Luna strolled casually through the castle, her eyes looking up to the moon she only just lifted into the starry night sky. As she walked along the empty castle hallway, several bushels of lavender held in her magical aura, she hummed a pleasant tune to herself. One by one she replaced the old lavender with the new, a soft smile on her face as she quietly worked. Once she was finished with her first task of the night, she turned her attention to the moon once more, a giddy feeling welling up in her chest as she did so.

I wonder if Anon is looking up at my moon right now. She thought to herself, her wings fluttering in excitement.

The lunar alicorn quickly returned to her duties, and left the hallway for her own bedroom. She walked through the empty halls, only finding a pair of thestral guards every several minutes as she progressed toward the other side of the castle. Once she reached her designated hallway, she was greeted by Dusk and Echo standing guard outside her door.

"Princess. We're awaiting orders." Dusk curtly greeted, with a salute.

Luna nodded, "Yes, thank you, Dusk. I can always count on you two to be ready before even I am," She chuckled, before clearing her throat, "Nothing serious for tonight. I just need you both to safeguard Anon and Sergeant Javelin once more. They'll be down at Trailblazers." She explained.

"Are they already down there, Princess?" Echo asked, almost imperceptibly tilting his head to the side.

"They should be. They both left well over an hour ago. Unless they deviated and went elsewhere, although I rather doubt that. Anon doesn't seem the type to lie to my face about his whereabouts." Luna replied.

Echo and Dusk both nodded once more, before Dusk spoke up, "Understood, Princess. We'll be down there within the next few minutes. If we don't find him there, we'll report back immediately."

Luna nodded, "Thank you, Dusk. And you as well, Echo. I know that this is far simpler than your usual tasks, but I do believe Anon deserves to at least have adequate protection. Who knows what kind of trouble he can get himself into, unsupervised."

"To be honest, we're enjoying the relaxing work." Echo smirked.

Luna laughed, "I'm sure you both are. Now, you should both be going. I'll look forward to your return."

Dusk and Echo both nodded once, then gave a quick salute, before walking off out of sight. Luna watched them go, a thankful smile on her face, as she turned back toward her own bedroom door. She took a step toward it, before pausing and looking over to her sister's bedroom door. Candlelight spilled out from under the frame, indicating that the solar princess was still very much awake.

Luna quickly decided to knock on her sister's door and await a response. Within a few moments, the door opened a crack, and a magenta eye peered back at her.

"Yes?" Celestia asked.

"Tia? Why are you hiding behind your door?" Luna asked, perplexed.

"No reason. Why are you knocking at this late hour?" Celestia replied, still keeping the door opened just a crack.

Luna gave her a deadpan look, "Sister, I always stop by when I have a moment of free time in the evening. Why are you acting so strange?"

"No reason." Celestia answered.

Luna frowned, "Tia. Open the door." She ordered.

"No."

"Tia."

"No."

"You do realize that I can just teleport inside, right?" Luna deadpanned.

Celestia looked at Luna, and then the floor, "Not if I cast an anti-teleportation ward."

Luna raised an eyebrow, "Firstly, that still wouldn't stop me. Secondly, what in Tartarus has gotten into you? You're acting like a complete filly." She demanded.

"Nothing. I am just... in the middle of something." Celestia responded.

"Sister." Luna growled, "Open this door right this instant, or I swear I will break it down."

Celestia's eye widened in the doorway, "Now, Luna, there's no need for-"

Luna teleported into the room, behind her, cutting Celestia off as her sister disappeared in a flash before her eyes.

"There. Now, what the hay has you acting so... strange..." Luna trailed off, now seeing the rest of her sister for the first time.

Celestia's mane, usually flowing majestically along with an invisible wind, now flowed beautifully down her neck and withers. Little spirals of each color twirled off of her head and ran down her neck, complementing the long, waving nature of her hair. Celestia's multi-colored mane now cascaded down onto her back like a winding river, each color streaking down, unimpeded by any of the other colors.

Celestia's tail also received the same treatment, making Luna's eyes squint in disbelief. Unlike before, her tail was filled with swirls and curls of each of the different colors that made up her hair. Very noticeably, a bow tied around Celestia's dock, hiked her tail up just enough to truly accentuate the curvature of the appendage and how each color blended into the next one like a rainbow.

Luna stared at her sister, speechless for several seconds while the solar alicorn slowly closed the door and turned to face her, a sheepish smile on her face as she awkwardly chuckled.

