All's Fair in Love and War

As the group entered the castle doors, Celestia, Luna, Anon, and Javelin all let out a collective sigh after the extremely long day they'd all endured.

"You didn't do that yourself? So no new brush or anything? When? Today? After my date with Sunshine?" Anon questioned, his brow heavily furrowed in scrutiny.

"I-it is... as I said, Anon. I went to the spa to relax after a particularly long day and well... I simply wanted to try something new." Celestia replied, with a stealthily concealed gulp.

"So... you went to a spa? After work? Where?" Anon inquired, eyeing Celestia's mane and tail, suspiciously.

"It was the royal spa in the castle. They're always open to royalty. You should stop by sometime. I'm sure it would do wonders for helping you relax." Celestia replied, quickly.

"Uh huh... Guess I'll have to check it out." Anon acknowledged, with a healthy amount of skepticism in his voice.

"Anon, if it bothers you so much, I'll be sure to not try different styles around you anymore." Celestia replied, a sad undertone in her voice that made Anon pause.

Anon's eyes lingered on Celestia for a moment, tracing over her mane, down to her tail, and the particularly revealing way her dock was hiked up, before he frowned.

"W-well, I'm not saying that you shouldn't try new hair styles, it's just... kinda..." Anon sighed, heavily, "You know what, forget it. Nevermind." He said, shaking his head.

"Consider it forgotten, Anon." Celestia smiled, prompting a nod in return.

"It does look good, by the way." Anon offered, in a bid to make peace.

Celestia blushed slightly as she beamed from Anon's praise, however small it was.

"Thank you, Anon. That truly does mean a lot to hear from you. With that said though, we really must be getting to bed, all of us. You both need to rest after tonight's events, and I have to raise the sun in only a few hours. We can discuss this more tomorrow." Celestia said, in an attempt to change the subject.

"Princesses, really, I'm alright. I just need some rest and maybe some light duty for a few days. Nothing I can't shake off and get back into it, once I'm not so sore." Javelin protested, as the group headed toward one of the guest suites.

"I'll hear nothing of it, Sergeant. You did a great service not only to Anon, but to the crown as well. If Comet Star and his goons had their way, we might not have seen either of you again, and then we'd be marrying him or delaying the wedding for months just to keep from being stripped of our power." Celestia replied, dismissively shaking her head.

"You not only saved our consort, you saved our friend. For that, you will be receiving a medal. Possibly a promotion as well, Sergeant." Luna added.

"I... well, t-thank you, Princess. Although, I was only trying to protect my friend, as well." Javelin replied, thoughtfully.

"Awww, you guys are gonna make me cry." Anon fake sniffled while rubbing his eyes.

All of the ponies rolled their eyes as they arrived at the suite.

"Alright, Sergeant. This is your stop. Before you go, however, I would like to give you one more thing." Celestia announced, her horn preemptively sparking to life.

"Of course, Princess." Javelin replied.

Celestia quickly cast a spell, sending white tendrils of magic all over the guardstallion's body, particularly his most noticeable bruises. A few moments passed as each beam of light pierced through Javelin's fur and into his body, before a warm feeling washed over his entire being, and his withers slumped noticeably.

"Oh, wow... That's... thasthegudshitrightthere." Javelin mumbled, his eyes quickly growing heavy.

Celestia smiled, cutting off the spell, "There we go. That spell should help heal the vast majority of your injuries while you sleep. It also should be making you extraordinarily sleepy as we speak."

"Y-you got thatright..." Javelin murmured, his eyelids already drooping.

"Well then, off to bed, Sergeant. I'm sure you and Anon will have some more shenanigans to get up to tomorrow." Celestia chuckled.

"Mmmhmm... G'night." Javelin replied, before turning around and slowly making his way to the bed.

"Night, Jav. Thanks again, bud." Anon called after the unicorn, receiving a grunt of affirmation before the stallion plopped onto the bed and passed out.

Celestia shut the door quietly with her magic, before returning her attention to Anon and Luna.

"Well, I believe that's enough excitement for one evening. Anon, I can't begin to express how happy I am that you're alright and not seriously hurt. I would like to cast the healing spell on you as well, if you'd allow it." Celestia offered, a tired smile on her face.

