Vertigo

by MrNumbers

Rating: mature
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Princess Luna, Porn, Sex
Length: 13257

For Hearth's Warming, Luna has offered Twilight a night to teach her whatever she wants to know. Luna didn't expect to be the subject of interest.

Luna's gift to Twilight this year: A night picnic together, a telescope, and a chance for Twilight to learn whatever she wanted Luna to teach. A chance to become better friends.

Luna didn't expect to be the subject of interest.

MrNumbers writes a gratuitous demonstration of ethical sex-positive porn that he will beat you all over the head with later in a blog post

[Additional gratuitous thanks to Undome Tinwe, R5H and Pearple Prose for editing.]

Published 2019-01-05 02:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2019-01-05 02:50:02 UTC

Merlot and Nocturnes

Luna didn’t expect to see Twilight Sparkle outside her bed chamber that night with a sleeping bag, a large book, and an enthusiastic smile. Mostly because she didn’t expect to see Twilight Sparkle outside her bed chamber at all.

She rubbed her eyes. “Do you know what time it is?”

Twilight’s smile slipped somewhat. “About six pm. I’m sorry. Is this too early for you, or too late? I wasn’t really sure.”

“Early.” Luna yawned, and took off her sleeping cap. From the way Twilight’s eyes widened, apparently it was of great delight that Luna had a sleeping cap. “Though I was awake. I have not yet had breakfast.”

Translation: I have not yet had coffee.

Twilight skipped on the spot, and then pulled from around the corner a silver rolling tray — the kind you saw in hotels — covered in dishes. Most importantly, a cold brew coffee stand. She had been preparing for this.

“I’ve been preparing for this,” Twilight said, oblivious to Luna’s inner monologue, “All day.” She paused. “Well. A little longer than that. But more importantly...” Trays floated up from the table. “I made gypsy toast with boysenberry coulis - well, Spike made the coulis, so it’s good - and the best coffee I can make - that one’s more like chemistry, and I’m good at chemistry.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. While there was coffee there, it wasn’t in her yet. Mere proximity wasn’t enough. “That sounds very sweet. But what if I were in the mood for something savoury?”

Twilight uncovered another dish. Fresh cut strawberries, a selection of cheeses, and a variety of savoury crackers. Twilight gave a sheepish grin. “I didn’t have to cook any of these.”

“... actually, the toast sounded nice,” Luna admitted, staring at the cheeses, “I was just trying to... would tease be the right word?”

Twilight’s grin turned into a thoughtful frown. “I hope not, because that wouldn’t be very nice.”

Luna winced internally, but did her best to keep her face neutral. “Then I must be thinking of the wrong word. Forgive me, I’ll be in a better mood after caffeine.”

Twilight nodded, with a look of intense empathy. “Ah. Yes. Hot, or iced?”

“Hot, please. Three sugars. You brought sugar, didn’t you?”

“Of course!”

Luna carried the trays onto her bed, paused. “Did you really just wake me up to make breakfast?” Then, before Twilight answered, she drank as much of the first cup as manners would allow her.

That thoughtful frown again. “We were going stargazing together,” Twilight reminded her. “Tonight.” Indeed, on Twilight’s cart was a folded tube and tripod. A telescope, then. “Celestia said this would be the best way to start the night.”

Luna paused, knife and fork stopping mid-slice in the gypsy toast. “Tonight?”

“First new moon of the winter solstice! The best, longest night of the year for stargazing.”

Excitement thrummed as the caffeine kicked in. It had been Luna’s Hearth’s Warming gift to Twilight: a night of her choosing to answer any and all questions she had about the night. Whatever worries she’d had about the gift appearing arrogant had been obliterated by Twilight’s almost ruthless excitement for it. She’d been sending letters asking for advice about it every other night since.

And, apparently in an effort to bother her less, her sister as well.

“Forgive me, do not mistake my forgetfulness for unwillingness. It seems you’ve prepared well enough for the both of us.”

Twilight pulled a hiking backpack out from behind her. Not from the cart, interestingly; she’d carried it separately. From it she pulled a bandolier of thermoses, a bottle, a few crinkling-crackling packets of energy bars, two bottles of wine, and tied up the top was a picnic rug.

She tapped the thermoses in order. “Black tea. Strong.” The next one. “Coffee, same as you’ve just had.” The next one. “Hot chocolate. Pre-marshmallowed, because I like them melted.” She pointed to the wine. “I was going to bring red and white, for choice, but I’m bringing so much chocolate I thought I should just stick to a complementary merlot and a port.”

“Practically a banquet,” Luna complimented, trying not to get boysenberry sauce all down her muzzle as she did, “Pray tell, where does the stars portion of the evening come into this?”

“Oh! Right!” Twilight did a little skip, repacking the bag, “It’s a cloudless night tonight, so I thought we could set up the telescope at the top of the mountain.”

Luna kept a neutral expression, but on the inside she was smiling like... well, a filly on Hearth’s Warming morning. “With this?” Luna gestured at the long, narrow tube, shaking her head. She went out onto the balcony, taking a few crackers covered in cheese and strawberries with her.

She returned, the crackers now just crumbs on her chin, but holding what looked like a glass-bottomed beer keg bolted onto a tripod with more hydraulics than a forklift front.

“We will be using my telescope this evening, if that is acceptable?”

Twilight caught herself drooling, and managed to nod her head. Slowly at first, then emphatically enough to get dizzy.

“I trust this doesn’t interfere with your plans?” Luna teased.

Twilight gave a weak smile - ‘I know you were joking’, the smile meant, ‘but-’, “I didn’t factor in time to learn new equipment. And I really don’t want to break your telescope.”

“It shall be no time at all to teach you. What is the purpose of this evening, otherwise?” She was practically bouncing on her hooves now, as best as she was trying to keep a dignified air. Maybe it was the coffee and the sugar, or maybe Twilight’s enthusiasm was just that contagious. “Allow me to carry it. It seems you have enough weight on your shoulders as it is.”

Twilight gave a grateful smile, hefting the bag onto her back. It clattered like a pots and pans drawer, and Luna had to wonder if there wasn’t an entire kitchen hidden back in there. “I have the spot picked out. Ah, it’s a bit of an uphill walk, but-”

Luna opened her wings and looked at Twilight’s side meaningfully.

Twilight flexed hers and chuckled. “Oh, right. Being around Canterlot makes me forget about these, because I have all my routes and journeys memorized. It’s like... did you ever have a place you only went to when you were really little, and you go back there as an adult and it’s weird how small everything looks?”

Luna raised an eyebrow, and Twilight pouted back.

“Well, it was worth asking. Just because you’re old now doesn’t mean you weren’t young once-” and then she clapped her wings over her mouth and squeaked. “OhmygoshI’msosorryIdidn’tmean-”

“I see you remember you have these after all.” Luna brushed Twilight’s wings away with her own, finally allowing her straight face to crack. “You did not offend me. I am old. But I do not look a day over four hundred, so it is not a sensitive issue to me.”

“You look fantastic,” Twilight agreed without hesitation, and Luna raised an eyebrow. Twilight stood firm.

“You’re a curious one, Sparkle.” She drawled the words in just the right way, so it was hard to tell if it was seductive or threatening. It was easier than you’d think to do; the two were not mutually exclusive. “So easily flustered by insult not taken, but you do not flinch at the possibility of having flirted with me?”

Ah, there was the flustered blushing! Twilight’s eyes screwed shut and Luna watched her try to undo the last ten seconds or so through sheer force of will. What she had been expecting. “I didn’t mean it like that-”

A part of her felt this was a little mean. A larger part of her was telling her that this was fantastically good fun, and ultimately harmless. Almost certainly harmless. “Ah. So I was wrong then. My sister didn’t help you plan this as a courtship?”

“What- I didn’t-” Twilight spluttered, jumping back and looking like she was going to run for the door. “Did she?”

As obvious as the joke had been to Luna, Celestia’s plans were often inscrutable, especially to the ponies she used- loved the most. “Relax,” she reassured Twilight, whose pupils were pinpricks now. “I am aware that you are already seeing somebody.”

Twilight took a deep sigh, allowing herself to relax. “Well, my human self is. I’m not.” Then right back to tense, obviously berating herself for implying she wasn’t seeing anyone. Curious.

“Strange. I would have thought, perhaps, Rainbow Dash. She matches you in ambition. Or perhaps the Element of Laughter, over your mutual appreciation for empathy.”

