rummaged through his bags, casting aside notes and tomes. "I believe I might have something. I jotted down a few notes from travelogues and things sailors said. Sure I can't verify most of the taller tales, but I got a good idea of what this land is shaped like." Pulling out a long piece of parchment, Starswirl unfurled it and lay it on a patch of grass. "Here is the whole world."

Flash glanced at it and laughed. "I guess your sailors couldn't fly. I mean honestly that looks like a blob. A shapeless and completely wrong blob, but at least it has the forest in it." Flash Magnus pointed out two spots on the map. "Near the Ghastly Caverns is a no go, there's hints of fire there and it's not a dragon. And don't go near the Appaloosan Wastes, that was where the legion entered and they never came out."

Starswirl nodded. "Duly noted."

The travel was rather uneventful, days passing as the two sisters raised and lowered the sun and moon with relative ease. The land was harsh and desolate, the group finding more monsters of shadow as they walked closer to the forest, each thing worse than the last, husks of buildings left in shambles as ponies either had fled or were assimilated into pure darkness. Whatever Stygian had loosed and merged with had no regard for life. Nopony talked as they slunk around the hordes, the chittering, almost intelligent creatures having their own language, long swooping vowels and consonants unpronounceable to ponies echoing through the night. They hadn't used fire for days, the few windigos in the air screaming for food and with the ground even worse, the party welcomed the cold as it was the only thing that told them that they were still alive and kicking. Once Luna imagined that Starswirl and her sister had left them all to die, the two of them walking far into the distance and whispering about some seed. Then she woke up in the morning and they were in camp, nothing wrong. She had not asked and chalked it up to her mind playing tricks on her, nothing else.

She hadn't learned what it was about until everything was over.

----

Luna sat outside in the pouring rain waiting for the Pillars to come back, Somnambula had said they would.

"Luna, please come in from the rain, I've tried to tell you that if the rain started back up again, everything's back to normal." She felt Celestia's wings on her back, her sister perfunctory and nonchalant about winning.

"Then why haven't they come back? Somnambula said she'd come back."

Celestia sighed. "About that. . ."

Luna didn't remember what Celestia said. It didn't really matter. Somnambula wasn't coming back. She just lay down in the mud and felt comforted by the freezing cold rain. At least she could say the wetness coming from her eyes was just the rain hitting her face. She breathed in the damp air, almost still smelling the pegasus' scent, a mix of saffron and lilies, just there on the tip of her memory. The way they moved as one. The way she could just complete her thoughts. She was perfect and Celestia just would never truly understand.

She wished she could do anything to bring her back. No matter the cost.

***

Luna was lightly shook awake. Through misty eyes, the alicorn saw Twilight stand above her.

"You definitely aren't okay."

Luna wryly smiled just too tired to really care anymore. "What gave you that idea?"

Twilight levitated over a couch and lay down, her body turned towards her marefriend. "Well it's midnight. So you've been asleep for nearly a quarter of the day, which makes sense if I gave you every benefit of the doubt since your schedule's not diurnal, but what really threw me off was trying to explain to Spike why you were having a night terror. Hard to do when you once joked that you could never have nightmares. I got to hear more stuff as I tried to see if you'd pop out of it, but to no avail, you had kind of an entire meltdown on one of my chairs."

Luna hesitated. "It's been a really long day."

"Blame Celestia for that. She controls the sun." Twilight laid a hoof on Luna and sighed. "Sorry, Pinkie told me a few times that humor helps cut tension, though I don't always get her humor."

Luna lay back, looked up at the ceiling and laughed. "You tried."

"So you want to tell me about why you kept saying something about a old mare's tale Rainbow Dash once randomly told me about. Cause Somnambula's a bit of a forgotten name."

Luna hunched over and looked at her hooves, turning over the implications in her head. The weight of each word carefully on her mind as she started thinking of where to start and how to explain her feelings about a pony she knew was never coming back. She had tried so very hard once to break her and the others out of limbo, calling on the remnants of the shadow ponies to her side just to see if she could force her way through. She breathed in and out trying to steady her breath. "This is going to be a very long story."

Twilight checked the clock and looked at the time. She counted how many hours she'd lose of sleep. She's regret it in the morning, but this was far more important. "Ponyville can miss me for a day. I mean it's Heartswarming week. Ponies will understand." Twilight put a hoof on Luna's. "I'll just be a moment. Need to put the coffee on. I'm a night owl, but even I have my non-caffeinated limits."

