Anon quickly devoured the rest of the sandwich while Luna took dainty little bites out of hers. The quickly darkening skies blanketed the park, driving many of the ponies home for the night while the man and princess observed the stars. Soon enough the park was nearly deserted, with only a few residents still present to stargaze, or observe the princess of the night while she was out in public. Anon's eyes were eventually drawn down to the night alicorn as she finally finished her sandwich and took another sip of her apple cider.

"Hey, Luna." Anon spoke, receiving Luna's full attention in return.

"Yes, Anon?" She responded.

"So... I know that I should probably know this and all... but do you actually... move the stars?" Anon inquired, curiously.

Luna chuckled, "Fear not, Anon. I'm sure Raven was going to inform you of all of my and my sisters duties posthaste. Regardless, I can answer that question easily enough. Technically, no, I don't move the stars out in the distance, but I do make them appear in a certain way to the ponies in Equestria." She explained.

Anon's brow raised, "So... how do you do that? I mean... that seems really hard to do for the whole sky across an entire country... and you move the moon too? Sounds almost like you're more powerful than Celestia." He shrugged.

Luna laughed a light-hearted, soft laugh, "I'm afraid that my sister and I are equals. Neither one of us holds more power than the other."

Anon tilted his head to the side, "But... how though?"

Luna turned to fully face him, a sudden shyness present in her features, before clearing her throat to begin, "Well, you must understand, Anon. What I do to the night sky... it's little more than an illusion." She admitted.

"But... you still move a giant moon and do that to an entire skyline. Even if it's just an illusion, that's still super impressive." He pressed.

"Well... illusion is a bit of an oversimplification. What's actually happening, is that I cast a spell over the entire skyline, and alter the light entering our atmosphere, to display the stars as I want them to be seen. Just by themselves, the stars are so... distant, and uninspired. When I rearrange them, I feel as if each star is given purpose. Each light given a new meaning. There's a method to it, that makes the stars stand out in ways they simply never could before." Luna elaborated, a faint blush appearing on her muzzle at Anon's praise.

Anon nodded, "Well I still say it's impressive as hell. Especially since it's only part of what you do every night." He surmised.

Luna smiled, "Indeed, the skyline illusion is only a small part of my job. Most of what I do revolves around raising and lowering the moon, and the dream realm."

Anon shifted to face Luna more completely, "Okay, so I know about the moon, but tell me what the dream realm is like. That sounds crazy as hell. I mean, I don't really dream all that much, but when I do, it's some weird shit, so I can't imagine what pony dreams are like." He asked, a newfound excitement in his tone.

Luna chuckled, "It is a very surreal place. It is difficult to make sense of most of what happens there unless you understand how dreams work. There are plenty of strange dreams, ranging all the way from jelly monsters to amorous affairs that are best kept in the imagination... Having said that, I have just now realized that I have not seen your dreams yet. Perhaps I will have to visit you one of these evenings and show you just what is capable once you are aware you are in a dream." She replied, offering a small smile.

Anon nodded excitedly, "Oh that'd be rad as hell! I've never had a lucid dream before. Tried for a long time, but it just never happened."

Luna smiled, "Well then I will be sure to visit your dreams in the coming nights. I admit, I find the prospect quite exciting, myself. I've never ventured into the dreams of a creature as unique as you."

Anon grinned widely, "Awesome. Thanks, Luna."

Luna blushed slightly while she looked away, "Think nothing of it, Anon. If anything, I must apologize for not seeing you sooner." She admitted, sadly.

Anon placed his hand on Luna's wither, earning a small, almost imperceptible squeak of surprise from the dark alicorn, "It's alright, Luna. I know you were going through a lot, and me just showing up didn't make things better. I'm just glad that we're past all that." He offered, smiling encouragingly.

The dark blush on Luna's muzzle darkened even further as she looked down at Anon's hand, his soft digits already having sunk into her fur and resting against her skin.

"T-thank you, Anon... but I was far too harsh on you. Even under the circumstances. you were quite right to compare me to Nightmare Moon... I... I never wanted to be that mare again and I still cannot forgive how my actions were completely in line with how she would have acted." Lune responded, her eyes falling to the grass below as her withers slumped slightly.