“That’s true,” Twilight said diplomatically, “but they’re both way too immature for me.” Then Twilight froze again. It was like a wind-up toy that kept getting stuck, zipping off when you nudged it. Luna was sincerely trying not to be mean here, but it was all she could do not to laugh at just how flustered Twilight was getting.

“You just realized that, in the context of what you apologized for, that could be construed as flirting, didn’t you?”

Twilight nodded.

Luna leaned in real close, voice just above a whisper. “Well, let me reassure you, Sparkle, that I am very immature for my age.” And then she blew a big raspberry in Twilight’s ear.

It was too much for her. Twilight burst into ridiculous giggles, and it was finally safe for Luna to stop hiding her own smile.

“Did you plan this as a date?”

“No! No, I didn’t.”

Luna hid her smile behind her drink this time. “Well, there you go then. You are quite clearly, ‘off the hook’, I think.” Pause. “Why do they say that, anyway? Nobody has explained that one to me.”

“Fishing, I think.”

“Ah!” Luna hefted her telescope and gestured for the balcony. Twilight seemed confused, but Luna flexed her wings again and Twilight made a wonderful ‘ah!’ expression. “That makes sense. No wonder I didn’t think of that. I lack the temperament for fishing, and the taste for fish.”

“I like it more than I used to,” Twilight admitted, “But I think that’s mostly because Fluttershy’s made me develop the taste for it.”

“Fluttershy?” Luna marvelled, “Truly?”

“Well, she has the patience for it,” Twilight said, and in her tone of voice Luna heard an entire story about how Fluttershy had made her try it for herself, and how Twilight found it as thoroughly dull as Luna did, “and she’ll never let any go to waste, if the animals decide they aren’t hungry.”

“Remarkable,” Luna said, jumping onto the stone balcony and balancing upon it. Flying was fun, but it didn’t give you a sense that you could fall like perching did. There was anticipation in that. She saw it in Twilight’s face as she jumped up herself, struggling to keep balance, forgetting her wings again for a moment. “Shy, but not squeamish.”

“She’s a really good vet.” Twilight’s wings shot out as she wobbled on the railing. She was staring out over the edge, still worried about falling. “She kind of has to be.”

“Just because somebody does it as a profession, doesn’t mean they are good at it.” Luna intoned, balanced on just two hooves now, even with the telescope at her side. “I’d only known she was passionate about it. Passion is always admirable, but is more often seen in the amateur than the master.”

“So how can you tell a master then?” Twilight teetered, then took a deep breath and composed herself, pulling her backpack straps tight so they’d counterbalance her less.

Luna grinned. “Make them watch someone else try.”

Then Luna jumped from the railing and flew. Twilight watched her for a moment before following. “So, your theory is that you can tell how good someone is at something by how hard it is for them to watch someone else do it?”

“Tell me,” she said in a knowing tone, “do you not get angry when you see scientists say silly things in films?”

“They use specific terminology in completely wrong ways!” Twilight shouted back, “It doesn’t need to be correct, but it’s completely immersion-breaking when someone who’s supposed to be a scientist considers the quadratic formula the pinnacle of mathematical accomplishment!”

Luna nodded. “As I suspected. It was not a criticism, merely an observation.”

“Oh. Right.” A pause as they flew higher. “Does that mean stargazing with me is going to be painful for you?”

Then Luna laughed, rich and warm. “I dislike fishing because, while I am patient, I dislike having to wait in uncertainty. Your good company is a certainty.”

Judging by the way she flushed and stared down, she was unused to compliments as well. “I meant because I’m asking you to explain it to me, and you’re an expert.”

Luna hummed to herself in thought. “I seem to remember my sister telling me about your ‘Twilight Time’ with your friends’ sisters. Was that painful for you?”

“Not at all.” Twilight even managed to sound offended by the question. “It was the best part of my week.”

“And I suspect this might be the highlight of my month.” Luna said, “Watching someone you know to be inexperienced is painful. Teaching, however, is a unique and rare pleasure.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“No, I mean,” Twilight shook her head, “This will be the highlight of your whole month?”

Luna paused. “I suppose so.” Year might have even been more accurate, even.

There was a smirk in Twilight’s voice. “My coffee can’t have been that good, could it?”

“It must have been. My wings are still jittering,” Luna said, “But I’m looking forward to the company.”

“Really?” There was hesitation. “I thought I was annoying you.”

“What? No!” Luna whipped around so hard she almost dropped her telescope. “You have been nothing but pleasant company.”

“I just feel like I’ve been...” Twilight struggled for the words. “I feel like a Scootaloo.”

“A Scootaloo?”

“Too enthusiastic, with a sense of... I don’t want to call it ‘innocence’, but I don’t know what I would call it either.” Twilight grimaced. “I feel like there’s a problem, but I’m not aware enough to know what it is.”

“We are of one soul in knowing the feeling you mean. It feels like a sense of unresolved tension. Like the only means you have of identifying the mistake is to keep making it, and hope others are forgiving.”

Twilight nodded. “A bit like that.”

“I feel that way for whatever behaviour of mine has led you to believe you are annoying me.” Luna considered that. “Perhaps I have been trying too hard to not appear as though I am laughing at you. What you are worried about has been endearing.”

“If it’s been endearing, why have you been trying not to laugh at me?”

“Look like I am laughing at you,” Luna corrected, flying straight again. The mountain was tall, but they were almost near the top, or at least at a good enough clearing for their purposes. She aimed towards a clifftop with a smooth edge to it, and some soft looking grass. “I don’t want you to think I am just teasing you.”

“Wait,” and Twilight flew hard just to be at her side, instead of simply following her, “you mean teasing for you isn’t a ‘mean’ thing, like Rainbow Dash, it’s more like... Rarity?”

Luna thought about it. There are some things that feel normal until you’re forced to explain it. “I will have to trust you on that — I’m not sure how Rarity ‘is’. But yes, I do it with affection, not malice.”

“Well.” Twilight nodded, satisfied. “That’s okay then. As long as I know that, then you don’t have to try to avoid it. Thank you for doing that for me, though.”

“I promise if you were irritating me, I would have made it clear, Sparkle. I’ll be more obvious from now on.” Luna gestured at the clearing she’d seen. “Is this a good place for a rug?”

“Perfect,” Twilight agreed, swinging down and loosening the straps on her backpack. Luna began unfolding the telescope as they landed, and Twilight set up the assorted snacks and thermoses on the rug, all clearly labelled. Even the protein bars were labelled over their packaging.

There was nobody else around for miles, not with how far they’d flown above the clouds. The city glowed far below them, and from above it looked like a snowglobe diorama.

“I take it you did not just come out here to ask me about the constellations?” Luna asked, aiming the telescope at a particular spot.

“Actually, I did.” The correction was bashful, not reproachful. Surprised by the question, not offended by it. “I know what they all are, obviously. But I also know there are stories behind them, and I wanted to know about those.”

“Did you ask me here as an astronomer, or as a storyteller?” Luna asked in amusement.

“Both, but,” Twilight wiggled the two bottles of wine, “I was hoping to get a little tipsy and do stories as well.”

“Ah,” and Luna’s smile flashed white and sharp against the night, “Twilight Sparkle. Are you planning to get me drunk?”

“No! I’m planning to get me tipsy, which is far more respectable.” Twilight’s tone was prim and serious, but her face gave away that she was about to burst into giggles at any moment. “And I was hoping you wouldn’t make me drink by myself.” Then, all serious, downright grim, “Because that would be rude.”

“Of course. How inconsiderate of me.” Luna found the one she was looking for and stopped, gestured for Twilight to check the eyepiece. “Then perhaps we should do the astronomy first, before the wine. Science for the sober mind, then insobriety for the story time.”

“You can’t call it story time,” Twilight grimaced, “It doesn’t sound very grown up.” Then a pause. “What am I looking at? I’ve never seen a nebula as bright orange as this before.” Twilight looked away, then back down the eyepiece. “Actually, it looks a bit like overexposed film, burned into the night sky.”

“It’s not a nebula, it’s a gas cloud. It looks like that because it’s refracting light, not producing it.” This was always Luna’s favourite part to tell, so she watched Twilight’s expression carefully. “And it’s mostly alcohol.”

“What?” Twilight looked at the settings on the telescope. “That can’t be right. It’d have to be a thousand light years away at this focus.”

“It is a thousand light years away. Then another nine more on top of that.”

“Then that would make it...”