Anon stretched before yawning heavily, "I appreciate it, Celestia, but honestly, I'm not even hurting at all. Plus I'm already tired, so I think I'll just head to bed, myself. Thanks, though." He replied.

Celestia frowned skeptically, "Are you certain? I see several large bruises and the remains of dried blood still on your face that say otherwise."

Anon chuckled, "Ah, this is nothing. You shoulda seen me in college. Got into fights pretty much every weekend. Really, it's a miracle I don't have cauliflower ear." He replied.

"You were fighting other stallions as brutally as you fought tonight?" Luna questioned, concern bleeding into her tone.

Anon nodded, "Yeah, pretty much. Although, I will say that I've never had to use a frying pan before. Usually it was just fistfighting, but those ponies had magic and shit, so... you know, fair's fair." He shrugged.

Both Celestia and Luna shook their heads in disbelief, "Sometimes I forget that your world is so diametrically opposed to ours." Celestia admitted.

"Eh, to be honest, having a bunch of male ponies try to jump me in a bar is probably the closest thing to normal that's happened to me since I got here." Anon laughed, prompting a snicker and chuckle from the royal sisters, as well.

"I'm just glad that things didn't end worse." Luna said, looking to Anon, apologetically.

"I knew you guys would come find us, even if things went sideways. I was never worried." Anon placed his hands on his hips, smiling broadly.

A tiny blush spread on Luna's cheeks forcing her to direct her gaze away from Anon as Celestia stepped forward.

"Thank you, Anon. To hear that from you... it truly does mean a lot to us." She smiled.

Anon returned the smile, "Eh, what can I say. You guys have grown on me a bit. Now, before I get too sappy, I am really tired. I'd be willing to bet that you are too, Celestia. I think I'm gonna head off to bed now." He replied.

Celestia nodded, a grateful smile on her face, "Of course. Good night, Anon. Good night, Lulu." She said, before turning to head toward her room.

"Goodnight sister. I will see you when the sun rises." Luna replied, before turning to see Anon heading toward his room as well, "Anon!" She called

Anon stopped in his tracks and turned around to see the lunar princess as she trotted up to him, a small frown on her face.

"What's up, Luna?" Anon asked, placing his hands in his pockets.

Luna paused in front of him and nervously rubbed her foreleg with her hoof. She bit her lip as she felt a wave of nerves suddenly wash over her, and she averted her gaze. Her wings twitched intermittently as her tail swept back and forth on the floor. Anon frowned as he looked at her, concern slowly weeding into his voice as he spoke up again.

"Luna? Are you alright?" He asked, kneeling down to be at eye level with her.

As Anon reached her level, the dark princess instinctively leaned away just a hair. After a moment, she felt his hand reach out and touch her wither. Luna instantly leapt forward, wrapping her hooves and wings around Anon and she buried her muzzle into the crook of his neck. Anon stumbled from the sudden hug, almost falling over in the process.

"L-Luna?" He asked, now thoroughly concerned.

"I... I just need to apologize. It was my fault you were hurt tonight... and I'm so sorry." Luna mumbled, squeezing him tightly.

Anon shook his head in her embrace as he returned the hug, "Luna... it's alright. I'm fine. Everything worked out just fine." He comforted.

"But what if it hadn't? I... You could have been killed... tortured, beaten, locked away... and it would've been all my fault for letting you go without a proper escort." Luna whispered, her voice strained.

Anon squeezed the lunar princess just a tad tighter, "But it did work out. Don't beat yourself up over it, Luna. Nobody knew that we were gonna get jumped at the bar. I'll just... be more careful in the future. Promise." He replied.

Luna slowly nodded. After a few moments, she pulled away enough to look Anon in the eyes. The nurse did a decent enough job of cleaning all of the dried blood off of his face, as well as reduce the bruising to just a dark blemish around his eye and cheek. Still, the wounds were clearly visible, and it sent a knife of guilt through Luna's heart.

"Anon... I... I think I need to tell you something." Luna began, her lip trembling slightly.

"What's that?" Anon asked.

"I... I've come to care a great deal about you... and... I-I think it's time I be truthful with you." The dark princess admitted, her cheeks darkening in a deep blush. Another, deeper blush quickly welled inside of her. A burning heat that swelled into her chest as her lungs inhaled every breath, and all she could smell was him. Her eyelids fluttered shut as his scent filled her sinuses, making her knees weaken.