"Uh, hehe... You, uh... weren't supposed to see this until later, Lulu." Celestia explained.

"Tia... how in Tartarus did you do that with your mane and tail? It looks absolutely stunning." Luna praised, her cheeks darkening just slightly as she eyed her sister's dock once more.

"W-well, it was a gift from Anon, actually... Well, not really a gift for me, but a gift for Sunshine... still, it would be a waste to not use it, would it not?" Celestia asked, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Anon did this for you?" Luna tilted her head to the side.

"Well," Celestia began, while using her magic to levitate the brush over, "Anon did buy this for Sunshine. I... may have been wanting one for quite some time, but could never justify the expense... at least, until Anon was looking for a gift for Sunshine." She explained, sitting on her haunches and tapping her hooves together.

Luna looked at her skeptically, "Just how much does this brush cost?" She asked.

"It's... about two thousand bits." Celestia admitted, sheepishly.

Luna's eyes widened and she inhaled sharply through her teeth, "Yes, I suppose I can see how it wouldn't fit the treasure's budget."

Celestia nodded, "Which is why when Anon asked for advice on a gift to get for Sunshine... I... well, I suppose I saw an opportunity that was too good to pass up."

"I see. Well speaking of Sunshine, I didn't see you at dinner this evening. I assume you were back here since Anon was there, so how was today's date?" Luna asked, sitting on Celestia's bed.

Celestia positively beamed, "Oh my Faust, Luna it was amazing! We went to the Mueller Art Museum and I got to show him all kinds of amazing historical pieces. I even showed him our artwork that's still there after all this time." She excitedly explained.

Luna smiled, "That is wonderful to hear. I am not surprised that Anon is so interested in history. He told me much of his own people's history the other night. Did you know that his kind actually left their planet and landed on the moon?" She asked, matching Celestia's excitement.

"Really?" Celestia's eyes widened in surprise.

"Indeed. I found it hard to believe, myself. However, he assured me many times that he was being honest. At first he was simply teasing me, but soon enough, he explained the process. Perhaps we should have some of your scientists look into the science of a 'rocket ship'." Luna replied with a small shrug.

Celestia tilted her head to the side, "What in the world is a rocket ship?"

"I have no idea. Still, Anon was certain that his people reached their moon in one. I imagine we could do the same, but for planets far further into space." Luna answered, with a shrug.

"Fascinating. There seems to be a limitless amount of information we could learn from Anon's people." Celestia surmised with a nod.

For a few moments, the conversation dropped between the two sisters, although Luna's eyes quickly drifted up to the brush still held in Celestia's magical grasp. She eyed the tool with reserved interest while her tail slowly flicked back and forth.

"Indeed... Sister, might I inquire a favor from you?" Luna asked.

"Of course. What do you need, Lulu?" Celestia responded, a look of curious intrigue on her features.

"I was wondering if I could borrow that brush of yours. I see what you've done with your mane and tail and... well I think I would like to experiment with a new style the next time I go out with Anon. After our last evening together... I was thinking of attempting to take the next step in our relationship. If he's interested, of course." Luna explained, a dark blush appearing on her face and the tips of her ears.

Celestia smiled broadly, "Luna, that's fantastic to hear! I'm so glad to hear that! Of course, you can borrow it. I'm absolutely thrilled for you." She exclaimed, quickly rushing over to her sister and sweeping her up in a hug.

Luna giggled, "Thank you, Tia. I... was unsure how you would feel about it. This whole situation is complicated enough already what with Anon still thinking he's dating our younger selves."

"I fully understand, Lulu... to be honest... I have a bit of a confession to make." Celestia replied, pulling away enough to look her sister in the eyes.

"What's that?" Luna inquired, looking back into Celestia's magenta irises.

"I... may have gone a step ahead today... with Anon." Celestia timidly admitted.

"What do you mean?" Luna tilted her head to the side.

"I... kissed Anon today. After he gave me the gift." Celestia clarified.

Luna's eyes widened, "You already kissed him!? Tiaaaaaaaaaaaa! Why do you always beat me to everything?" She pouted.

Celestia snickered, "I'm sorry, Lulu. I just... couldn't help it. I can feel my heat coming on with each passing day, and when I change into Sunshine, it only gets so much more intense. Plus the way Anon treats me like a normal mare instead of some infallible goddess that needs to be put on a pedestal, just... makes me that much more interested in him. I suppose the gift was the final straw. I'm afraid that if I turn back into Sunshine again while I'm in heat, I won't be able to control myself around him."