Anon simply gave a small squeeze of support, "Well, if it means anything at all, I do forgive you, Luna. You've been really kind to me ever since, and I really appreciate it." He said, assuringly.

Luna allowed a small smile to grace her face before Anon pulled his hand away.

"That does remind me," Anon started, looking up to the moon, "When you were on the moon, as... well, her, did you spend all thousand years of that time completely awake and conscious? Or did it pass by like a dream?" He inquired, thoughtfully.

Luna looked up to the moon as well, seeing it's pale light beaming down on the world below. The craters were still easily visible, even from Equestria, prompting memoires of their deep, empty presence to flash through her mind.

"It... passed like a dream. Hardly a punishment for me, I'd say." Luna said, looking down to the city below.

Anon frowned at her words. He watched her in silence for a moment before looking up to the moon and sighing, "You know, the moon here is a lot bigger than the moon back home. Is that because it's not that far away, or is it more of an optical illusion kind of thing?" He asked, deciding to change the subject.

Luna followed his gaze up to her moon, "I... suppose it's a large moon. It's not a part of the illusion I cast on the night sky... I can't say I really have anything to compare it too. I've only ever been to that moon. As long as I've been alive, it's the only one that has loomed over Equestria. Astronomers estimate that it resides several hundred thousand miles away. " She replied.

Anon hummed in thought, "Huh... Well, if it's a couple hundred thousand miles away... it might be about the same distance as the moon back home. Yeah, I think you ponies will be able to land on the moon once you invent the rocket ship. No problem." He nodded.

Luna looked at Anon with a raised eyebrow, "A... rocket ship? What, pray tell, even is that? And why would ponies want to go up to the moon in the first place? There's nothing there. Every trace of Nightmare Moon followed her when she returned."

"Well, to answer those in order, a rocket ship is basically a tube that has a few ponies in it, and you put a bunch of fuel in it and blast off into space. The idea is for it to leave the planet's atmosphere and keep the ponies inside alive. As for the why... because why the hell not? We did it just to prove that we could." Anon shrugged.

Luna did a double take, "Wait a minute... are you jesting with me?" She squinted at Anon in an adorably scrutinizing fashion.

Anon chuckled, "No, seriously. We actually put several men on the moon. It was a huge deal in the sixties. The big 'space race'. I think we put like, a dozen people on the moon by the time all the other countries just gave up."

Luna's jaw dropped, "You... you mean you actually sent humans onto the moon? B-but... wouldn't they die? There's no way to grow food up there. No way for creatures to breathe. They couldn't have just sent them up there to die..." She pressed, leaning toward Anon.

"Well, you know... sometimes you gotta make sacrifices for the greater good." Anon shrugged.

Luna simply stared at Anon in shock. He managed to keep a straight face for almost five seconds before a grin split his face, and he snickered. Luna frowned before realizing that Anon was messing with her, and rolling her eyes.

"Very funny, Anon. You almost had me there." Luna shook her head.

Anon laughed, "You should've seen your face. You were so scared."

Luna rolled her eyes once more, "Yes, yes. Very humorous, the concept of your people dying in space just to prove a point. Or even leaving the planet to begin with."

"Oh no, that part's true. We just didn't leave anybody up there to die, is all." Anon corrected.

Luna tilted her head to the side as a deadpan expression found its way onto her face, "Oh, really?"

"Yeah, no that part was for real. We even took pictures. If I still had my phone and cell service, I'd show you." Anon replied.

Luna continued to stare into Anon's eyes, scanning for more deception, but after a few moments, she only found honesty. Perhaps a dash of mischief, but Anon wasn't lying.

"Sweet Faust," She muttered, "Your kind actually visited your moon." She shook her head.

Anon offered an apologetic shrug, "Yep. We've actually left the Earth a lot of times. There's usually a bunch of astronauts in space at any given time. It'd be the coolest thing ever, but only like, a thousandth of a percent of our population gets to do anything that cool." He explained.

