Totality

by Grimm

Rating: mature
Tags: Romance, Sex, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Porn, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 5490

In the months since Luna's return, her subjects have remained scared of the Nightmare she was, despite her best efforts. Celestia has one final plan to put the ponies at ease, although there's more to it than Luna expects.

Nightmare Moon.

The name still haunts Luna, still follows her in everything she does. Ponies are too scared to look her in the eyes, her guards are constantly uneasy, and worst of all...

Worst of all, Celestia refuses to keep her company at night, in the way she used to.

Luna has tried everything to put the ponies at ease, to convince them that she's no longer the Nightmare they're so scared of, but nothing has worked. If anything, her efforts have only made everything even worse. Celestia has a new plan, though, one she's sure will sway the hearts and minds of their subjects. An old, forgotten tradition. An eclipse.

All Luna has to do is trust her.

Published 2018-12-04 21:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2018-12-04 21:20:02 UTC

And I Need You More Than Ever

Below, the milling crowd of ponies stretched as far as Luna could see, a churning mass of colour and noise. After so many years alone, it was more than a little intimidating.

She let the curtain fall back over the window she’d been peering through, and resumed her restless pacing up and down the length of her room. It was, of course, lavishly decorated, filled with everything she’d ever wanted, and was almost exactly how she’d left it one thousand years ago. It brought her no comfort.

Outside, the masses had gathered. Celestia had told her time and time again that everything was okay, that they no longer feared her, that they weren’t out there with torches and pitchforks demanding her head be removed from the rest of her body. Luna knew the truth, though. She had seen the terror of Nightmare Moon in their eyes as she’d walked among them, seen the way the guards assigned to her were always so much more on edge than Celestia’s, perhaps wondering if she might have them executed for the slightest mistake. Perhaps she should, to give them something worth worrying about.

No, stop thinking like that. You aren’t that anymore. You don’t need fear to rule.

Celestia had told her so many things like that since her return. Things will be okay, give them time. They’ll learn to love you too, give them time. Give them time, give them time, give them time. But Luna had given her subjects all the time in the world, and still they were scared of her, and she was beginning to lose her patience.

This was the latest in a long line of bright ideas her sister had suggested to reassure the populace that Nightmare Moon was gone, all of which had so far backfired or done nothing to improve Luna’s soiled reputation. A ceremony, one that hadn’t been held for centuries even before Luna’s rebellion. A joining of Celestia’s sun and Luna’s moon. An eclipse.

Luna had argued against it, of course. The last thing the populace needed was to see Luna intentionally blocking out the sun again.

“It will work,” Celestia had assured her, “because you’ll be taking it away again.”

Luna remained unconvinced. Her sister’s other plans had gone so poorly, and even though deep down Luna knew it was her own fault, Celestia still never seemed to truly think them through. The meeting with the gryphon ambassador, for example. Celestia’s bright idea for Luna to win him over had been all well and good, but she’d neglected to inform Luna of the changes in customs in her absence. It wasn’t until Luna had seen the ambassador’s expression after presenting several freshly decapitated chickens that she realised there had been a terrible misunderstanding. If only the servants hadn’t been too terrified to question Luna’s request the whole thing could have been avoided.

She had tried. She’d tried so hard, but for all her sister’s platitudes, Luna was beginning to wonder if Celestia truly cared about her anymore. She’d been… different from how Luna remembered her. She was much colder than she used to be. With everyone, not just Luna, although as her sister Luna was perhaps in the position to feel it the most. It seemed all Celestia did now was political meetings, hurried audiences, and official business. Gone were the days where they would take a week to simply wander their kingdom, greeting the peasants and giving suggestion and praise where they were due. Luna missed that.

And then, of course, there was the other thing that had changed. Luna missed that too.

The first time she’d tried to call at Celestia’s bedchambers one evening, the guards outside had been very alarmed.

“Is there an emergency, Princess?”

Luna had blinked at that.