Luna watched Twilight walk into the kitchen. She could see strands of mana wrap around the small uncorn, unseen to most but the most trained eye. Luna smiled as she watched that corona of magic trail her like a comet's tail. She could see what Celestia had seen in the mare- sheer potential for evil balanced by a well meaning, if slightly misunderstood, heart.

"I'll be waiting."

***

"Wow." Twilight sat there, coffee pot fully empty, limbs slightly twitching from the caffeine, popcorn bowl on the neaby table, half full with popcorn. Twilight had raced to make some popcorn once Luna had gotten to the rather juicy parts with Starswirl doing all the cool magic bits she had only ever dreamed about. "I feel wholly inadequate now."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?"

Twilight ran a hoof through her mane. "I mean first of all this throws out every history focused on the ancient period. There's entire sections of the library right here focused on the Heartswarming tale and none of them mention any of that. Secondly, I don't know-" Twilight paused. "Do you even like me?"

Luna sighed. "I knew I shouldn't have mentioned this."

Twilight groaned. "I didn't mean that, I meant you kind of tried to destroy Equestria cause you lost somepony. And I feel like I only heard you mention you two having sex once. Though it's been eight hours. I might have missed a few other times."

Luna awkwardly twiddled her hooves. "It was only once."

Twilight smiled. "Well don't tell Rarity, she'd just love trying to needle you for details. I mean you just lived through one of her high fantasy romance novels she just eats up like a maniac and here you are having a relationship with little old me. It's like trading in a rare manuscript for a dime novel." Twilight coldly laughed as she said it.

Luna looked up and saw the slight hurt on Twilight's face. She had always noticed Twilight's proclivity for undercutting her own self worth in these pithy comments that she sprinkled in her dialogue with her friends- downplaying her smarts, her beauty, her courage, her everything. Luna sat there and watched Twilight's mask slip ever so slightly, the usual annoyed and cute demeanor she had showing the Twilight she actually grew fond of.

The self doubting mare that saved the world countless times.

She knew exactly what she had to do. "Twilight, I loved Somnambula, 'tis true, but that's just a memory I hold dear. And you aren't some trashy novel." Luna put a hoof on Twilight's neck as she talked, lightly stroking the mare's fur with her touch. "You are far more than that. You are the story that holds so much deep in its pages, the twists and turns of your story so much more meaningful than some dusty manuscript." Luna's voice hitched. "Somnambula's no longer here. My chance for happiness there cut short through my juvenile longing and circumstance. But don't you ever think you are of less worth because I chose you after. I have told you things about myself that even Celestia doesn't know, and I have appreciated your company and charisma ever since you picked me up off the ground in the Everfree. You remind me of her, true, but it's not because of your similar affect and slightly teasing natures- even if that's so very apt a connection in my eyes. It's because she never gave up hope on the absolute worst enemies of ours, even when they committed horrible atrocities. You and your friends have the hope she prized above all else. Who else would think of using the Elements of Harmony outside of their intended use?" Luna kissed Twilight, the kiss lasting for what felt like forever. Luna broke the kiss and stared at Twilight. "Sorry, was that too strong?"

The purple alicorn blushed profusely as she tried to find words. "No. Just. . .unexpected."

"So what should we do now?"

"I'll be right back." Twilight fired up her horn and teleported, the magic laying heavy in the air.

Luna sighed. "Celestia said to not be creepy and I-"

Luna heard a high pitched scream and loud yelling. Before she could yell to anypony to see if she was needed, Spike burst out of his room and scampered down the stairs. "I told you before to knock Twilight, sweet Celestia, knock." Spike stared at Luna and hastily ran into the kitchen. "If anypony needs me I'm going to Rarity's. She probably needs a few extra claws to help."

Twilight flitted down the stairs, her eyes fixed dead ahead and unblinking. "Note to self, study dragon mating habits and biology, cause I didn't need to see that at nine in the morning." Twilight shivered as she tried to burn the image away.

Luna cocked her head. "So I'm guessing you don't want to perform coitus?"

Twilight shook her head. "Are we going to have the library all to ourselves again in the new year? I don't think so."

Luna felt a slight tug on her tail, tendrils of Twilight's magic snaking up her nethers as she stood there, digits tickling her sides as she felt Twilight's magic begin to envelop her. "Don't be so eager." Luna grinned as the pair popped into their shared bedroom, the bed large enough to fit two large alicorns comfortably.

"So what should we do next?"

Luna hummed as she got a rather silly idea. "Let's celebrate Hearth's Warming."

Twilight was stumped as she tried to figure out Luna's rather odd switch in tone. From how she had described the past and the whole- Twilight felt the hint of magic telling her of what Luna was probably going to do. She closed her eyes and opened them a second later, Twilight now firmly on the bed.