Luna looked at Anon with fascination suddenly in her eyes, "So... your kind are intrigued by the stars and moon?"

Anon laughed loudly, making Luna's ears flick back for a moment, "Are you kidding? There's like... millions of books, stories, and movies all dedicated to exploring space and the hypothetical things out there. One of the biggest questions we ever asked was 'are we alone in the universe?'. I would say that I finally have the answer to that question, but I'm pretty sure that this is an entirely different dimension, not somewhere off in the universe, no matter how far away."

Luna felt her heart flutter with excitement, "That's wonderful to hear!" She exclaimed.

Anon smiled, "And as for the moon? Oh, way back before we ever landed on the thing, it was the subject of romance. I can't tell you how many plays, and books, and stories were all written about the moon and how important it was to everyone." He added.

Luna's eyes widened in excitement, "Really?! That's... that's such wonderful news. Here in Equestria, the moon was always seen as some looming force of darkness. Ponies were too scared to go out at night for centuries." She explained.

"Really? I would've thought that the ponies would love the moon. It's what gives you so much light at night around here. Especially since your moon is so big. Earth's moon is puny compared to yours." Anon responded.

Luna sighed, "Unfortunately, there was much superstition a thousand years ago. Ponies believed in all kinds of dark and terrible creatures, and almost all of them exclusively came out at night."

"You're talking about stuff like vampires, zombies, werewolves, and the like, right?" Anon asked, receiving a nod in return, "Why did they think all that stuff only came out at night? I mean, besides the vampires, I guess... and the werewolves... I mean really, they can't all come out at night, can they? Zombies are a day time thing too, right?" He asked, scratching his head in thought.

"I can only assume because of the nature of Equestria. We ponies evolved in a land wrought with predators that preyed on us at night in particular... Having said that, we evolved thousands of years ago. Even today, some of those tall tales and little foal's stories are still commonplace, and the children in particular can be terrified of my night." Luna admitted, sadly.

Anon frowned, "Well... don't you visit little kids in their dreams? Can't they see there, that you're not this big bad evil creature they might still think of you as? Or show them that there's nothing to be afraid of at night? At least not anymore." He reasoned.

"I try. Although it seems as if the foals are too many in number for me to reach them all. Even if I dedicated every waking hour of my life to helping them with their nightmares and making them smile, I fear it still wouldn't be enough. Especially since my return was marred by Nightmare Moon." Luna sullenly replied.

Anon bit his lip. He looked behind him to see that the park was now completely empty. Slowly, he turned back around and looked at the night princess as she stared out over the distant lights of a nighttime Equestria. He quietly scooched closer to the mare as she continued to think to herself, until he arrived just beside her. Luna was broken from her stupor by Anon's newfound proximity, and she looked up to him curiously.

"Uh... can I... would it be okay... do you mind if..." Anon struggled to get his words out, finding Luna's piercing eyes gazing right into his as her lips parted slightly.

"Anon?" She asked, confused.

A moment of silence passed between them.

"Fuck it, Ima just go for it." Anon decided after taking all the embarrassment he could.

He wrapped his arm around Luna's wither and pulled her against him, her head coming to a rest just below his neck as he completed the hug by gently wrapping his other arm around her neck. Luna gasped at the contact, a fierce blush instantly shooting up her neck and all over her face. She went rigid in his arms, her wings pompfing out almost reflexively. Almost.

The immediate sensation of Luna's velvety soft fur caught Anon's attention, and he struggled to comprehend yet another feeling of déjà vu. For a moment, he was too preoccupied with the feeling of Luna's fur to notice her unfurling wings. However, after her primaries brushed against his thigh, Anon noticed the impressive wingspan that just managed to not slap him while they unfurled. He let out a small whistle.

"It's a hug, not an attempt on your life, I promise. You can put those back." He offered, scratching encouragingly against Luna's neck.

The midnight alicorn felt her ears burn in embarrassment as her wings went rigid as well, both of them sticking straight out in the air while her tail flicked back and forth in excitement. Anon watched the display cautiously for only another moment before releasing his hold on Luna and holding his hands up in surrender.