“That is four trillion, trillion litres of evaporated ethyl alcohol. Don’t look at me like that, I am responsible for the moon. Everything else was like that before my Sister and I got our grubby little hooves on it.”

“You’re telling me that four trillion litres of alcohol just happened to form a big cloud in space?” Twilight breathed, “And it looks like that?”

“No. I am saying that four trillion of trillions of litres looks like that. I did not stutter.” Luna frowned, and looked up towards it. “I’m afraid it’s quite poisonous, or else it would make for an interesting drink. Best stick to the wine, for now.”

“I wonder if you could burn it for fuel...” Twilight muttered. “It’s still too far away now. Or maybe forever. But it’s like a fuel tank the size of a solar system.”

Luna nodded, gesturing for the telescope back. Twilight obliged. “Maybe not in most ponies’ lifetimes, but perhaps in ours, may we see fruition.” She popped her head back up to watch Twilight’s expression, “Speaking of fruition, as a fun aside, I have it on good authority that the poisons in question make that alcohol cloud raspberry-flavoured.”

“Get out.”

Luna blinked. ”Did I offend you?”

“No! No, it just means it’s so amazing it’s hard to believe You were looking for something else to show me?”

“Ah!” Luna found it, and beckoned Twilight back. “Yes. This one is not much to look at from here. You should be seeing what looks like a tiny speck of glitter on the lens.”

“I think so. Is it a comet? Something icy?”

“Instead I think I shall tell you how it came to be, and allow you to try to guess what it is. Sometimes two stars form an orbit, not quite falling into each other. This was a system in which there was one star very similar to our own, and another, far larger one.. One day, the larger one went supernovae and blew its smaller twin out like a candle. Much like the smoke you see being the carbon of the wick that did not burn-”

“It’s a diamond!” Twilight breathed. “It’s a dead star that cooled into a diamond...”

“Very astute.” She was impressed. “If you had more general questions I can answer them, but I enjoy finding these special places.”

“I would never be able to find these on my own,” Twilight said, watching the disco-ball spin of the diamond planet, “even with the observatory telescope.”

“It just takes time,” Luna admitted with a shrug, “I used to look for these with a simple pool of water in a well that was painted black. And then I enchanted it. And then I learned to spin glass... But time has always been my greatest tool.”

“Is that how you figured this out?” Twilight backed away from the telescope, just craning her neck and falling back onto the rug. “You watched it all happen?”

“Celestia likens it to watching grass grow, or paint dry.” Luna shook her head. “Both are too exhilirating for me, however.” She gave Twilight that coy smile that gave her permission to laugh, and was rewarded with a giggle. Delightful.

Twilight continued to stare at her, however, long after she had stopped giggling. Luna began to feel itchy. “Sparkle?”

“Sorry.” She snapped her head away, out of her fugue. “You know how sometimes you look up at the sky, and just for a second you can sort of feel just how big it is, then you get really dizzy, and then it snaps back again?”

“I much enjoy those rare moments, and try my best to remember that feeling. Yes?”

“I just got that looking at you, for a moment.”

Luna’s breath caught in her throat. She swallowed it back. “You flatter me. I am really not that profound.”

“It’s just realizing what being alive for thousands of years must really mean.” Twilight was staring up at the sky herself, eyes catching the starlight. “You get to watch the stars like that...”

“What I have on you in experience, you will more than surpass me with intelligence,” Luna admitted.

“That may be true,” Twilight said in the exact same voice Celestia used to say; ‘I don’t agree with you, but I don’t want to argue it’, “but I’ll never be able to experience what you have. The amount of knowledge you have that can’t be taught, or reproduced... Just thinking about it makes me dizzy.” Then she looked down at her hooves and chuckled. “I can’t just go back in time... again.”

“Again?”

“Don’t ask.” Twilight chuckled again, but it was forced. “They’re both long stories I don’t want to get into.”

“Ah.” It was impossible to tell whether the expression Luna made was a smile or a pained grimace, even to herself. “I know well what you mean. I have about as many of those as I have stories about stars.” She reached for the closer of the wine bottles, and poured two full glasses of it. “Perhaps it is time we talk about the more pleasant stories.”

Twilight looked down at her glass. “Which one is this?” She took a sip, and then gave a smile and a much deeper one. “The port! My favourite.”

Luna sipped hers. A little sweet for her palette, but it’d do. “You wish to hear an old mare’s stories, then?”

Twilight nodded, plopping down on the rug. Luna gave a heavy sigh, so she could pretend she didn’t love this. Twilight smiled even wider, sipping her wine.

“The Archer,” Luna pointed, “Three bright white stars forming a line, then the body made up of the dimmer, coloured stars of the constellation. My favourite story of this one is how the zebras tell it. As it is a zebra story, it’s usually told as a poem but... well. I don’t have the memory for it, I’m afraid.”

“I promise not to tell Zecora on you.”

Luna’s horn glowed, and the stars above her moved. It was an illusion, only for them, but she’d move the stars themselves for Twilight tonight. “The Zebra tribes were fractured, from within and without. A long trade route stretched - stretches - across their land. The oceans in the West, the gold mines in the deserts to the South, the vicious and sweltering Jungles of the East, and between all of them was the Majihatik, the first tribe to have made a great city.”

Luna traced a map in the stars, with a bright burning star flickering in turn as she named them. A dotted line of stars traced, ant-like, between the hubs, guiding through the Majihatik and out into the ports, then back again.

“The Majihatik were scholars, architects and astronomers. They developed the written language and the poetic tradition. They flourished as the first race to develop a calendar, without their own pegasus to guide the weather.”

The stars forming the trade route swirled around the center, exploding in fireworks of Zebra letters and numbers.

“The gold was controlled by the Masalai, slavers. Gold mining is miserable work. The value of it is not in who earns it, but who keeps it, and the Masalai had gotten very good at keeping it. They would often come to Majihatik for supplies, and for fresh miners. They would either be taken by a fair price of gold, or by force.”

A simple stick-figure zebra shook their head at an offered pile of coins. He was bound, gagged and carried off. Twilight grimaced, and Luna offered an apologetic smile. “This was before my time as well.”

“The oceans and port cities were controlled by pirates, who had bought avian ships with avian weapony. If you’ve heard of the Thirteen Black Sails, this is where they trace their origins. Regardless, gold is only worth what it can buy. It only had value to the zebras as an export. Ships with wood creaking under its weight would go far out, then return filled with all sorts of things. I believe they imported gemstones and steel from Equestria...”

“Luna?”

“Hrrm? You’re probably not interested in centuries-ago international trade,” Luna blushed as she finished her first glass. Was it getting to her? She was out of practice. “I was just trying to remember the details.”

“Actually, I’m very interested,” Twilight admitted, scooting closer on the rug, “But you seemed to be getting distracted.”

“I was. In short, the Masalai, usually just a warband of sorts, consolidated under a general. A minotaur, whose name I will butcher in translation as ‘Obsidian Horn’. Apparently they were black, and as sharp as volcanic glass. The leader of the Majihatik, Zhaka, feared that they would swarm his city, and turn all his people into slaves for his mines.”

The map became the two places. The city, glowing bright, and the mines, represented by starry outlines of black bullhorns. “Zhaka’s people knew many things, but nothing of war. He went south, to the forgotten tribes, the hunters who had refused civilization.”

Twilight grinned. “I think Daring Do wrote a few books about them. The Forbidden Temple, I think?”

“I have my suspicions about that one... Though, yes, Zhaka went East, into those jungles. Alone, for he would not take even a single guard from his people when the threat was so close. His silk cloak embroidered with golden thread, golden shoes, and a simple wooden staff to guide his steps. Days he walked through the jungles, until his cloak was soaked through with mud, and none of the gold he wore caught the light any longer.”

“Did the tribes not greet him?”

“They watched him, stalked him, those days, until Zhaka collapsed from hunger. He awoke in a village in the center of a termite colony the size of,” Luna trailed off, thinking. She took a sip of her wine, which was decidedly not empty. Twilight had been helping. “I think Manehattan Central Station would be the best comparison.”

Twilight blinked. “What, really?”

“Oh, yes. The root systems of trees can grow large enough to support colonies like that. The tribe had not trusted him because the Masalai had been sending slaves to their forest to harvest massive quantities of lumber for siege weapons. The forgotten tribes were excellent skirmishers, but they were small in number, and feared reprisal if they were to kill a Masalai envoy. They feared he was a representative, and had debated how to deal with him. Zhaka vowed he would defend their forest from the Masalai, if they could provide him with a weapon to lead his people.”