Luna slid up to the bed, her sultry walk keeping Twilight's gaze fixated as she swayed her hips back and forth as she walked ever so slowly forward, her eyes on Twilight. The purple alicorn shivered as she felt little touches on her fur, the air moving ever so purposefully over every nook and cranny of her body. She looked up to the ceiling and traced the wood knots of the tree in her mind, the mental exercise keeping her focused and ready for what was coming next.

"I love you Twilight Sparkle, Happy Hearth's Warming."

Twilight gripped the sheets as she felt a hoof probe her insides, the wet heat of her sex gripping onto the foreign invader, sucking it ever deeper into her as Luna pushed in and out. Twilight bucked her hips in time with Luna's hoofwork. Twilight tilted her head up to look at the glowing horn of her lover.

"What."

Luna's magic enveloped Twilight in a misty haze of sensory overload, one moment Luna was pulling gently on both of her nipples, the next Twilight was having mindblowing orgasms over and over as Luna massaged her wings. She could only grip onto the bed and jerk her hips up with each wave, her action burying Luna's snout firmly inside her and leaving her empty as she lay prone, her body glistening with sweat as the session went on.

Twilight's focus on pleasure let her magic have a mind of its own, sparks dancing off the tip of it, down her body and twinkling like stars in Luna's mane as they reached the blue alicorn, her swirling mane reacting playfully to Twilight's magic, stars and constellations dancing and swirling through a pattern of colors and poofs, each mote of magic a firework of potential.

Luna could only hear Twilight moaning her name and see the mare lustily bite her lip in response to her love for the next few hours.

***

Luna carried a breakfast tray up to her lover, carefully balancing the glass and plates as she took the stairs one at a time. She cantered slowly into their room and quickly opened the window a crack as she tried to air out the room as the cloying smell of their lovemaking hung in the air. Twilight curled up under the blankets, her hair a mess and her legs splayed out. To Luna, she looked like the most beautiful thing in the world. Carefully dodging the mess of sheets that had been pushed off their bed by their furious lovemaking, she placed the tray on the dresser and sat down on the edge of the bed for just a moment. She felt complete somehow, still slightly pained that she had lost so much time with her banishment and return, but she had lucked out finding somepony she dared to say was far better than Somnambula. She was here and in the moment and she lightly touched Twilight's cheek just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "Twi, time to wake up."

Twilight grumbled. "Just a few more minutes, I hurt all over."

Luna sighed and rubbed Twilight's cheek. "Okay, but you might miss out on some food I made."

Twilight rolled over and groaned. "You didn't burn down the library?"

Luna playfully tousled Twilight's hair. "No, silly. I heeded your directions and made a breakfast worthy for post coitus sex."

Twilight snuggled close to Luna, smelling her lavender scent. "Don't tell me it's some joke thing Pinkie told you about where everything looks like a dick. Cause I'm already squicked out by you saying post-coitus like its not the weirdest way to mention sex. And that's coming from me, in Rainbow's words, "a pony that gets off on books."

Luna laughed. "Well it's not. Just some eggs and toast. Should I have done the opposite?"

Twilight nuzzled into the side of Luna's thigh. "No. Please don't do that."

"So do you want some food before we have to prepare for our trip to the Crystal Empire?"

Twilight's head popped up. "That's today?"

Luna shrugged. "Thought it would be better to take the prerogative and go before Hearth's Warming's end. Then we could call it a vacation. Just the two of us."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Just as long as it doesn't involve rutting every day. It'd be hard to explain to my brother that I'm in cahoots with his aunt in law, or however that works."

Luna covered her mouth as she tried not to laugh. "So you're telling me the Princess of Friendship didn't tell her own brother about our carnal relationship? How odd, I remember one purple unicorn saying something oddly similar about the Royal Wedding. Seems like that runs in the family."

Twilight playfully smacked her on the rump. "Don't get me started."

***

The Crystal Empire was a maze of wide pavilions and narrow corridors as they walked through the festive city, snow slowly falling as the two mares walked into the palace. Luna smiled as she watched her smaller partner fidget as the doors opened to the large entrance chamber.

Cadance stood there in the center of the room, her throne empty as she was levitating a smaller throne. "Unexpected tidings to Twilight and you, dear Auntie."

Luna bowed as Twilight stayed up. "To you as well, we are most sorry to not give you the proper warning for our stately visit but it is the holiday season and we both decided it was a perfect time to visit family."