“Nay, of course not. We simply wish to consort with Our sister.”

“C-consort, Princess?”

She’d scowled, marching past the confused and spluttering guard into Celestia’s chambers. She wondered how it must have seemed to them when she stormed out again, five minutes later.

It’s not done anymore. We can’t.

Luna had been so angry. More than that, though. She’d been… hurt. A thousand years on the moon, exiled, alone, and now her sister had denied her the only closeness she could still remember. The only one she had held onto.

How was she supposed to enjoy the closeness of another, as a mare, now? The one pony who wasn’t terrified of her had spurned her. It was alright for Celestia – every stallion in the kingdom wanted to fuck her – although the princess had become remarkably chaste in the time Luna had been away. She still remembered when her sister had been nothing short of insatiable, when every night Luna had raised her moon and then made her way through the castle, where Celestia would be waiting, and she’d drag Luna down on the bed with her, and kiss her, and love her, and then do that thing with her tongue that Luna loved so much…

Now Celestia was practically celibate. In fact, she might well be; Luna hadn’t spotted any potential suitors around Celestia’s quarters. Her sister really had changed.

Luna sighed, loudly, then jumped at the voice that spoke up behind her.

“It will be fine, I promise.”

She wheeled on her sister, who stood in the centre of the room, smiling gently. Smugly.

“Thou hast some nerve, intruding on Our quarters uninvited.”

“Luna…” Celestia said, warningly.

Luna rolled her eyes. “We apologise. It has been difficult to become accustomed to this manner of speaking.”

“Yes, I can tell.”

“I do not like it when you sneak up on me.”

“Me? Sneak? I wouldn’t dream of it,” said Celestia, moving beside her and pulling aside the curtain to peer out at the crowd herself. “That would be unbecoming.”

“There are so many of them,” Luna remarked, watching her sister carefully. Celestia seemed entirely unfazed by the bustling crowd, letting the curtain fall once more as shadows reclaimed her face.

“No more than usual,” Celestia replied.

“You’ll have to forgive Us. After all, it has been some time.” The words came out more pointed than Luna meant them to, and she winced slightly at the pained look Celestia gave her. “I apologise. That was cruel.”

“It’s okay, Luna. I understand.”

And Luna knew that she did, which is why she always felt so awful when some of that resentment slipped out. It was often very difficult to keep it all bottled up – it’d had a thousand years to fester, after all – but that didn’t stop the pang of guilt whenever Luna’s bitterness got the better of her.

Celestia was trying so hard to make it up to her, and Luna was doing all she could to forgive her, but…

There was always a but, wasn’t there?

“It’s time,” said Celestia. “Are you ready?”

“As We will ever be.” Luna was doing all she could to avoid looking at the windows, at the curtains that covered up the sight of the crowd she was so scared to face but did almost nothing to mute the buzz from below. White noise, a constant churning of hundreds – thousands? – of voices.

***

The sisters made their way through the castle together in almost perfect step, guards marching smartly either side of them. If Luna hadn’t been the smaller of the two it probably would have been in unison, but she had to walk just a little faster to keep up.

“Are you sure this will work, sister?” Luna hated the hint of nervousness that snuck into her voice.

“As sure as I ever am.”

“We do not know if that is a positive or a negative.”

Celestia chuckled quietly. “You know, I really have missed you. No one else teases me as you do.”

“I’ve missed you too,” said Luna. And then, more bitterly, “I’ve missed a lot of things.”

Her sister gave the guards beside them a worried glance. “Perhaps these things are better left to private conversations?”

“You would just shut me out again.”

“I have to do that, Luna. Things have changed in your absence, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. It’s not… acceptable anymore. Do you think I take pleasure in turning you away?”

“I wonder if you might, since apparently the common pony’s opinion is more important than your own sister’s.”

“You’re not being fair.”