“That’s it? A weapon? Not... squads of highly trained tribal warriors to bring back, just a weapon?”

“He just needed something to take out the minotaur leader. The rest would fall apart and squabble for power. Their army was mostly slaves, after all. They hardly had the morale, or the supply lines, to last against a city of free people.”

“That makes sense, actually,” Twilight smirked, “and here I was worried history might have plot holes.”

“The wine makes you ‘sassy’, does it?”

Twilight flushed crimson, and silently sipped at her second glass as well. Luna continued, “They gave him a spear of white ivory, carved from the tusk of the last colossal rhinoceros to walk this world. Its horn alone, whittled down, was still a spear the length of Zhaka himself. The shaman of the forgotten tribes - the tradition your friend Zecora would follow from, I believe - had carved symbols of great power and magic into it. Once thrown, it would be guided by force of will to its target, and pierce even stone. But, being a throwing weapon...”

“Nothing would stop them throwing it back?”

“Zhaka knew it would be aimed at him, as well. But still he resolved to carry it. His people were democratic. They could survive with the loss of him, but the Masalai could not survive the loss of the minotaur. So he thanked the tribes and returned...” The stars flickered as Zhaka’s stomach rumbled, “with food and a map as well, of course.”

Twilight giggled and, yes, she seemed to be handling her wine just as well as Luna did. Ah, well. Couldn’t be helped. Luna looked down and, while her glass was still full, the bottle was empty. The cork popped on the next one. On the one hand she should stop drinking... On the other, she was quite looking forward to the merlot.

“The city of the Majihatik had great red walls of sun-baked clay. Some of it still stands to this day. They took slings full of lead pellets, leftovers from the gold refining process, that would do them well from the walls... but in hoof-to-hoof combat they would offer as much resistance to the Masalai as stalks of wheat to the scythe.”

“Gruesome.”

“History often is.” The stars formed a wall covered in pinpricks of soldiers lining it. A nebula swirled to represent the angry horde. Comets lashed around, representing the whips of the slave drivers... and a black void in the center, the minotaur himself.

From the gates stepped a zebra, shining yellow light and carrying a line of three pure white stars. The figure hurled the spear and it struck the minotaur, piercing it... The minotaur ripped the spear from its chest, dripping black inky void, and hurled it right back like a lightning bolt at Zhaka.

It landed at his hooves.

“What happened?”

“The spear was guided by the will of the wielder. The minotaur died the moment he threw it and, without the wielder’s will, the spear fell at Zhaka’s hooves. Had another taken it from the minotaur, Zhaka would surely be dead. Instead, his weapon had been returned to him.”

Zhaka thrust his spear at the nebula, which swirled and tore itself apart, dissipating. The star-ponies on the walls cheered. The illusion was silent, but Twilight's ears twisted as if she could hear it.

“Seizing the momentum, Zhaka, with his great weapon, chased the horde all the way back to the mines in the South, which he then liberated. The mines produced no less gold for having free and well-fed workers. The wild forests were left to the forgotten tribes in peace, and from there we see the birth of the modern Zebra empire.”

“So... how did Zhaka become a constellation, then?” Twilight waved at the constellation, and the constellation bowed deeply back. Twilight giggled again, flushed and rosy cheeked, as she curtsied..

“He led his people until his death, spear still in his clutches, and vowed to watch over them forever after. They say that the constellation appeared the night of his final breath.”

“Wow.” There was a pause. “Do you really believe that?”

The star-Zhaka snorted.

“I was sealed in the moon for a thousand years. Magic and belief interact strangely with each other. I believe it may well be him.”

“Wow.” Twilight repeated, softer.

The illusion dissipated, until it was just the night sky again.

Twilight moved closer on the blanket until she was pressed into Luna’s side. Luna went stiff as a board, like a spider had crawled onto her and she was trying not to encourage it to bite. “What are you doing?”

“It’s freezing,” Twilight looked up at her with wide eyes, unscrewing the lid of the hot chocolate thermos and pouring two steaming-hot mugs, “It’s the middle of the night, in the middle of winter, and if you’re going to tell me another story I want to be warm for it.”

Again, Luna tried and failed to hide her amusement. “I’m telling another story, am I?”

“Yes.” Twilight said, and that was that.

“That sounds reasonable,” Luna accused, “I suspect you may be drunk, though.”

“Not drunk,” Twilight was very firm on this, jabbing Luna’s side for emphasis, “tipsy. Far more respectable.”

“Ah. Yes. Tipsy. I apologize for insinuating more.”

“As you should. You can apologize properly by telling me another story.”

Luna’s brain was locked up. Twilight was very warm, and her thoughts were hazy. How long had it been since anyone had touched her like this? So simple a gesture as a hug?

She sipper her hot chocolate. Chocolate always helped with this, and it did pair very well with the wines. Twilight might have talked down her cooking, but her taste was exquisite.

Twilight shifted at her side. “Has Celestia ever dated anyone?”

“I-” Luna blinked again. “What?”

“I never really thought about it while I was growing up, but then Princess Cadance married my brother. I didn’t think Princesses could like ponies like that before then.” Twilight hesitated, “I’m too embarrassed to ask her though.”

A sore chill went through Luna. “You would court her?”

Twilight laughed so hard at that she slumped over, her back sliding down Luna’s side. “No! No, no, no, never. I couldn’t- I could never think of her like that.” Twilight laughed again. “It’s probably why I never even thought about it, right?”

“Right,” Luna said slowly, feeling relieved for a moment, and then very tense at the notion she had anything to be relieved about. “I believe Blueblood is a blood relative of hers.” Luna admitted, “Though I think he’s a few generations back. A great grandchild, at the closest.”

Twilight paused. “Wow, that’s... really, really weird to think about. Especially since Blueblood is...”

“Three generations of Canterlot aristocracy upbringing between him and my sister, and it shows, yes,” Luna said diplomatically.

Twilight considered that. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

Twilight had laughed so hard, and slumped so far, her head was now resting in Luna’s lap, and she was looking up into her face. “Do you like anyone?” Then, before Luna could protest. “You can’t say it’s inappropriate to ask!” She blushed again, so hard it went past her cheeks and all the way to the tips of her ears, “You already asked me!”

“I don’t think so,” Luna lied, “no.”

Twilight nodded at that, then looked back up at the stars. “I wouldn’t even know what you’d look for. They’d have to be pretty special, given how many amazing people you must have known to have these stories.”

“Special means different things to different ponies. You know five saviours of Equestria, but apparently you’re looking for someone more mature.” Luna surprised herself by teasing, and Twilight’s blush redoubled as she playfully slugged Luna on the hip.

“See! Not fair.”

“T’is still a point. Just knowing amazing ponies does not mean having been interested in them in that way.”

“Well. What are you looking for?”

Luna’s mind was suddenly like that Forgotten Temple, all trip wires and pressure plates and pitfalls. “Someone who is curious and questioning, never content or idle. Who would see life in eternity as an impossible gift, and not as a curse.” Twilight shifted in her lap, but Luna didn’t dare look at her face right now. She swallowed back that lump which had caught in her throat again. “Someone who appreciates the night as I do.” Luna eyed the thermoses. “And coffee.”

Twilight didn’t say anything for a little while. There’s a sensation, when you are experiencing regret in real time, of your entire personhood shrinking down into just your head, until you feel like you are just a witness to your own actions. But Twilight’s head didn’t move. “That’s a specific list,” she said, teasing.

“Yes, well.” Luna finally looked down at Twilight, who was still flushed from the alcohol, smiling back up at her. “Perhaps that is what meeting so many people does to you. You get more specific.”

Twilight poured two more glasses of the merlot, and two coffees. Luna had finished her hot chocolate at some point, but honestly couldn’t recall when. It had served its purpose; she felt a lot better now.

“Is this a good mix?”

“It’ll help me stay awake through your next story, but I’m enjoying being tipsy right now. Besides,” and Twilight blew hard on her mug so she could take a sip for emphasis, “I probably like coffee more than you do.”

“Is that a challenge?”

Twilight stuck her tongue out, ‘nyehhh’. “Fine. We can both have first prize of unhealthy caffeine dependencies. How about that?”

“I’ll accept it.”

“You’re stalling~” Twilight sang.

It was true. Luna had many, many stories... but Twilight had scooted up into her side and had tucked her head under Luna’s wing, and it was very distracting.