Anon titled his head to the side, his brow furrowing in concern, "Luna, what are you saying? Are you alright? You look like you're shaking."

"W-well... it's just that..." Luna trailed off, her muzzle pointing directly to the floor as she averted her gaze. Her entire body shook ever so slightly as she prepared herself.

Anon gently reached forward and cupped Luna's cheek with his hand. He lifted her head until he was looking into her teal eyes once more. Her pupils were dilated, and her tail swished about quickly under her haunches.

"Luna, are you oka-" Anon started, his voice quickly being silenced as Luna darted forward, locking her lips with his.

Anon's eyes widened immediately at the kiss, and he instantly fell backwards, Luna falling on top of him as she deepened the kiss even further. Anon's brain struggled to process the soft, downy feeling of Luna's lips against his. He laid on the ground, frozen in shock for nearly two whole seconds, before reflexively kissing her back.

Once Luna felt Anon returning the kiss, she sighed softly through her nostrils, her wings flaring out as she pulled away, her entire muzzle a shade darker. Both Anon and Luna panted as they stared into each others eyes; one struggling to process what just happened, and one struggling to process what she just did.

Quickly enough, the realization set in, and Luna's pupils shrank to pinpricks. She nervously gulped as she stepped off of, and away from Anon, allowing him to sit upright.

"Uh... I-Anon... that wasn't... I mean, I didn't... oh, Faust." Luna rattled off, her wings twitching sporadically at her sides.

"L-Luna?" Anon asked, his brow furrowed in disbelief and concern.

Luna took a step back away from the man, her eyes darting all around the room as she desperately searched for an explanation for her actions. After several tense seconds of silence, and finding nothing to use as a suitable excuse, she slowly looked up to Anon once more.

"I... I have to go. Please don't look for me." Luna suddenly announced, before teleporting away.

Anon shielded his eyes from the bright light with his hand, before looking to where Luna once was and finding nothing there. He quickly pushed himself to his feet, his eyes wide as saucers.

"What the fuck?" He whispered, his voice still filled with shock.

Anon looked around the empty hall surrounding him, finding no immediate sign of the lunar princess. A flurry of emotions immediately swirled about in his chest, forming a pit in his stomach.

What the fuck just happened? She... she kissed me? Luna? What the fuck? She actually... holy shit.

Anon pushed himself to his feet and scanned down the hallways to his right, left, and front. Without delay, he walked, then ran, and finally broke into a sprint down the hallway in front of him, toward Celestia and Luna's rooms. Anon rushed past several guards, earning a few surprised yelps and questions as he passed them.

"Sir! Where are you going?"

"What's wrong, sir!?"

Anon ignored them all as he ran down the hall, quickly finding himself at his destination. Once there, he quickly made his way over to Luna's door and pounded on it. There was no response. Dusk and Echo were standing guard outside, and shared a look of confusion as Anon continued to bang on the door. They watched Anon with puzzled looks on their faces, but deigned not to say anything, instead opting to attempt to ignore the man as best as they could.

"Luna!" Anon called through the door, his knocking only growing more urgent.

If Luna was in her room, she was not responding, prompting Anon to call for her again. After a short while of knocking, Dusk looked up to Anon with a worried frown on his face.

"Sir, Princess Luna hasn't been in her chambers since she left with her sister to go find you several hours ago. She stationed Echo and I at her door, but she hasn't come back this way yet, and neither of us heard any teleportation spells going off to indicate that she returned that way." Dusk explained.

Anon slammed his hands against the door and hung his head low. He shut his eyes in frustration before pinching the bridge of his nose and letting out a long, drawn out sigh.

"Alright... can you... can you just let me know if you see her? I need to talk to her. It's important." Anon replied, after a moment.

"Of course, sir. We'll send for you immediately after we see her." Dusk responded.

"Okay... thanks." Anon muttered, before pulling away from the door and turning toward the other one, "Celestia is asleep, isn't she?" He asked.

"Yes, sir. She returned to her room just a few minutes ago... also, it's almost three in the morning. She'll have to be up to raise the sun in just a few hours. If I may, sir... it'd probably be best if you let her rest." Echo added.

Anon nodded shakily, "Y-yeah... I guess I'll talk to her tomorrow."