Luna nodded, "Oh thank Faust. I thought I was the only one. I think tonight or the next day will be the start of my heat. I was... hoping to see Anon as Nightshade one last time before that, but I don't know if it will happen. He hasn't been quite as good at scheduling dates with me as he has been with you."

"Have you asked him out on a date at all? Or did you just assume that you could visit him whenever and not bother?" Celestia cocked an eyebrow back.

Luna blushed.

"I'll take that as a yes. Not to worry, Lulu. I have it from an inside source that Anon truly does fancy Nightshade. In fact... just today he asked me if it would be alright for him to date the both of us." Celestia purred, a smirk quickly appearing on her face.

"R-really? This is wonderful news! Huzzah!" Luna cheered, hugging her sister tightly.

"Indeed it is. I think it's about time we pulled the curtain off of this little charade, sister. After estrus is over, I think we should confront Anon with the truth, and propose an actual relationship. No more faking. No more hiding behind masks from the past." Celestia firmly asserted.

"I could not agree more, Tia. Thank you for sharing this news. I can't wait." Luna smiled, before leaning in and kissing Celestia.

The solar diarch leaned into the kiss, smiling to herself all the while. Once the sister's parted from each other, Luna turned for the door.

"Well, I best be going. The moon is now high in the sky and ponies will be off to sleep soon enough. Perhaps I'll visit Anon's dreams tonight, just to see how he's doing. I did agree to visit him in the dream realm last night." She thought aloud, as she walked.

"That sounds wonderful, Luna. Just... try not to tell him everything just yet. I would much rather he learn the truth from the both of us at the same time." Celestia replied, watching her sister leave.

"Of course, sister. I only intend to spend some time with him, nothing more." Luna responded, pulling the door open.

Luna stepped out of the room and nearly bumped right into Echo as he came to a screeching halt in the doorway.

"Gah! E-Echo?!" Luna shrieked, her wings flaring out defensively.

Echo quickly snapped to attention and gave a salute, before addressing Luna, "Apologies, Princess. I just tried knocking on your door but I didn't receive an answer so I came straight here to see if Princess Celestia had seen you." He explained.

"Whatever is the matter?" Celestia asked, walking to the doorway. Her tone conveyed a sense of concern, barely hidden by a layer of pleasant warmth.

"It's... Anonymous, Princess. He's been arrested in the lower district." Echo replied.

"WHAT?!" Celestia and Luna both shrieked at the same time, making Echo's ear flatten against his skull as he winced and hissed through his teeth.

"What happened!?" Luna demanded, "Where was Sergeant Javelin? Where the buck were you and Dusk!?"

Echo continued to wince with each new question, Luna's royal Canterlot voice especially jarring on his sensitive thestral ears.

Noticing the stallion's obvious discomfort and pain, Celestia placed a hoof on Luna's wither, directing her attention back to her.

"Luna, please calm down. The poor stallion can't even hear himself think with you shouting him down like that." Celestia said, a calm expression on her face, although her tail noticeably swept back and forth.

Luna frowned, but held her tongue. The sister's returned their attention to the batpony stallion just as his ears finally returned to their normal position.

"Apologies... Echo, was it?" Celestia asked.

"Yes, your highness." Echo dutifully replied.

"Very interesting name. Now, please explain the situation for us, Echo." Celestia pressed.

"I'm afraid I don't know much, your highness. When Dusk and I arrived at the bar, Anonymous and Sergeant Javelin were already gone and the bartender told us that over two dozen ponies had been arrested, to include Anonymous. Dusk ordered me to come back and inform you while he went to the station to get them both released." Echo explained.

Celestia and Luna both nodded slowly.

"Did you catch the name of the ponice station they were taken to?" Celestia inquired.

"I'm afraid not, Princess. I only know that it was in the lower district. Dusk sent me back the second we found out what happened. I didn't learn anything else before leaving." Echo responded.

"Well we must go retrieve him. There are many ponice stations in the lower district, but not an infinite amount. Who knows what could happen to a stallion like him if he's thrown in with the scum and criminals." Luna declared, her horn lighting up in preparation to teleport.

Celestia sighed, "I'm afraid I'm inclined to agree. As much as I trust that your guards can have Anon returned to us unharmed, I need to know why our consort was arrested in the first place. The ponice better have a good explanation, as well as Anon." She agreed, her horn igniting as well.