“The Princess in Chains.” Luna made the stars of the constellation flash bright overhead. “One of the oldest named constellations, it predates Celestia and I. So, no, it isn’t about us.”

Twilight watched. “I always assumed... is it referring to the old unicorn royalty then?”

“Older than even Princess Platinum.” Luna nodded. “The first of the unicorn royalty, in fact. What the unicorns used to believe gave them their magic. It’s said that they climbed the tallest mountain in Equestria, where the air gets so thin even pegasus can’t fly, and there she entered the night through the moon. The moon was a hole in the night sky, a portal, through which a pony could leave but never return.”

The moon unfolded like a door, and a shadow jumped through it. Twilight’s brow furrowed. “Why go then? Just to prove they could?”

“You’re a scientist. How do we learn things, if not through doing?” The moon slammed closed, and the constellation pounded her hooves against it. “That would be the ‘chains’ portion of the name.”

“Oh.” Twilight grimaced. “Right.”

“It is said that she used her prison to gift the unicorns with magic and prosperity. It was their connection to her that allowed them to raise the sun and lower the moon for the other races. But while they revered her and her, albeit unintentional, sacrifice, no unicorn would follow her.”

The constellation of Pegasus, just up and to the left, flew down to the Princess in Chains, spinning lazy circles around her.

“A pegasus named Περσεύς...” Luna looked down under her wing, and Twilight looked back up at her with confused eyes and an apologetic smile. “It translates very roughly as ‘Cutting Strike.’”

“Thank you for indulging me.”

“The language was on the verge of death when I first learned it, I doubt there are any who speak it left.”

“Besides you,” Twilight said.

“Besides myself,” Luna conceded, “though what good is a language in which you are the only speaker?”

Twilight sipped her coffee, holding it close enough to her chin that Luna could feel it against her ribs. “It’d be great for writing your diaries in.”

Luna paused, then in an exaggerated whisper, “Sometimes, when the courtiers are less than charming and I am in a bad mood, I tell them how I really feel in a dead tongue, then translate it ad hoc into something more flattering.”

Twilight gasped. “Does Celestia know?”

“Who do you think I learned that trick from?” Luna grinned. “Sister can say the most horrendous things with a smile and a warm tone. The widest I ever see her smile, actually. Let that be our secret, though.”

“Only if you promise to translate for me later.”

“A fair price.” Luna pointed back up at the stars. “So the pegasus would fly as high as she could go at night to talk to the Princess and keep her company. The Princess was higher than any pegasus could fly, so she would shout. Their conversations were a public matter, for a time, though this suited them fine. The Princess had lived her whole life in this way, and Cutting Strike had very few cares for decorum.”

The pegasus flew beneath the Princess, The other stars backed away from them. The pegasus flew closer and closer, and the other stars crept back as they spoke quieter and quieter.

“Until, one day, they no longer wished to speak so publicly. Their conversations were special to them. So at nights, Cutting Strike would fly as high as she could on the tallest mountain, and walk the rest of the way, so they could speak privately.”

The pegasus sat on the moon and talked to the Princess, who rested in her chains like they were a hammock. The moon beneath the pegasus went from new to full to new, representing months passing. The Princess glowed just as brightly, but the pegasus’ stars glowed dimmer and dimmer.

“The Princess did not age, but Cutting Strike did. When the Princess asked Cutting Strike why she did not raise a family, Cutting Strike asked who would keep her company? It would not be fair to a family to leave them every night to talk to the stars. One full moon, Cutting Strike would not return down the mountain. The Princess in Chains pleaded with her to go home and make a life for herself.”

The Princess lashed against her chains, now, as the pegasus swung open the moon, revealing the hole in the sky.

“Cutting Strike replied; ‘Only if you can return with me, I do not care where I am as long as you are there as well.’ The Princess strained against her chains like she hadn’t in centuries, but she could not become a mortal again. So, with a smile, and a wink, Cutting Strike became the constellation Pegasus.”

The Pegasus swirled on last time around the Princess and then fell back into their place. Twilight noticed, for the first time, that although the constellations were at a right angle to each other, they did seem to be angled toward each other.

Then, she said, “I might not know the language, but I do know pegasus naming conventions. ‘Cutting Strike’ is a stallion’s name, but you kept calling them ‘she’?”

The muzzle on the pegasus straightened, and he looked down from the stars with a knowing smirk. Luna glared at him and blew, the illusion disappearing like candlesmoke. Twilight giggled.

“You just thought the story would be better if the pony who joined the lonely, immortal night princess was also a she?” Twilight said, not moving from Luna’s side.

“I think you’re reading far too much into it,” Luna shifted her weight uncomfortably, but not in any way away from Twilight. “Perhaps the wine has gotten to you.”

“I only drank coffee all through that story,” Twilight protested, though after a raised eyebrow from Luna, “I’m just tipsy.”

“Mmhm,” Luna didn’t sound convinced.

“Well,” Twilight pulled away, “How about I prove it by telling you a story, then?”

“Hrrm. You have one in mind?”

“I think you’ll really like this one.” Twilight patted the rug, after brushing all the wrappers and picnic supplies off it. “On your back. I can’t do quite the same thing with the stars, but I have a few tricks of my own.”

Luna hesitated. There was a feeling of vulnerability to being on her back. But Twilight was patting the rug next to her so invitingly, and she couldn’t think of an excuse to say no. She fell back, wings spread, forelegs folded across her chest, looking up at the sky. Twilight moved to sit to the left of her head, and Luna let her head roll towards it to use it as a pillow.

If Twilight minded, she didn’t say anything. Twilight’s medium was crackling plasma lines, coloured lightning forming neon cartoon figures. A tiny purple unicorn hatched a speckled green egg. “This is about a unicorn who was told all her life how special she was. She was sent to a special school, with a special teacher. Even her babysitter was a Princess who told her how special she was.”

A tiny purple unicorn and an older pink alicorn did a complicated dance that ended in a butt wiggle. The plasma ponies fell over in the sky laughing. “And you know how that special pony felt?”

Luna tilted her head back so she could see Twilight’s face. “Like it was impossible to live up to the expectations everyone had of her? That she felt isolated and alone?”

Twilight looked shocked for a moment, then looked down at Luna with that same look she’d given before. The one that had made Luna feel itchy. “That’s right.”

“That nobody even tried to understand her, so confident were they in their belief that they couldn’t?”

Twilight kept staring. It didn’t make Luna feel itchy anymore. It felt like static running under her skin, and her stomach felt like it was being wrung like a wet towel, and she could feel her heartbeat against the back of her tongue. But she didn’t feel itchy anymore. “... yeah.” Twilight said so quietly that Luna could only hear her because the night was dead silent but for them.

“So what happened to her?”

“She discovered a huge threat to Equestria, and got sent to a small town in the middle of nowhere to make friends. Which she did! And they were wonderful.”

Five ponies surrounded the purple unicorn. Then there was a flash, and a thundercrack, and the purple lightning drawing grew wings.

“They were such good friends they made her a Princess. She was even more special, apparently!”

“She is.” Luna agreed. Twilight went red right to the tips of her ears again, as much as she pretended not to hear.

“But none of her friends shared her interests. In fact, they thought what she liked was really boring, and left her alone to do it. Which, most of the time, the very special Princess didn’t mind, because she didn’t mind being alone when she chose to...”

The lightning Princess surrounded herself with a pile of books, and a crackling telescope appeared for her to look through. There was no sound, but Luna could still hear it sigh all the same. Then three fillies surrounded her, and the Princess jumped for joy. It seemed like the easiest way for Twilight to make it move.

“The only ponies who tried to understand her were fillies who didn’t know the special pony was special at all!” The drawings of the fillies ran out, and again Luna could hear the drawing of the Princess sigh in her mind. “She had equals. Plenty of equals! Many ponies who were better than her, even.” But the Princess sat with her telescope still. “But apparently a human version of herself gets to be normal and get a boyfriend, while the Special Pony Princess gets to be alone because everyone’s so scared of looking stupid in front of her!”

Luna paused. “Is this why you were so excited to spend this evening with me?”

“Hey now!" Twilight protested, looking down at Luna. “I never said I was the Special Pony Princess. It may be an entirely fictional character-” Twilight was about to keep the joke running, but their eyes met.

There was a moment of panic between them. They were trapped by that, unable to break eye contact, both running through every possible way it could be interpreted, or looking away might be interpreted, and frozen by working out what it meant that the other was doing it too.