"Alright, clearly this isn't eliciting the reaction I was hoping for so Ima just let go before you kill me or something." Anon announced.

"No! Wait!" Luna shouted, almost in her full royal Canterlot voice.

A few birds in the park fluttered from their trees and fled the area while Anon rubbed his ear, "Jesus... you've got some serious volume in those lungs of yours." He said, shaking his head as his ear rang.

Luna fought to control her wings while her blush only deepened, "I-I am so sorry, Anon... I just... I wasn't expecting that. It's quite alright, if you'll just give me a moment..." She trailed off, looking back to her painfully stiff wings in irritation.

Anon finally regained enough of his hearing to understand what Luna was saying and watch her curiously, "Uh, alright... what's wrong with your wings?" He asked.

"N-nothing! Nothing is wrong with my wings. Why would you assume something's wrong?!" Luna responded, clearly panicking.

"Luna, talk to me, what's up? I don't think I've ever seen your wings that stiff before." Anon asked, concern lacing his tone.

Luna took to physically prying her wings back down to her barrel, one by one until she was finally able to control them. She let out a small sigh of relief as they finally acquiesced to her commands, before turning back to Anon.

"Oh, there's nothing to worry about... It was just a... surprised reaction. I didn't expect you to touch me," Luna finally replied, before whispering to herself, "... at least, not yet."

Anon's ears were still ringing too loudly to make out the last part, but he nodded his head regardless, "Well, uh... that was some reaction. I've never seen a pegasus react like that before, but then again... I don't think I've ever hugged one. A-anyways, are you sure you're good? For a second there I thought I pissed you off and your wings were flaring up like some kind of defense mechanism. Thought you were gonna fly me up a thousand feet and drop me or something." He responded, holding his hand over his chest.

Luna shook her head, "I wouldn't do that to you, Anon. I swear it. As for the wings... like I said, it was simply a reaction of surprise, nothing more. I... I would like to be hugged again." She admitted, her head dipping down in shyness.

Anon felt his heart melt at the princess's admission. He instantly held his arms out invitingly, "Well alright. Come here." He offered.

Luna sheepishly looked up to Anon and stepped toward him. She quickly found the spot she wanted and laid down on Anon's lap. Her forelegs curled on the outside of his thigh while her head came to a rest against his chest once more. Anon wasted no time and pulled her into another hug. One of Anon's arms gingerly wrapped around Luna's neck and pulled her head against his chest while the other wrapped around her outside wither. Anon's fingers came to a comfortable rest just atop Luna's chest fluff. It was noticeably smaller than Celestia's, but looked even softer to the touch.

Anon found himself wanting to dig his fingers into Luna's fluff almost instantly while she softly sighed against his chest. He resisted the urge for just a moment, deciding instead to gently set his fingers atop her floof instead. Still, the gesture made her gasp in surprise, making Anon yank his fingers back immediately.

"Sorry! Sorry. Still not sure where it's okay to hug you guys." Anon admitted, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck.

Luna pursed her lips for a moment, before looking down to her chest fluff and frowning.

"It is... Considered a bit intimate to touch or nuzzle a mare's chest fluff, Anon. Especially with estrus season just a few days away." Luna admitted, sounding slightly disappointed, herself.

Anon nodded quickly, "Right, right. Wouldn't want to give the wrong idea. Sorry about that. Is there anywhere else I should avoid?" He asked, returning his hand to Luna's outside wither. The soft fur there still felt amazing on his hand, even if her chest fluff was the softest thing he'd ever touched.

Luna felt her blush returning in full force, "W-well... Aside from the... obvious places, it would be best to avoid touching a mare's horn or wings... they can be quite sensitive... also, for earth ponies, their hooves as well. Although, that isn't quite so intimate." She explained.

Now it was Anon's turn to blush, "Annnnnnnnnd you have all three of those... got it. So, I guess I'll just stick to where we are right now?" He offered, awkwardly maintaining a half-hug, half-retreat.

Luna rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Anon, you may hug me. It's fine. We're both adults here."