As Anon turned to walk away, Dusk spoke up once more, "Sir, with respect... you've had a long night too. You look like you could use some rest." He suggested.

Anon barely shook his head, "I don't need sleep, Dusk. I need answers."

Dusk and Echo shared another look of concerned confusion as Anon walked away, a determined step in his gait.

Luna teleported into her observatory, her heart pounding in her chest as she desperately heaved for breath. She hyperventilated for almost a minute before finally managing to calm down enough to think.

Okay... damage report? I just kissed Anonymous. I just kissed Anon. What in Tartarus came over me!?!

Luna rubbed her temples with her hooves as she started to lose control of her breathing once more.

"Horseapples! Calm down, Luna! This can be salvaged! Surely it can... I hope. Faust I hope so..." She trailed off, her heart hammering in her chest once more.

Her stomach twisted in knots, forcing her to fight the urge to vomit. She quickly lost the battle and rushed over to the bathroom, where she just barely managed to hit the toilet. The sound of painful dry heaving and puking echoed through the empty observatory as the lunar princess suffered alone.

After some time, she managed to get control over herself and get back onto her hooves.

"Why does he have to make me actually feel something? Why can't he just be like all the other stallions and just be too afraid to even talk to me?" She muttered, walking into the observatory room once more.

The lunar princess quickly slumped to her haunches and sighed heavily.

"What the buck am I saying? Anon not being afraid of me is why he means so much to me... and now I've ruined it." She whispered, tears clawing their way out of her eyes.

Luna sat on the floor, her eyes fixed to the small tile in front of her as she recalled the kiss over and over again. She screwed her eyes shut as more and more tears spilled free, dripping down onto her horseshoes. Luna sniffled as she tried, in vain to hold back her emotions.

"Stupid heat... why does mine always have to make me so impulsive... Tia never has these kinds of problems... usually." Luna croaked.

As the seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes into the better part of an hour, Luna's ears picked up on a faint sound that was quickly growing louder. It sounded similar to hoofsteps, only it was more muffled, and there were only two distinct steps, not four. A feeling of dread quickly washed over the dark princess as she looked up to the observatory door. Her heart accelerated in her chest, forcing her to breathe just a tad heavier as the footsteps reached the door.

There was a decisive click as the door was unlocked and pushed open from the other side. Anon quickly stepped into the observatory, finding Luna sitting in the middle of the room. The younger alicorn stared back at him as if she'd seen a ghost, and after a moment of silent staredown, she unfurled her wings and turned for the window.

"Luna, wait! I just wanna talk!" Anon shouted, breaking into a sprint toward the dark princess.

Luna flinched at his words, her wings trembling slightly before snapping back shut against her barrel. A defeated and shuddering sigh escaping her lips as she sank back down to her haunches once more. Anon was almost instantly at her side, gently grabbing a hold of both of her withers as he sat down in front of her.

"Luna, please, talk to me. I can see that you're upset... I'm guessing you didn't mean to do that down there, but you did. Please just tell me what's going on. I'm not mad at you, I swear." Anon compassionately explained, rubbing small circles in her fur with his thumbs.

Luna sniffled, "A-Anon... please... don't make me say it."

"Luna, please... just tell me. You can't just kiss me down there like that and then pretend like nothing happened." Anon firmly, yet gently replied.

"I-I... I know." Luna muttered, looking away in shame.

Anon pulled her just a smidge closer, "Luna, what just happened back there... I need to know if that was because you're going into heat... or if it was something more. Please tell me. Please?"

Luna winced before she hung her head low and sighed, "It... I suppose it's a bit of both. Anon, I am so sorry... I never meant to play with your heart." She admitted.

"What are you talking about?" Anon inquired.

"My heat... tends to make me more impulsive, but... I've had... feelings for you for some time now." Luna explained.

Anon's grip on her withers loosened immediately, and he nearly recoiled back from the news. He shook his head as he tried to process the information, but quickly found his attention refocusing on the mare still in his grasp.

"H-how long?" He asked, almost afraid to learn the truth.

Luna closed her eyes, her head still hung low, "Ever since the nightclub." She admitted.

Anon released his grip on Luna entirely and fell back onto his heels. His mouth hung slightly open, and his heart twisted in his chest.

"So... you are Nightshade then..." He whispered, putting the pieces together.