So, eventually, whether decided or not, neither looked away. “Yes. It was.”

“You have wonderful friends.”

“Yeah, I do.” That was what made Twilight look away; there was a guilty edge to her voice.

Luna shifted her head from Twilight’s side to directly under her chest, looking up at her. “But you want more.” It could have been a question, but it wasn’t.

Twilight hesitated. “I don’t want to seem ungrateful. Is that greedy of me?”

Luna swallowed back that lump in her throat one last time, and put everything she had into appearing effortless. “It is not greedy to take what is freely offered.”

Twilight’s attention snapped back to Luna, whose head raised off the rug in silent invitation. She leaned down to meet her, eyes shut, but juddered to a stop halfway. She was trembling, Luna could feel it in the hooves pressed either side of her face, and it had nothing to do with the cold.

It was reciprocation enough that Luna reached up and draped her forelegs around the back of Twilight’s neck. The muscles were impossibly tight. Twilight’s eyes were open again, and they were all terror.

“I don’t know how to do this.”

“That is what we came here for, tonight.” Luna whispered, because her heart was taking too much space in her chest for her voice to be any louder, “For me to teach you whatever you wanted.”

Then Luna pulled Twilight’s head down so gently that it couldn’t overcome any resistance, but no resistance was offered. Pulled her into her first kiss. Twilight was too terrified to move at all, even as Luna’s lips brushed against hers, but that made it special in its own way.

“Relax,” Luna instructed, “You’re not going to disappoint me. I have no expectations of you.” And Luna kissed Twilight again, and this time she opened her mouth a little in response. Again, Twilight was flushed to the tips of her ears, but there was no embarrassment or shyness to it. Again she looked drunk, but the alcohol had long passed.

Twilight juddered. The adrenaline was crashing through her, and she was unsure what to do with it. Luna pressed her forehead into Twilight's.

“Turn around for me, please, Twilight?”

Twilight nodded, far past asking questions, and twisted until her back was to Luna. Then Luna sat up as she pulled Twilight back, until they were across each other, face to face, Luna wrapping herself around Twilight’s neck again to hold her weight.

Twilight kept falling back as they kissed again, a sharp and surprised breath in as Luna got more adventurous with her, tugging on her lower lip with her teeth and tracing the tip of her tongue along its inside edge before letting it snap back. “Mnnnhhaah.”

Luna was on top now, Twilight lying flat below her, panting, eyes half lidded in the moments she bothered to open them at all. This time Twilight made to try to copy what Luna had just done, and Luna drew back, getting the most wonderfully needy whine from Twilight when she did. She peppered kisses at the point where Twilight’s ear met her jaw.

“Gently,” she said, “It takes far less than you would think. I am not fragile, but you are stronger than you know.”

Twilight nodded, and Luna nuzzled into her neck. Twilight would be making plenty of mistakes tonight, and she would be particularly sensitive to making them. Luna didn’t mind at all — in fact she quite looked forward to it in a way, But she’d rather pre-empt them to prevent her from getting too anxious.

Twilight tried, and Luna couldn’t help but smile as she did. Twilight leaned back with an adorable pout.

“Are you laughing at me?”

“Perhaps,” Luna teased, shifting her weight to remind Twilight who was on top, now. “What are you going to do about it?”

Twilight’s expression grew determined, and her head darted forward. This kiss was hungry, open mouthed. Still too shy to risk anything with her tongue, but still more confident than before.

Which is why Luna pressed down with her weight, pinning Twilight to the rug beneath and showing her what she had been holding back. There was a sharp gasp from both of them when they seperated, Twilight panting closed-eyed beneath her.

“Tonight I lead, and you follow. Another night, I might let you get away with that.“

“Another night?” Twilight said, dreamily. She hadn’t been able to think past the present moment as it happened, but Luna wanted nothing more than to put promises and ideas in her head.

“As many, or as few, as you’ll allow me. Plenty of time to practice.” Luna ran the sharp edge of her teeth up along the line of Twilight’s collarbone, running neck-to-shoulder, just hard enough to turn the pink skin white for a lingering second after the pressure had passed. “But tonight, I ask you be generous in giving me the opportunity to demonstrate..”

Twilight shifted. “You just want to show off, don’t you?”

Luna grinned, shifting her weight so she was above Twilight again and looking down on her. “Maybe it has been so long for me, that I want to make a good impression before you overtake me. You’re a quick study.”

“I’m just lucky.” Twilight’s smile was practically concussed. “I’ve had very good teachers.” Her pupils were dilated and unfocused, her mouth not quite able to close comfortably. Luna laughed.

“You’re a Princess, saved Equestria countless times, talked down a dragon,” Luna teased, “but you handle your hormones worse than you handle your drink?”

Twilight blinked, her eyes focusing a little. “What do you mean?”

Luna bit her neck, and Twilight went back down into the fuzziness again. “Forget I said anything. Just enjoy this. You will have many chances to do this well, but you will only ever get one first.” And as Luna bit into the tender, boneless muscle between the neck and shoulder, Twilight’s hips bucked off the rug and against Luna’s stomach. The fur came damp as Twilight fell back again.

Twilight noticed Luna noticing, and her head curled and pressed hard into Luna’s chest in embarrassment, and she hid. “Please don’t say anything.”

“You’re embarrassed?”

Twilight nodded into Luna’s chest, which ended up a stressed nuzzling. Luna kissed the top of her head.

“Why?”

“I don’t know!” Twilight groaned, curling up harder, “Which just makes it worse!” Luna nipped the tip of Twilight’s ear, since it was so well presented to her. Twilight shuddered, and in an annoyed voice; “Really? Even that feels amazing when you do it? Why are ears sexy?!”

“Sensitivity, and context.” Luna paused. “I can stop, if you’re uncomfortable.”

“No!” Twilight shouted, head tipping back, and there were those panicked eyes again. “No, no, I’m not. I don’t want this to stop. More than anything, I don’t want you to stop. I just-” she took her first deep breath in a while that wasn’t a gasp or a moan or a sigh, “I have a lot of strong feelings right now, and I don’t understand most of them, and I feel overwhelmed.”

“Hrrm.” Luna rolled to Twilight’s side so she wasn’t pinning her down. Not for this, as wonderful as it was. Twilight rolled to cuddle into her again, and that small affirmation of affection made Luna’s heart hammer in her throat again. “You feel vulnerable, which makes your gut twist, but it excites you when you expect it should be bad. You’re excited to try new things, but because they are new you are paralyzed by the idea of failure, of disappointing me. Afraid that I will say it is fine, but be bored of you if you cannot impress me. That is not true, by the way. As I said...”

Luna leaned in for the kill, whispering directly into Twilight’s ear so that she shivered, “Teaching is a rare and unique pleasure all its own.”

Twilight stopped, then pulled Luna back on top of her. This time instead of hovering over her, she held her tight, feeling her weight. “Why is it so hot when you know exactly what I’m thinking? Better than I do?”

“Because we all want to feel understood.” With a teasing lean resting her forehead against Twilight’s again, staring eye-to-eye and keeping her lips just away, Luna continued. “For you in particular, I think that you appreciate the physical interaction is just an expression of the mental and emotional connection.”

Twilight’s hips twitched, grinding against Luna’s own. “You just did it again,” and she frowned, “and it’s annoyingly hot.”

Then Twilight wrapped her wings around Luna, pressing them tight. It was clear she wanted more, but didn’t know what that meant, or even what it was. Instead, she was settling for having every part of her body in contact with Luna in some way, and hoping that would be enough.

Except, of course, the parts most desperately in need of attention.

“Might I do it one more time?”

“Please,” Twilight’s voice was caught halfway between a purr and a throaty growl. Even she looked surprised about it.

“You want me to touch you,” Luna said plainly, and Twilight shivered at the honesty of it. That was a ‘yes’. “But you think because it is something you want, it is an imposition to ask it of me. And the idea of asking it is horrifyingly embarrassing.”

Twilight bit her lower lip and looked away, but said nothing. Luna went right for the ear again; it was getting her favourite reactions so far.

“Would it help if I asked you, instead?” She traced a lazy circle around Twilight’s hip bone, “If I told you there is nothing in all the world I would like more right now than to taste you?”

“Yes,” Twilight’s voice was tight and even, “That would help.”

“Well then,” Luna said far too cheerfully, before dropping back into a husky whisper, “I wish very much to taste you, Twilight Sparkle, if you would grant me the privilege.”

