The Next Day

Anon nervously paced back and forth in the dining room while Javelin sat on his haunches by his side. Across from them, Raven sat at the dining room table with a parchment in her hooves as she eyed her final piece of paperwork of the day for any imperfections. Once she was satisfied, she put the piece of paper down and fixed Anon with a slightly amused smirk.

"You know you don't need to be nervous, right? It's just a date." Raven said.

Javelin chuckled, "Ah, he always gets like this before his dates."

"I can't help it. This is the first real date I've been on since everything happened between us and... well I want things to just go right this time." Anon sighed, shaking his head.

Raven hopped out of her chair and made her way over to Anon's side before patting his thigh with her hoof, "Hey, it's gonna be fine. Celestia and Luna already like you more than you even realize. Trust me, it's gonna be fine." She said, a comforting tone in her voice.

Anon chewed his tongue for a moment, before giving a small nod, "Alright, alright. You're right. I'm just overthinking this." He relented.

"There you go. That's the spirit." Javelin smiled as he patted Anon's other thigh.

"Well, we'll let you have the dining room to yourself. Celestia should be done lowering the sun any moment now, so she'll be here in a second." Raven explained, heading over to the doorway, Javelin quickly following suite.

"You guys leaving me?" Anon joked.

"Well, of course. You've got your date tonight, and we've got ours." Javelin replied, a smile on his face as Raven nuzzled his cheek.

Anon smiled as he watched the pair reach the doorway, "Alright. You two have a good night. I'll see you tomorrow." He called after them.

"See you tomorrow! Have fun on your date!" Javelin responded, before following Raven out of sight.

Anon gave a small wave before turning back around to the balcony to watch as the solar princess slowly lowered the sun once more. The massive ball of flame dipped down the horizon until it hung just above the mountains off in the distance. The evening skyline gently shifted from a deep blue to a warm crimson and orange hue. Anon watched, part in amazement, and part in idle fascination at the sight, before Celestia turned around, her magical golden aura dissipating like smoke, wisping away in the wind as she walked toward him.

"Hello, Anon." Celestia greeted, her voice like a birdsong in a warm summer morning.

"Hey, Celestia," Anon replied, smiling gently, "You know, I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing that."

"I admit, the sight has not lost its luster even after a millennia." Celestia admitted, looking lovingly at the sunset.

Anon nodded as he put his hands in his pockets, "So will Luna be joining us?" He asked.

Celestia shook her head, "She and I wanted to take you on dates in our own special ways. We thought that splitting the date into two parts would be the best way to do that. Once our date is finished, she wanted to show you something special." She explained.

Anon tilted his head to the side, "Well, uh... I guess that's fine, but I might be pretty tired when it's time for my date with Luna then. I'm not exactly nocturnal like she is." He chuckled.

"She said not to worry about that. Luna was adamant that you be asleep for what she has planned, anyway." Celestia explained.

Anon perked up slightly at the news, "Oh, a dream date? That sounds cool as hell. Alright then. Well, then let's do this." He smiled.

Celestia nodded, "Then come with me. I have to take you to my room for this." She said.

Anon nodded and followed the solar princess as she turned around and led him down the hallway toward her room. They swiftly made their way through the castle, and arrived at the princesses bedroom in a matter of minutes. Once they were inside, Celestia quickly showed Anon inside and closed the door behind them, giving a nod to both guards outside in the process.

"Just give me a moment to take these bothersome things off." Celestia announced, before magically removing her regalia.

Anon's eyes widened ever so slightly as he watched Celestia strip from he royal garb. Once she was completely naked, she turned to him, tilting her head to the side in curiousity.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing, nothing. Just never seen you naked, before. Just kinda feels... I don't know, strange? It feels like I'm not supposed to see you like this." Anon admitted, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

Celestia chuckled, "I recall you explaining that your species is usually clothed, and I understand the confusion. I just needed to take all of that off for what we're going to do."

Anon slowly nodded, "Right, so... what exactly are we going to do?"

Now it was Celestia's turn to blush, "W-well, I've been thinking for a long time about our date at the museum, back when I was Sunshine..." She trailed off.

Anon tilted his head to the side, "Okay, what about it?" He asked, curiously.

"Well... I seem to recall you telling me that back on your world, you once rode on the back of a... horse?" Celestia continued, the word sounding alien on her tongue.