And Luna knew she wasn’t, but she didn’t really care. Celestia hadn’t been the one forced to walk shamefully back through the castle that night, cheeks burning red. Celestia hadn’t been forced to lie there on her bed, frustrated and heartbroken, with only a hoof and magic for company, as if that was any substitute for her sister’s warmth and love and kisses. So no, Luna wasn’t being fair, but she wasn’t sure Celestia deserved fairness right now.

“What do you think they would say,” Luna asked, “if they knew? If We told them all about how things used to be between us?”

“They wouldn’t care for it.”

Luna hmphed. It was all she could do in the wake of her sister’s stoicism. She’d been hoping to provoke more of a rise, but this was all she could do in front of the guards, whom she was sure were trying very hard to look like they weren’t wondering what Luna was talking about.

But Luna knew they were, and that was her small victory here.

They stopped outside the grand entrance to Celestia’s chambers, the intricately carved sun emblazoned on each door leaving no question as to its usual inhabitant.

“Thank you,” Celestia said to the guards that had escorted them here. “You may resume your usual duties now, no further help is required.”

The guards exchanged a concerned look. One, clearly the boldest of the group, cleared his throat. “With all due respect, Princess, Captain Shining Armor has given us strict instructions as to your security today, and-”

“And whilst I’m sure those instructions are very well thought out, I don’t think I need to remind you that a Princess rather outranks the Captain of the Guard.”

Oh, this was interesting. This was much more like the sister Luna remembered; a gentle touch which somehow threatened so much more. It was never what Celestia said, but what she didn’t.

“Of course, Princess,” the guard said, bowing his head deeply. Luna could hear the reluctance in his voice, and knew Celestia must have as well, but her sister’s expression didn’t even flicker.

“That will be all, then.” Celestia swivelled and pushed open the grand doors, and Luna followed into the relative peace of her sister’s quarters. The doors swung shut behind them again with a click, and they were alone once more.

“That was very forceful of you,” said Luna. “We thought you had forgotten how to be like that.”

“I don’t know what you mean. I was the very picture of gentleness.”

“And now you’re doing it again.”

Celestia sighed. “The Royal Guard have their uses, but I scarcely think we’re going to need them on the balcony.”

“In that case, are you sure this Captain understands security? Perhaps he should be replaced.”

The corners of Celestia’s mouth twitched. It was subtle, almost invisible, but Luna had had a lifetime to pick up on her sister’s tells.

Longer than a lifetime.

“What is it?”

“Luna, Shining Armor is an extremely competent Captain, and I know he was thinking only for my safety by assigning me a personal detail.” Celestia gave her a long look, to which Luna could only stare blankly back. “Why do you think he would want them on the balcony with us?”

Luna thought for a moment. When the realisation dawned, she couldn’t stop her ears from flattening in sudden despondency. “Oh.”

“Yes. He was only doing his duty, but not only do I know I have nothing to fear from you, I think it will send a better message if it’s just the two of us out there. Sisters facing the world together once again.”

Luna’s shoulders slumped. “They’re still so scared of me.”

Celestia’s hoof lifted Luna’s chin, pulling her attention away from the floor towards her sister’s warm, loving eyes. “And that’s why we’re here. To show them they’ve got nothing to be afraid of.”

A few more trembling breaths, and then Luna’s resolve hardened. She nodded. “We are ready.”

“Then let’s go.” And with that Celestia strode forward and opened the double doors leading to her balcony.

A wall of sound erupted from below at her appearance, cheers and cries of jubilation at the monarch’s presence, dwarfing the buzz from earlier in a rapturous cacophony.

And when Luna stepped out beside her sister, that roar quieted so quickly. She could almost hear the whispers and mutters, feel the glares against her skin as their anger burned into her.

“This is a bad idea,” she murmured.

Celestia seemed entirely unperturbed by the change in mood, the now muted sound from below doing nothing to wipe the bright smile off her face as she waved down at the gathered crowd.