Twilight again started shaking, hiding in Luna’s chest again. But her legs spread, trembling as they were. Clear, but not enough.

Luna traced her lips down Twilight’s neck, her chest, her stomach... stopped at her stomach, rested her chin on Twilight’s pelvis and looked up into her watery, amazed eyes. “You still need to ask me. I need to know I’m not pushing you further than you are comfortable.”

“I want this,” Twilight stressed, “I just can’t say it?”

“Why not?”

Twilight’s head rocked back and she covered her head in her hooves. “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”

“Because you’re embarrassed, and scared. But you don’t want to be, and you are angry at yourself for your weakness.” Luna sank her teeth around Twilight’s right hip bone and sucked on it, and Twilight’s back arched off the rug so hard she had to bite into her forearm not to cry out.

“Everything you touch does that!” Twilight shouted, flustered and indignant. “Is it just because you know where to touch, or because it’s you doing the touching?”

“Both,” Luna said proudly. Then, “It is not weakness. You just had your first kiss, it is natural to be overwhelmed! Most would never move this fast.” A pause. Now Luna was flustered, and she felt herself blush to her own eartips, and cursed herself for it. She was determined to play the calm, collected teacher here, but her honesty got the better of her. “I’m glad you are, though, because you excite me.”

Twilight stared at Luna’s blushing with a mix of fascination and hunger. “I do?”

“Yes,” Luna whispered, tilting her head forward so she could hide her face behind her hair, “Very much.”

“But I’m not doing anything...”

Luna peppered Twilight with a fluttering of kisses just below her navel. “It does not matter. It excites me that I get to share this with you. I love doing this to you. And most of all...” Then she bit the other hip bone and sucked hard, so suddenly that Twilight didn’t have time to prepare herself this time. Twilight wrapped her legs around Luna’s neck and squeezed as she cried out. “I adore your responses.”

“Oh,” Twilight panted. “Luna could you... could you please...” Again, her hips jerked, and her legs tightened around Luna’s neck, but that was as far as she got.

“You cannot say it?”

Twilight shook her head, covering her face. It had taken everything out of her just to say that much. The heat of her blush was now stretching down across her neck. Luna smiled.

“Thank you for being so brave for me.”

Then Luna put her mouth directly around Twilight and tasted her. She was clean, but soaked. The first testing lick, which knocked the air right out of Twilight’s lungs, made a glistening string from Twilight’s to Luna’s lips, which dangled a full six inches before finally falling to a dribble down Luna’s chin.

Twilight burned.

Luna pulled at Twilight’s lips, pulling with her tongue and pinning the edge to the roof of her mouth, suckling down the length of it. She could feel Twilight’s hammering heartbeat against her tongue, and that alone made Luna’s knees squeeze together, her own hips rock.

Her mane was being brushed, and she looked up. Twilight was running her hooves through her mane, and there was a drunken look of pure adoration. Luna had to stop just to get lost in those eyes a few seconds longer. To be looked at like that...

It was exactly like those moments where you look up at the stars and, only for a second, you can feel just how deep infinity is.

And then she snapped back. The sky was flat again, and Twilight was still in her mouth.

Enough teasing. Being down here had made it too easy to get drunk on Twilight’s pheromones, and now Luna could barely keep her own eyes open. The sensible parts of her that wanted a slow and steady teasing welcome into the world of sex was burned away against the hot fires of wanting to absolutely ruin this sweet girl for anyone else.

The way Twilight had looked at her just then had made her feel possessive. It had been infatuation that led her this far; but those eyes made her need Twilight. Not as something to be taken, but as something she needed to be freely given.

She shifted, putting her mouth just around Twilight’s clit, now, and keeping an even pressure on it, occasionally curling her tongue around it. With her magic she made a thick, firm pressure to slide into Twilight, aiming just below her cervix and stretching it. Hitting it directly? Painful. But here? Here, with the clit sucking as well, it felt just like getting properly fucked.

Maybe she wanted to take Twilight just a little. Something she could forgive herself while being this lust-drunk.

The groan rumbled from the base of Twilight’s chest, rattled around her throat before slowly leaking out of her. “Oh,” Twilight breathed, digging into Luna’s scalp, “Wow.”

She was overstimulated, and underexperienced. Luna knew exactly what she was doing. It wasn’t long before Twilight’s legs were squeezing Luna’s neck hard enough that, had she not had her breath catch so completely in her chest, she would have noticed that she couldn’t breathe anymore. She was pulling Luna into her by her hair, like reins.

Then Luna sped up. “Wow, wow, yes, yes-”, Twilight screamed out, “Luna!” Then her screams became wordless and shrill.

There was a sudden splash of hot liquid enough to splash down Luna’s already soaked muzzle and jaw, Twilight’s legs gave out completely and she fell back to the rug, curling into the foetal position and shuddering, shaking, laughing uncontrollably.

She laughed until she was out of breath, but even then her ragged and gulping breaths were punctuated by a short burst of giggles on every exhale, every time she’d spasm again, either a knee kicking out or her back curling forwards.

Then she was still, and Luna realized she’d just been staring down at her for several minutes, entranced.

“Was I really-”

“Shush! Shh! Just...” Twilight rolled over onto her side, pulling Luna against her back. Big spoon. “Second. Brain... can’t... word.”

“Ah.”

Then Twilight got the giggles. When Luna could see them, her pupils were the size of quarters. Luna laughed, and Twilight whapped her hip with her tail in response.

“You’re intoxicating.”

“I feel drunk,” Twilight giggled.

“Not tipsy?”

“No! Properly drunk.” Twilight whapped Luna with her tail again, harder. Luna bit the inside her cheek. “You ruined my respectability.”

“Respectability?” You could hear the raised eyebrow in Luna’s voice. “You blame me? You were already a mess before I started.”

Twilight shuddered in Luna’s grip. “And whose fault is that? You were saying things all-” Twilight paused, then in dire accusation, “You used sexy word magic on me! You erotically knew interesting things and you told them to me.”

“Yes, this was my devious plan all along,” Luna said, “The best ‘come hither’ lines are always a novella in length.”

Twilight whapped Luna with her tail hard, and Luna winced and sucked down on her lower lip. Best not let on how that was being interpreted. “You’re not allowed to be witty and sarcastic right now, my brain feels like a bubble bath. Which is your fault, by the way.” Again, Twilight insisted on making it an accusation, and again Luna smiled knowing Twilight couldn’t see.

“Dare I apologize?”

“I’ll beat you up if you try,” Twilight threatened, scooching back into her tighter. They lay there for a long few moments, punctuated every quiet minute or so by another satisfied or contented sigh. Luna tried to just let the moment be perfect, be serene, and not ruin it.

She cursed every time she felt her thighs rub together, her own legs twitch. It was... frustrating not being able just to be content with this, when she’d already been given so much. Allow this to be unspoiled, and run a hot bath later, and fill that with these wonderful memories.

She swore when Twilight noticed anyway, and rolled around to face her, pupils still blown wide, blush still ever-present. It was so eager and affectionate. Luna winced as her hips jerked at those eyes. There was still a thoughtful frown.

“I didn’t- I mean, you didn’t-” Twilight closed her eyes, and again the blush spread right down to her neck. “Did you?”

“It is fine,” Luna said as much to herself. “There is no obligation. I gave with no expectation of receiving in return. That’s not how this works.”

Twilight nodded. “I know. But I still really want to.” Then, in the shyest voice yet, all desire and no confidence, “If that’s okay?”

Again, Luna’s knees rubbed together. “I do not want to pressure you into anything you would not be comfortable with.”

“You want me to touch you,” Twilight teased, “but because you want it, you think it’s unfair to ask for it. And you’re embarrassed.”

Luna grimaced. “I see you’ve learned the secret, then.”

Twilight bit Luna’s neck, just how she’d done it before. Luna gasped sharply. “You know how I think so well, because you know what it’s like when you think it.”

Luna chuckled, but Twilight’s lips holding a seal while she dragged the bit up Luna’s neck and under her jaw -- making the nerves dance and tingle from her chin to the tip of her ear -- cut that short. “Am I so predictable?”

“It’s nice.” The kisses trailed back down Luna’s neck, her collarbone, her stomach. Twilight left a bite that was too hard from inexperience and from enthusiasm on Luna’s inner thigh, and she treasured it. There, though, Twilight stopped.

“Twilight?”

Twilight closed her eyes and buried her face in Luna’s thigh and made a noise like a frustrated squeaker toy.