Anon nodded, before slowly squeezing Luna closer. Her head gently pressed against his chest while her plush fur engulfed his hand. Luna felt her cheek rest right up between Anon's pectoral muscles, their firm pressure embracing her kindly, and washing away the last of her reservations about the act. Finally, Anon reached the extent of a comfortable hug and simply held Luna close while he used his off-hand to gently scratch Luna's cheek, just below her ear.

The dark alicorn's eyes widened considerably at the change of pace, but she quickly found that the delicate scratching motion of Anon's fingers felt absolutely divine. She tilted her head further into his chest to allow better access, while ensuring not to gore him with her horn in the process. For a few moments, they both simply laid there, the contact as refreshing as it was strange.

Then, Luna wrapped her hooves around Anon's waist and squeezed even closer. Anon stifled a gasp at the strength of the alicorn's forelegs while she nuzzled into his chest like a kitten. The now mutual hug felt even better than either imagined it would, especially given the circumstances of their relationship. That thought weighed on both of their minds for almost a minute, before Luna released her tight grip and let Anon simply hold her head against his chest.

"This... is nice." Luna whispered, so quiet that Anon could barely hear it.

"Yeah, it is." He replied.

Anon looked down at Luna's slowly billowing mane and chewed his cheek as he debated his next move. A few seconds of debate was all it took for him to come to a decision and lean down to nuzzle his cheek against the top of Luna's head. Her mane instantly registered on his skin as cool to the touch, yet still somehow with an underlying layer of warmth that made him only want to lean into it further. Below him, Luna looked up to see Anon as he squeezed her tighter to his chest, his cheek resting comfortably in her mane.

Luna stifled a chuckle at the sight, before wrapping her forelegs around him once more and squeezing him tighter in thanks. This time, the hug lasted much longer, going on for more time than either man or pony cared to count. All they knew was that the stars had moved and the moon was high in the night sky once they finally released each other.

Still resting in Anon's lap, Luna looked up to the tall man with a gentle smile on her face, "Thank you for that, Anon. I... I think I really needed that." She said, gazing up to him gratefully.

Anon smiled back, "I should be thanking you. That was one of the nicest hugs I've had in a long time. Actually, I think that was the best hug I've ever had, and that's saying something. My mom was a great hugger." He chuckled.

Luna beamed, "I am pleased to hear that. I think I would like to do this again with you, if you would as well." She offered.

Anon nodded, "Of course. You're like, unbelievably soft to touch." He replied, stroking his hand down her neck as if to prove his point.

Luna closed her eyes in bliss at the contact, before Anon paused.

"You know, I do actually have a question for you that I just thought of." He stated.

"What's that?" Luna asked.

"Well... it kinda goes back to what you said earlier... about estrus being right around the corner," Anon began. Luna felt her cheeks darken once more, "I know that all the other ponies go through it, but when I asked Jav about you and Celestia, he couldn't really say. I mean, if it's a personal thing, then don't even worry about it, but I am curious. From what he's made it out to sound like, and what I've actually seen out at the nightclub... you and Celestia aren't gonna be all over the place, right?" He asked, as delicately as he could.

By the time he was done, Luna felt her entire chest, ears, and face burning in embarrassment once more, "A-anon, I'm not sure what you've heard, but my sister and I are more than capable of containing our urges, even during estrus."

Anon nodded, "Ah, so you guys do go into heat then?"

"Y-yes, we do." Luna replied.

"Alright then. Just making sure. I'll need to buy a few more locks for my door then." Anon responded, with a teasing grin.

Luna pouted. It only lasted for a few seconds before Anon pulled her into another hug.

"Eh, who am I kidding, you're gonna be too busy banging Celestia." He laughed.

Luna hugged him back, although she did pout just a bit harder.

Author's Note

Daaaaaaaw. They're hugging! Told you guys Luna was actually a real softy. Anon just needed to get her to open up a bit 😁

Hope you guys liked this one. Probably the cutest one in the story imo, but I've been wrong before lol. There's still many chapters still to come, so who knows.