“My Little Ponies,” Celestia began, as Luna gazed over the suddenly sullen masses and wished she was anywhere else. Her sister’s magically amplified voice boomed out over the plaza, almost intimidating if it weren’t filled with the kindness and gentleness that Celestia always seemed so good at. “My sister and I have invited you all here today to celebrate a tradition that has been all but forgotten over the last thousand years.”

The silence stretched on. Why had Celestia paused there? They all knew why it had been forgotten, why this was the first time it had been done in a thousand years. It was like she was trying to rub it in.

A sick thought took root again, then, the same one that had been lingering in the back of Luna’s mind for a long while.

What if she is doing this on purpose?

All the failed attempts, all those misunderstandings and miscommunications. Everything that had gone wrong since Luna had come back. What if they weren’t just honest mistakes? What if Celestia had been trying to keep that wedge between them, to keep the public on her side? Maybe those thousand years in sole power had changed her, and maybe Celestia didn’t want to go back to how things used to be.

No.

No, of course that wasn’t the case. Luna knew that, and she knew Celestia would be heartbroken if she ever found out Luna had even considered it. Knowing they weren’t true didn’t stop the traitorous thoughts, though.

“We are more than just Princesses,” Celestia continued. “We are sisters, and today we present to you all a symbol of our unity. An eclipse!”

Celestia turned to Luna, her voice no longer amplified. “It’s time.”

Luna nodded, swallowed nervously, and then ignited her horn and stepped forward. Celestia stood behind her, perhaps to provide support, perhaps for imagery, Luna wasn’t sure. She was too busy focusing on her spell anyway, feeling for the moon in her mind, letting her magic begin to wrap around it so she could pull it into view.

“That’s it, Luna,” came Celestia’s voice, so close that it was almost directly above her. “Show them your moon.”

And so she did. Below, the crowd gasped in unison as the edge of the sun began to darken and withdraw.

And then Celestia’s voice whispered again in Luna’s ear, dripping with a sultriness that Luna hadn’t heard in over a millennium. “Make sure they have something else to look at.”

Celestia was so close now, standing over her, her warm breath running against Luna’s fur, lips practically brushing against the soft skin of her ear. Too close, too personal, too… hot. Luna’s body was too hot, her sister’s lingering closeness making it hard to concentrate on her magic. Controlling the moon with enough precision for this display was no small feat, and having to deal with the mounting distraction from her sister was only making it even more difficult.

“What are you doing?” Luna hissed.

“I wanted to apologise,” Celestia murmured, still so close, so warm. “I can’t bear the way you’ve been looking at me lately. I’m so sorry. Sorry I haven’t been here for you, like you need me to.”

Her sister’s breath brushed gently along the nape of Luna’s neck as she tried desperately to concentrate on her spell. “Thank you, sister,” she said through gritted teeth, “but perhaps this could wait for a more opportune moment?”

“But Luna,” Celestia whispered, and as she shifted slightly further forward a heavy, hard weight pressed against Luna’s back, just above her rump. Her sister’s carefully guarded secret, the thing Luna had missed so much. “Isn’t this what you wanted?”

And it was. Oh fuck, it was exactly what she wanted. What she’d been needing ever since her return. She felt its heat against her, its stiffness, ready to plunge into her. And yet, not here. Surely not here, in front of an entire crowd of their subjects. Of course, they wouldn’t be able to make out any… details at this distance, but still. Even now, Celestia’s position would be sure to start rumours. Was this why she had sent the guards away? So no one would be close enough to see her cock pressing against her sister’s back?

“Tia, we can’t. Not here. Not now.”

“Yes, we can,” Celestia whispered. “Are you sure you don’t want to?”

A shiver coursed down Luna’s spine as her sister practically purred the question to her. Could she really turn down Celestia now? She’d been so desperate for it, and now she was the one trying to turn her sister down? Not that she wouldn’t deserve it, after pushing Luna away for so long…

The world’s shadows began to stretch and darken. The edge of the moon was visible now, slicing across Celestia’s sun as it continued its laborious journey. And when Celestia leaned in and planted a kiss on Luna’s neck, she almost dropped the spell completely in surprised.