Luna could only nod, "I... we were going to tell you the truth after estrus... clearly I've already ruined that plan... at first, I only wanted to get to know you better as somepony that... hadn't treated you so horribly. Then... at the nightclub, I... I only went down there to tell you that you and Sunshine had to stop dating, for your sake... but then I just... I lost myself."

Anon felt his eyes drift to the floor, "So Sunshine... is just Celestia," Luna nodded once more, prompting another small sigh to escape his lips, "I knew it."

Luna's head shot up, "You... you knew?" She asked, her voice trembling.

Anon indignantly looked up, "Oh come on! You look almost the exact same! Talked the exact same! The timing was way too perfect! Everything about you two was suspicious... but I really hoped I was just being too paranoid... I mean, what? You finally meet someone that seems to genuinely like you and then you interrogate them to make sure they aren't someone else?" He rubbed the bridge of his nose, "This whole time... you two were lying to me... for what?" He questioned, quietly.

"A-Anon, I know how bad this looks, but please... please understand, I beg you... neither of us intended to fall for you, but we did... we only wanted to make sure you were alright after our fight, and when you started training with Raven, but... the more time we spent with you, the more... the more we found ourselves wanting to spend more time with you." Luna explained, tears forming in the corners of her eyes once more.

Anon remained silent for some time, provoking a steady frown on Luna's face, and a sense of dread in her heart.

"So... it was all just... more lies?" He whispered, his voice coming out weak, and strained. He stood back up to his full height, his hands finding their way to his head as he whispered, "No, no, no, no... this can't be happening..."

"No! Anon, please! I swear to you that it was real! What we shared with you; the dancing, the time at the park, the gazebo, it was all real! Every second of it! And the same goes for Celestia! She was positively beaming when she got back from your date! Our feelings for you are real! That was never a lie! I swear on my moon!" Luna exclaimed, her lips trembling as she grabbed Anon's thigh with her hooves.

"How can I believe a word you say after you've spent the better part of the last month pretending to be someone else?! And that goes double for Celestia! Ever since I got here, you two have drugged me, threatened me, lied to me, and now... now you've taken the only thing that gave me any hope that this arrangement could really work out." Anon replied, pulling away and raising his voice with each word.

Luna winced as his volume increased, "I swear by all that I hold dear that the time we spent with you was genuine! I know we bucked everything up, but Anon, please believe me! We never wanted to hurt you! We tried so many times to stop things before they got too far, but every time we change... it gets harder and harder to change back..." She admitted, tears streaking from her eyes once more.

Anon looked away from her as he grit his teeth together, his fists clenching tightly, "What the fuck is that even supposed to mean?" He demanded.

"W-when we change back into Nightshade and Sunshine, it's... it's hard to change back. Being with you and just feeling... normal, for a change... feeling like life is simple and there's somepony who actually wants to be with you not because of your position, or your power... but because of who you are, it's... it's not something that either of us have felt in so many years. Anon, I know we ruined your trust in us... but please, please just consider hearing us out. I know we don't deserve it... but the way you felt about Nightshade and Sunshine... that feeling goes both ways. We feel the same way about you." Luna explained.

Anon slowly unclenched his fists, and let out a long, sad sigh. His shoulders slumped, and he looked away from Luna she she stared at him, concern and fear plastered all over her face. He slowly turned toward the door, and walked away.

"W-wait! Anon, I know you're angry, but-" Luna began, quickly getting to her hooves.

"I'm fuming, Luna, but... more than that, I'm just... tired. Tired of being lied to, tired of being manipulated, tired of feeling like every time something good happens in my life, something horrible has to happen immediately afterwards. I just... I need some time to think." He replied, still facing away from the lunar princess.

"Anon, please-" Luna tried once more as she grabbed his arm with her hooves.

"Let go of me, Luna." Anon ordered, his voice just above a whisper.

With tears leaving streaks down her face, Luna slowly, and reluctantly released her grip on Anon's arm. The tall man walked to the door and left, his head hung low the entire way.

Left by herself, Luna could only stare after Anon. Shame, disbelief, horror, dread, and most of all, guilt, lingered in her heart and made her stomach twist. She slowly sank back down to her haunches, and then down to her belly, her face buried in her forelegs as she cried in earnest. Her sobs filled the empty observatory for the rest of the night.