Cadance smiled. "I mean it's only a long train ride away, and Twilight's always welcome to the Crystal Empire. And Spike as well, but it might have been apt not to bring him. He's a celebrity here, something about some weird prophecy some of my ponies speak of, though prophecies are rather obtuse and all." Cadance hummed to herself. "Now if I just move this throne just a bit, then I won't have to hear Shiny complain about how odd his role is."

Twilight cocked her head. "What's Shiny complaining about?"

Cadance pushed the second crystal throne into place. "Oh nothing. Just how odd being prince-consort is to him. I mean I can't make him a general in the army anymore due to how big a target he is with the marriage and royalty decree. But I can't make him a king either due to how the Crystal Empire is really in this mood about how terrible King Sombra was. So he's in political limbo, which totally worries his cute little head." Cadance laughed. "But that's married life for you. How are you two lovebirds doing?"

Luna and Twilight shared a look. Twilight spoke first. "We aren't-"

Cadance lay back on her throne. "-in a relationship." Cadance smiled. "But we're all adults here, and we got through the rather boring bits of niceties and all that junk, and I could tell from a nation away that you two got together so humor me a little bit since it's kind of cute. Even though that invalidates my theory that Twilight is only attracted to books."

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "What?"

Cadance waved a hoof. "Oh nothing, I most definitely wasn't building a paper golem that you'd love in the dungeon so Shiny wouldn't question it, nope. Not like my hormones have been oddly out of whack lately." She awkwardly chuckled. "You were saying?"

Luna groaned. This was going swimmingly, Cadance was only half ranting about sex every few sentences. "On that odd note, we came to see the Crystal Empire library to check if we could set up a program for trading knowledge as a goodwill mission."

Cadance pointed and sighed. "It's to the left."

Luna pulled Twilight along as she wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.

Cadance lay back and looked up to her vaulted ceiling. "Good save, Cadey, almost gave away the surprise to Twilight. She'll love learning about her niece." Cadance grinned at the thought. "Though you've been a rather bad baby, making me all love crazy." Cadance groaned. "Though now what will I do with the paper golem? Matbe Shining could use it for a butler? Though I'd have to deprogram all the code words." Cadance rubbed her temple. For all the fun she could have, being the Princess of Love was such hard work.

***

"So Cadance was rather strange." Twilight awkwardly tried to whisper through the large library.

Luna rolled her eyes. "She's an alicorn, it comes with the territory, though I think her obsession with her aspect is rather troubling." Luna shivered at the thought of a Nightmare version of Cadance, the idea slightly horrifying her. "As long as she doesn't ruin our date, I think we'll be fine."

Twilight tried to figure out the organization of the stacks, possibly the Draft system or the Canter Method, but as she scanned the shelves, she couldn't place the organization- sometimes it was by author and sometimes by date, color, or page number. Shelves were just a mess as she stared through, trying to see where the pre-Equestria section was. "I think finding the books will be harder than what I had expected. Who in their right mind would organize shelves like this?"

Luna smiled, Twilight was in full librarian mode. She lightly touched the marble pillars with a hoof, the Hippoi columns a hint to their age, memories of Starswirl lecturing about the minutest detail of architecture bubbling up, the cut stones humming with faint traces of olden magic from before she was banished. "Truly? Mayhaps a very old mage or three that knew how to build some rather impressive works of art."

Twilight huffed, the disarray annoying her. "No self-respecting mage would ever be caught dead here."

Luna smiled and pressed her magic to the pillar and whispered the books that she wanted.

"Luna, we can totally just ask a librarian that should know something."

Luna put a wing on Twilight's back. "Be patient."

Twilight sighed and looked up to the ceiling and groaned. "I would be if there was a sorting system."

Luna chuckled as the first few books started lazily falling off the shelves. "There is, you just had to ask it nicely to sort itself."

The purple alicorn stood amazed as books reorganized themselves by date and topic. Entire shelves of books shuffled themselves like a deck of cards, each correct location falling into place as the magic library woke up from a deft touch, the first hint of Starswirl's Liber Generis spell after more than a thousand years. "Luna what in the world did you do?"

"Well if we can't find the librarian, we can just make the library sort itself. Barring of course, you wanted that to be the second part of our date, which if that was the intended series of events, then I can just put the library back to normal.

Twilight shook her head. "No, I just really want to learn that spell."

Luna rolled her eyes and leaned in to kiss Twilight on the cheek. "Maybe later, now let's figure out what this library has in store for us."

Twilight smiled as she felt her wings flutter. "Yeah." She would see what lay in store and see what the future held.

Author's Note

Something a bit more festive