“Sister…” she muttered.

“Tell me to stop if you want me to,” Celestia replied, kissing her again, slightly higher. “If that’s really what you want.”

It was most certainly not what Luna wanted, finally feeling the touch and affection she’d been so sorely missing all this time. This was neither the time nor the place, and yet that was starting to matter less and less as Celestia’s kisses moved up and now her sister was gently nipping at her ear and oh fuck she was so wet how was she this wet how badly did she want this need this need her sister to love her in the way she always had.

The thoughts tumbled out of Luna’s head too quickly to even keep track of, taking all she had to keep her focus on her spell, to keep concentrating even as Celestia tried her hardest to pull Luna’s attention away. And try she did, those little nips turning hard enough to sting, and another deep shiver of lust rolled through Luna’s skin, all the way down to the base of her tail flicking left and right in anticipation, as eager and restless as the rest of her.

Celestia grinned as Luna shifted beneath her, sliding a hoof down over the curve of her rump, and then down, down, lower. Luna gasped when it found its mark, pressing insistently against her with so little resistance; she was so ready, waiting, and the thought only sent another surge of desperation through her, her spell on the verge of collapsing. “Tia… Please…” she whispered.

“Please what?”

She could only groan in answer as Celestia’s hoof continued its relentless teasing and toying.

“Sorry?” Celestia asked, and Luna could hear the wicked smile in her voice even if she couldn’t see it. “I didn’t quite catch that.”

The crowd below remained fixated on the spectacle in the sky above them, and for that small relief Luna was impossibly grateful. While they might not be able to tell quite what was happening, she wasn’t sure what a pony would think they were doing – Celestia standing over her, withdrawn a little now so that her hoof could play so deliciously with her slit – but surely they would never imagine exactly what was going on.

And for once Luna herself didn’t have to imagine, Celestia’s hoof sending jolts of pleasure slamming through. A thousand years on the moon, and her sister still remembered every spot, every weakness. “Why now?” she managed to splutter. “You always told me we couldn’t, every time I-”

“I know,” said Celestia, somehow so solemn even as her hoof did those wonderful things between Luna’s legs, even as her length twitched against Luna’s tail. “And every time it broke my heart to deny you.” She leaned in close again, the scent of Luna’s lust filling the air. “And I can’t bear to deny you any longer.” Quieter still. “I can’t bear to deny myself any longer.”

Her sister’s hips slid forward as she mounted Luna, her tip pressing insistently against Luna’s wet and oh so ready marehood. Below, the ponies ‘ooh’ed and gasped at the rapidly dwindling sun, the world around them beginning to darken and drown in shadows. Luna, meanwhile, could barely hold back the gasps of her own, as Celestia hesitated, content to just thrust softly against her, teasing but not pushing forward enough to slide inside.

“I thought…” Luna began, before another wave of lust broke over her and she trailed off into a sigh of frustrated need.

“You thought what, dear sister?”

Luna swallowed nervously, hoping the crowd wouldn’t notice how uneven the moon’s movements had become. They probably couldn’t, she told herself; they didn’t have their magic wrapped so intimately around it. But she did, and each one of Celestia’s movements made it move a little faster in turn, a jolt of speed as every muscle in Luna’s body tightened in anticipation. “We-” she stopped, correcting herself. “I… I thought you didn’t want me any more.”

“Oh, Luna,” said Celestia, the sadness in her voice clear even through the thick desire. “You couldn’t tell? It’s only ever been you.”

And with that Celestia stopped teasing, pushing forward with one, powerful stroke, Luna so wet that she was able to hilt herself inside in a single motion. Luna’s magic did drop for a moment, then, suddenly so full and complete as Celestia thrust into her that there was no room for anything else, and the moon was left to hang in the sky. Were the crowd not so transfixed on the once in a lifetime sight in the other direction, if they’d looked up at the princesses so far above them, they would have seen Luna clinging onto the balcony railing as if her life depended on it, Celestia standing above her, holding her tightly.