Luna forced down her frustration. “Too much, too fast?”

“There’s no rational reason for me to be terrified,” Twilight complained, unable to look up. “It’s just... I feel like I did balancing on the balcony railing.”

“Even when you had wings, and nothing could hurt you?”

Twilight nodded into Luna’s thigh, smooshing her face into it. “I’m sorry. I really want to-”

Luna reached out and cupped Twilight under the chin, pulling her up, over her, and guiding her into a gentle kiss. “You’re allowed to be nervous. This is what I was afraid of.” Then another, deeper kiss, one that lingered. “You’ve gone further than I could have expected, and done more than I could ever have asked of you.”

Twilight nodded, sullen. “I still want to.”

Luna hummed, then shifted her weight up. Twilight slid off her, confused. “Experience is the best cure for doubt. Sit behind me.”

Twilight did as she was asked, burying her face into the soft feathers of Luna’s wings. Luna leaned back into her, sliding down a little, letting herself settle into Twilight. She was impossibly warm on such a cold night.

“Place your hooves on mine.” She instructed, gently. Twilight did, and Luna dragged lower, the feeling of another guiding her making the usual touches lightning intense. Then Luna reached the source of her discomfort and gasped out, sharply, curling forward. She’d been building up to this for too long, and for too long without another. Twilight’s hooves stayed with her, and she buried her head back into Luna’s wings again, too scared to look but too enraptured to flinch.

Luna began with slow ovals, bottom to top, and appreciated the resistance against her. Beyond the intensity of the intimacy, it made it feel less like her own touch. She lingered at the top of the stroke, and skimmed at the bottom of it, letting Twilight feel with her pace where she preferred.

Finally her head poked over Luna’s shoulder and nuzzled her, cheek to cheek, watching. She switched to faster loops, rocking her hips into the strokes. When her eyes closed and her chin curled into her chest. Twilight was watching down along her, heavy breaths in Luna’s ear..

The watching felt most intense of all, even more than the touch. Luna slid down lower, straighter, just to know Twilight had an even better view. That this was a shared experience, for her enjoyment as well.

That’s when Twilight worked up the courage to speak. Right in Luna’s ear.

“You are impossibly beautiful. It’s honestly unfair.”

Ah-

“Did I really do this to you?” Twilight asked, teasing and wondering at once. “That’s really flattering...”

Luna was beyond the sarcastic wit now. She just threw her head back, which gave Twilight another opportunity to kiss her bare throat.

“This is what you did to me too,” Twilight admitted, so shyly she couldn’t get her voice above a whisper, “so I’m glad it’s mutual.”

Luna swore, her breath coming in as a sharp gasp. She switched to faster, harder strokes. Twilight stopped trying to follow her and switched to light strokes up and down her fores, keeping to the rhythm Luna set.

“Don’t finish yet,” Twilight whispered, “I’m not done watching.”

Fireworks went off in her skull. Luna lurched forward like she’d been punched in the gut, then settled twitching in Twilight’s grip again, shaking. “How could I deny,” a grunt, “such a polite request?”

“Well,” Twilight whispered, “you could do it by cumming for me anyway. While I watch.”

Luna bit hard into her other shoulder, a muffled yelp. “That’s not helping.”

She could feel Twilight’s smug and contented dumb stupid smirk rather than see it. “I don’t mind. I win either way.”

Luna’s movements got hard and frantic, her muscles were all tight. Tension was being loaded into her like a firing spring.

“Luna?”

Luna gave a frantic nod.

“I want to watch you cum for me.”

Everything exploded. Her eyes swam with white stars, and this time she couldn’t hold back her scream. A dim and distant part of herself tsk’d — she’d been doing so well. The rest of her, though, was swimming up into the sky and crashing deep into the earth all at once.

She lay there, panting, as Twilight grabbed her wet hoof and pulled it up to her mouth. Luna watched, fascinated, as she popped it into her mouth and suckled on it. There was a moan from deep in Twilight’s chest, and she shuddered from head to toe-tip, ending in a squeak and crushing Luna’s waist with her thighs.

She opened her mouth, noticing Luna stare at her, and hid behind her own wings with a squeak.

Luna brushed them away and pulled Twilight into the deepest kiss yet, making special note to suck the stray juices from Twilight’s lower lip. That, too, got a shudder from her. “Did you really just...?”

Twilight buried her head in the back of Luna’s neck, hiding under her mane. “Shut up. Don’t say anything.”

“You must have enjoyed that.”

“Don’t!” Twilight squeaked, her voice breaking. Luna had to bite her lower lip hard to stop from laughing. Apparently her confidence was proportionate to how built up she was. That was something to remember for later.

Which meant, now, she was easy prey.

Luna twisted, grabbed the surprised Twilight before she could react, then spun her down and around and onto the rug underneath her, like a tango dancer. Without their legs under them, though, Twilight was just pinned beneath her again.

As much as Luna could get used to this, she suspected it’d never lose its novelty.

Pressing the initiative, she teased her tongue against Twilight’s lips, inviting, and brushed against Twilight’s own nervous tongue when it came out to meet her. Twilight moaned through the kiss and, when Luna leaned back to appreciate her work, was proud to see Twilight’s pupils were back to gigantic.

Then Luna giggled, because her head was pumping a rush of wonderful feelings and dizziness. “That was fantastic. Thank you.”

“It was fun for me too,” Twilight was nervous again, looking up at her. “Do you think anyone saw us?”

Luna smirked. “Why, would you mind?”

Twilight’s answer to that was only to blush deeper and look away.

There was a pause. It was Luna’s turn to be nervous. “It is cold out here, though. And it might be a good idea to get you into a warm bath.”

Twilight nodded, shifting a bit.

“Would you like to come back with me?” Luna asked, her voice breaking. “You may sleep in my bed after, if you wish.”

There was a pause as Twilight watched her face carefully. Then, just when she most felt like tearing off and hiding in a cloud forever, “If I say yes, and you try to offer to sleep on a couch or something, I’m going to whap you with a rolled up newspaper, okay?”

Luna gulped and nodded. “I wasn’t-”

Then Twilight raised an eyebrow, and Luna cut herself off, head hanging.

“Alright. You know me as well.”

“I don’t regret this,” Twilight reassured her. “Even though you only promised me a night, I don’t want this to be the only one.”

Luna nodded. She tried to say something, but her mouth had stopped moving. She felt a wet blink. Twilight pressed a light kiss to her nose.

“Were you really worried about that?”

Luna looked away, which was difficult when Twilight was most of her visible world right now. “Perhaps you would blame it on the heat of the moment. Or on the wine. Intimidated by the consequences, or the reality of it in the afterglow.”

There was a silence. It couldn’t have been longer than three seconds, but it was torturous.

“Twilight?” Luna said, finally looking back.

Twilight’s smile was an innocent guiltiness. “I may have brought the wine for a reason.”

Stunned, “You were trying to get me drunk?”

“No, I was trying to get me tipsy.” Twilight laughed nervously. “In case I felt like doing something...”

“Foolish?” Luna suggested. “Reckless?”

“Brave,” Twilight finished instead.

Luna stared a moment while her brain ticked over the implications of that. “How long-”

“Nightmare Night. The first one.” Twilight had anticipated the question, and cut it off as soon as it began. “Is when I started thinking about it. Then I just kept building it up in my head so much I... yeah.”

That long though. Truly? That...”Then I asked you?”

Twilight nodded, pulling Luna back down onto her. She liked the weight. “I didn’t think it was a date, really.” Quieter, “And I didn’t know how much was just my brain building you up to be something you weren’t.”

Nervous, now. “And?”

Twilight kissed her cheek. “I didn’t do you justice.”

“Even after the Tantabus?”

“Even after the Tantabus.” Twilight confirmed.

A few more moments of silent thought. “How quickly can you pack everything up, right now?”

Twilight blinked, leaning back out of the cuddle. “Ah, right now? We’d have to get off the rug, but a few seconds, why?”

Luna’s horn started glowing. “Because flying back to my chambers is going to take too long. And I have decided I am not done showing my appreciation for your bravery this night.”

Twilight scrambled to pack everything back into the bag, and just as she grabbed Luna’s telescope, almost forgotten to the side, the was a flash from Luna’s horn, and a pop, and the clifftop was empty once more.

Luna had promised Twilight a night to teach her whatever she wanted to know. It was still the winter solstice, the longest night of the year. The best night to pick for a first night.