"I'll head back down to the lower district and search for the ponice station as w-" Echo tried to explain, only for two teleportation spells to both blind and deafen him.

The stallion stumbled for a moment as he shook the stars out of his vision, "Guh... Easy detail, my flank. Now I have to claim tinnitus and blindness."

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Celestia and Luna teleported into the third ponice department of the night, startling the two officers sitting in the waiting room, eating a pair of donuts while Dusk glared at them.

"P-p-Princesses!" The first officer shouted, her donut falling to the floor, half eaten as she jumped to her hooves and saluted.

The other pony quickly got to her hooves, and offered a salute to the diarchs.

"Dusk, there you are. We presume this is where Anon was taken?" Luna inquired, looking to the batpony.

"Yes, Princess. I've been trying to get him and Sergeant Javelin released, but these officers keep saying that they're still processing them through the system." Dusk replied, curtly.

"Very good. You may return to the castle, Dusk. We will handle it from here. Anything we don't hear from Anon, I'm sure we'll see in your report." Luna said, nodding to the stallion.

"Yes, Princess." Dusk answered with a salute, before trotting off to the door.

Once the batpony was gone, Celestia and Luna returned their attention to the pair of officers still standing at attention in front of them.

"Good evening. We're here looking for Anonymous. We were told he was arrested along with about two dozen other stallions just recently." Celestia replied, curtly.

"Is he that strange looking creature walking on two legs? Almost no fur? P-Princess." The first officer asked.

"He is not strange looking." Luna growled.

"R-right, of course, Princess! My mistake! I meant... interesting." The ponice mare quickly replied, a bead of sweat dripping down her neck.

Celestia eyed her sister curiously for a moment before returning her gaze to the mares in front of her.

"We need to speak with Anon. Also, there should be a unicorn stallion with him named Javelin. White-ish fur, blue mane." Celestia instructed.

"Yes, Princess! We'll get them out to the questioning room." The second ponice mare responded.

The officers quickly darted to the door leading to the back of the station. Celestia and Luna followed behind in a deliberate, but not too slow, pace. They soon found themselves in the questioning room, being offered water and snacks while they waited for Anon and Javelin to be brought into the room with them. Celestia politely declined, while Luna only responded with a harsh glare.

After nearly five minutes of waiting, the door across from them opened, and the first officer stepped in, followed immediately by Anon and Javelin. Anon's clothes were torn and matted with a small measure of blood on his sleeve that appeared to have come from his nose, if the dried blood there was any indication. His left eye socket was noticeably blackened from bruising, along with another bruise on his chin.

Behind Anon, Javelin fared even worse. His right eye was nearly swollen shut, and he noticeably struggled to walk on his left foreleg. A wide assortment of bruises littered his face, back, neck, and hindlegs, almost as if multiple ponies were kicking him at once. His muzzle was also matted with dried blood, although his was much less noticeable than Anon's.

All together, they looked absolutely terrible. Before the man and his guard could even take two steps into the room, both royal princesses were on their hooves and dashing toward them.

"Anon!" They both cried in alarm.

Anon held his hands up halfway in surrender, but was quickly engulfed in an embrace of wings and hooves. Celestia and Luna both held him in their forelegs as they looked over his injuries, worry plastered all over their faces.

"Oh my gosh! What in Tartarus happened to you!?" Celestia exclaimed.

"You look like you were mauled by a timberwolf!" Luna added.

"Uh... I-I'm alright, girls. Honestly. Jav's the one that got more hurt in that scuffle. If anything, you should be looking him over. I just got slugged in the nose once or twice. He got beat up by, like, five ponies at once." Anon replied, sounding confused.

Luna and Celestia both released their embrace of the human to look down at the pony stallion standing beside them.

"Sergeant, are you alright?" Celestia inquired, stepping over to the stallion and wrapping a wing around his barrel.

"I'm alright, Princess. I've had worse." Javelin replied, although there was a noticeable edge in his voice, as if speaking was somewhat painful for him.

"Princesses, I can bring in medical help to look them over and patch them up. We only just received them five minutes before you arrived." The ponice mare spoke up.

Celestia nodded, "Yes, please do. In the meantime, I think we need to discuss what happened this night."

All parties in the room nodded either in agreement, or resignation, and the officer quickly left. Once it was only the four of them, Celestia and Luna ushered Anon and Javelin into the empty seats on their side of the table while they reclaimed their own chairs on the opposite side.

"So... Busy night at the castle?" Anon inquired, after a few moments of silence.