They would have no idea, she told herself, as another blissful surge of satisfaction rolled through her, tightening around the hot stiffness that filled her to her core. They wouldn’t see anything from below, and perhaps it would simply appear as though Luna was overcome with exertion, Celestia there to support and guide her. And yet even that thought couldn’t stop the embarrassed flush in her cheeks as Celestia grunted in satisfaction. A most unprincesslike grunt, one filled with pure, unfettered want and need.

And oh goddess Luna needed it too. She no longer cared what had brought about Celestia’s apparent change of heart, as long as her sister would rut her like she used to. As long as Celestia would fuck her and love her and give her everything. Just like before. Just like always.

But she didn’t. As Luna grasped the moon in her magic once more to keep it on its slow path across the face of the sun, Celestia remained still. Luna could tell she wanted this just as badly as Luna herself; it was in every twitch of her cock, every caught breath whenever Luna tightened around her. But she didn’t move.

“What are you waiting for?” Luna asked – half question, half demand.

Celestia paused a moment longer. “For you to say it,” she murmured. “Like you always do.”

It took a moment for Luna to remember what Celestia was talking about, and then she did, and all her earlier doubts of her sister’s devotion were wiped away in an instant. “I love you, Tia,” she said, and Celestia’s hooves around her hips tightened their grip at her words.

“I love you too," Celestia answered, and pulled her hips back just enough before thrusting into Luna hard enough to push her forward a step.

It was everything Luna had been waiting for. She shuddered and sighed as Celestia began to rut her, unable to keep up the facade any longer even with the throngs of ponies below them. Just keep them looking at the eclipse, keep the sun’s light dwindling, hiding away in darkness exactly what the princesses were doing. Keep the crowds transfixed and not watching Luna struggle to keep enough strength in her legs just to stay standing, let alone keep her spell going.

And with each of Celestia’s thrusts, hard and powerful, another blissful surge flooded her, only making it harder and harder to concentrate. Her sighs gave way to wanton moans, and Celestia’s desperate pants only made her even more excited, her sister’s own desire apparent even without the straining length buried inside Luna.

All the nights she had spent alone, all her rebuffed advances, and Luna still didn’t truly appreciate how much she had missed this until now. Her sister’s weight above her, warm, needy, clinging to her as though her life depended on it. Celestia’s grunts and moans, muffled as she buried her muzzle in Luna’s fur, biting and kissing in equal measure. The pure love and connection between them that had been missing since Luna’s return was back, and everything was going to be okay. They had each other again, and as long as they had that, the sisters could take on anything.

The world’s shadows had begun to supercede the light, smothering it in a dark blanket that only served to make Celestia more and more unrestrained, more desperate, her movements growing faster and faster. Luna could feel the curve of her sister’s mouth turn up in a grin every time a particularly hard thrust made Luna squeal, or made her breath catch in surprise and pleasure. She’d always been so good at that, knowing exactly how to get Luna to make any sound she wanted. Any noise, any reaction, Celestia knew, and every time they rutted she would take every opportunity to make Luna as loud as possible. If they weren’t so high up they would have inevitably been spotted by now, but Luna found herself biting her hoof to try and stay quiet regardless. Celestia only seemed to take this as a personal challenge. The harder Luna bit down on her hoof, the more Celestia would do everything she could to drag out her cries of lust, angling her hips so she could drive even more deeply into Luna and hit that spot that only she had ever been able to find. The one she could find every time, the one that made Luna’s entire mind go blank and her entire body threaten to go limp into a sprawl of well-fucked mare.