Both Luna and Celestia frowned.

"Right, uh... besides dealing with us?"

"Anonymous. What in Tartarus happened?" Celestia demanded, although her tone was still very soft and comforting.

Anon sighed, "Okay, long story short, that stallion that brought up the law that started this whole thing between us, Comet Ray, or... something like that, basically jumped us at the bar." He explained.

Celestia and Luna shared a look of disbelief, before the former turned back to Anon, "Do you mean Comet Star?"

"Yeah, that's the one. Sorry, my head is killing me, so thinking hurts... more than usual." Anon and Javelin chuckled.

"Anon, this is hardly a joking matter. This is a serious offense. If what you're saying is true, then he will be charged with assaulting royalty, conspiracy, and a whole host of other charges. At minimum, he'll receive capital punishment." Luna replied.

"Sergeant, can you confirm that it was Comet Star that did this?" Celestia pressed, looking over to Javelin.

"It was him, all right. Him and about two dozen other stallion nobles. He told us that he planned to essentially force you to marry him when he brought up the law, but didn't count on Anon being there. He said he was going to make sure we wouldn't be around to tell you his plans after he cornered us in the bar." Javelin recounted.

"Course, he didn't expect us to give him and his friends the ass kicking of a lifetime." Anon smirked.

"Ass? What do donkeys have to do with this?" Luna questioned, looking to Celestia for answers.

Celestia sighed quietly, "I've... been asking myself the same question for a while now."

"It's a long story. Point is, the twenty something of them still couldn't take down the two of us." Anon beamed.

Javelin held up his hoof, to which Anon quickly bumped. Both parties hissed in pain and shook their injured appendages from the contact.

"From the looks of the two of you, I'd say they still did some serious damage. I'll have to look into the matter tomorrow with regards to Comet Star and his associates. This crime cannot go unpunished. I can understand being jealous of you, but for them to attack you, and make a threat on the both of your lives... it is unacceptable, and I will ensure all parties involved feel the full force of the law." Celestia responded, firmly.

"Were it the old days, I'd cut all of their heads off tomorrow." Luna muttered.

"They will face excommunication for their crimes, as well as forfeiture of all of their assets. We can't do harsh punishments like that anymore, Luna, but they will most certainly pay. Dearly." Celestia replied.

"Now, onto the next question," Luna announced, "Why in the buck did the ponice arrest you both as well?"

Celestia nodded as Javelin and Anon shared a look.

"It... well-" Javelin began, only for Anon to cut him off.

"It was my fault. We were just so overwhelmed by all the ponies attacking us that when the cops showed up, I just kept throwing punches. Don't listen to anything else Javelin says, he's trying to take the blame for it and I won't let him." Anon declared, crossing his arms.

"Anon! I hit one with one of my mana bolts!" Javelin exclaimed.

"After I punched one in the snout and they started trying to arrest us too." Anon replied, shaking his head dismissively.

"Anon, it's my job to take responsibility for the shots I miss. I messed up and got us arrested-" Javelin tried to rebutt.

"Abahababa. Nope, I won't hear it. It was my fault, and no one else's. Sucks to suck." Anon childishly cut him off again.

Javelin frowned deeply while Anon unapologetically looked at Celestia and Luna, ignoring him completely.

The sisters shared another look, before they both had to stop smirks from appearing on their muzzles.

"W-well, as long as none of the ponice officers were seriously hurt, I think we can call it a wash." Celestia said, after controlling herself.

"Yeah, they're fine. You shoulda seen the one Jav hit though. That bitch flew twenty feet across the bar." Anon laughed, before clutching his ribs and wheezing in pain.

Celestia and Luna shared a chuckle at Anon's expense while Javelin fought to suppress his own laughter. Eventually they all calmed down enough for Celestia to address the group again.

"Alright. Well I'm just glad to hear that everypony is alright. We'd both be absolutely devastated if something worse happened to you both. I'm just thankful that you're in such high spirits after everything. Most ponies would call tonight a traumatic experience." Celestia said, getting to her hooves.

"Maybe most ponies, but not us." Anon smiled.

"Indeed, Anon. Now come, we must find that medical officer and have her look you both over. Then it's right back to the castle and to bed with the both of you." Luna ordered, getting to her hooves as well.

"Yeah, fair enough, although, I do have one quick question." Anon replied, standing up as well.

"What's that, Anon?" Celestia asked.

"Did... did you do something with your hair?"

Author's Note

Uh oh.