But not yet, not here, not now. Luna gritted her teeth and did all she could to resist the building urge to just let everything go, let Celestia finish doing what she wanted. There was still an eclipse to finish, and if the moon were to stop now there was no way that the obscured view of the balcony would be enough to truly hide what was going on, not if Luna gave in to all the desperate desires that her aching marehood demanded of her.

And so back to the spell, back to her magic. The moon was almost fully in place now, only a small crescent of sun still visible. Below, the crowd had fallen into a hushed murmur, the roar and chatter and excitement giving way to pure anticipation. And yet even trying to focus was near impossible, Celestia’s grip on her hips tightening, her sister’s thrusts growing even more wild, something she’d thought was impossible.

Just a little more. Celestia’s kisses brushing her neck. A little more. The last sliver of sun shrinking beneath her moon. A little more. The length inside her starting to twitch and flare. A little more. Almost total darkness.

A little more.

The sun was gone, only its edges visible in a corona around the dark sphere that hung in front of it, and Luna let go. Let go of her magic, leaving the moon to sit in place as the ponies below stared up in awe. Let go of the balcony railing, as a final wave of pleasure washed over her, impossible and wonderful and making all those lonely nights with her hoof and her magic fade into a distant, unimportant memory. Let go as Celestia thrust herself inside right to the hilt, warmth filling Luna as her sister came inside her, twitching and grunting in satisfaction. Let go as her own climax tore through her, as she quivered and moaned along with Celestia, as the two sisters finally reunited in the way they should have all along, as the world was right and good again and she could lose herself in Celestia’s embrace.

The moment stretched out and on, a perfect instant, Luna breathless and quivering, Celestia still holding her so tightly, no longer moving but just content to keep her sister wrapped in a hug, safe in her hooves, so close that Luna could feel her sister’s rapid heartbeat. She wasn’t sure how long they stayed coupled like that, only that it was simultaneously too long for the crowd below and not long enough for her. It could never have been long enough for her. And then Celestia leaned in and nipped her ear lightly again.

“That’s enough,” she whispered.

Luna took a deep breath, then nodded. She rose from where the two of them had almost collapsed together, and Celestia stepped back as she did so, pulling out of her and leaving her so empty and cold. Her horn ignited, wrapping around the moon, as she made to drag it back out of the way. But she faltered. Between her earlier spell and their activities on the balcony, she was too exhausted to keep her magic strong enough, to keep it focused. The glow around her horn started to sputter and die, and a wave of panic washed over her, wiping away the contentment in an instant like icy water. What if she couldn’t move it back? The ponies would think she was trying another coup, another eternal night. They would think she was still the Nightmare they feared so badly. This was going to backfire like all the other attempts, she was doomed to be vilified forever, she would-

And then, through her spiralling panic, she felt her sister step up beside her, felt her warmth and comfort, and felt Celestia’s magic join her own. Together, as one, they began to move the moon, and the first rays of sunlight began to shine down on the crowd below.

There was a moment of silence, and then, deafening applause and cheers. The eclipse was over. The sun had returned. The moon was no longer an enemy. Together, the two Princesses hauled the moon out of sight, and the sun once more began to warm their faces. Finally, it was done, and Luna released her spell, stumbling slightly from her exhaustion.

The tiredness ran deep, right to her core, every part of her feeling heavy and hard to hold upright. And yet, along with the tiredness came a deep sense of fulfilment – the kind that came with any difficult task well undertaken. Mixed, of course, with that satiated satisfaction that she had longed for, that reminded her she was going to have trouble walking straight after this, and she didn’t care in the slightest. It was more than worth it.

She was warm, safe, next to her sister, well and truly content for the first time since her return. Below, the crowd’s adulation rolled over them, and the knowledge that this time it was for her as well, not just Tia, made a wide smile break out on her face.

“It’s good to see you so happy, Luna,” Celestia said beside her. “It’s been too long.”

Luna nodded, her head coming to rest against her sister’s neck. “Yes,” she said, staring out at the cheering crowd, at the blazing sun above. “It has.”