Anon's eyes lit up, "Wait a minute... you don't mean..."

"If you wanted... I'd love to try it. You did say I was the only pony large enough to potentially carry you... and I'll admit, the idea has sounded very interesting to me ever since." Celestia explained.

"This isn't... this isn't a sex thing for you, is it?" Anon cautiously asked.

Celestia instantly blushed heavily, "W-what!? No! No, of course not!" She hastily asserted.

Anon laughed out loud, prompting a heavy pout from the solar princess, "Oh man, you were so scared." He snickered.

"I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable." Celestia explained, with a sigh.

"Ah, I'm just messing with you. I think that'd be really cool to do, but, uh... there isn't really too much room up here for us to do much other than just walk around your room for a bit." Anon relented, turning to observe the interior of the room with a raised eyebrow.

Rather than reply with words, Celestia simply unfurled her wings and gave Anon a winning smile. After a moment of confusion, the offer dawned on him, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Wait, wait, wait, you can't mean... flying? Right?" Anon nervously gulped.

Celestia nodded, her smile never leaving her face, "I do. I think it would be a wonderful experience for the both of us. Plus, I'll get to show you a view of Equestria you've only ever dreamed of."

Anon held a nervous expression on his face as he slowly walked over to Celestia and the balcony. Once he was past her, he made his way over to the railing and looked down over the edge, all the way to the courtyard below, and the ponies walking home for the day. With a hesitant chuckle, he glacially turned around and looked at Celestia once more.

"A-are you sure it'd be a good idea? I-I mean, what if your ponies saw? What would they think?" Anon asked.

Celestia shook her head, "Honestly, I'm tired of caring about what my subjects think my relationship with you. I like you and that's all that matters. Besides, you're the 'hero of Canterlot' now, didn't you hear?" She snickered.

Anon's shoulders slumped slightly, "I... suppose... a-are you sure that it's safe?" He asked, in a last ditch effort to avoid the impromptu flight.

"I won't let you fall. Never." Celestia declared, stepping toward Anon with a look of compassion on her face.

"Alright... alright, let's, uh... let's do this, then." Anon said, swallowing his nerves.

Celestia smiled as she stepped toward Anon and leaned down low enough for him to easily climb onto her back. He was easily able to swing his leg over her haunches and effectively straddle her back, but he made sure to avoid hitting her wings with his shoes. Once he was on top of her, Celestia slowly stood back up to her full height, lifting Anon completely off of the ground in the process. She took a few preliminary steps to test out the weight and balance of having Anon on her back, only to find that the weight was quite comforting, and only made that much better when he leaned forward to place his hands on either side of her collar.

"Comfortable?" Celestia asked, looking back over her wither at Anon.

"Uh, yeah... yeah this is a pretty familiar view, I guess... just one question though. What am I supposed to hold on to? You don't have a bridle and reins or anything, do you?" Anon inquired, looking around the room, curiously.

Celestia blushed as she looked away, "Well, we won't have need of those for a while, yet. For now, just grab onto my mane, or if you'd like, you can wrap your arms around my neck. I'll be fine either way." She offered.

"If you say so." Anon relented, leaning forward and hugging Celestia's neck, and pressing his cheek against the top of her head in the process.

"Trust me, this will be a fun experience for us both." Celestia smiled, before starting a slow trot in a circle around her bed.

Anon eyed the mare with a puzzled expression as she did several circles in her bedroom, before reaching the door on the far side of the room from the balcony and pausing. She turned to face the open doorway leading to the outside world and gave a little shake as she pawed at the floor with her foreleg.

"Hold on tight." She instructed, prompting Anon to do just that.

Once she felt him squeeze her, Celestia broke into a gallop toward the doorway. She covered the entire room in less than a second, and in one great leap, left the balcony. Her wings spread wide, instantly catching the air and propelling the both of them forward even faster. Wind gusted through both of their hair, sending it billowing out behind them as Celestia flapped her wings again and again, gaining even more altitude with each flap.

As he hung on for dear life, Anon felt the cool wind blasting his body as Celestia flew into the warm light of the fading sunset. He slowly opened his eyes, and gazed out at the beauty of the skyline before him. The sight rendered Anon completely speechless, as the sheer majesty of the blood orange horizon came into his view, and captivated his attention.

Rocky mountains off in the distance looked like small boulders from the great height, and even the clouds themselves appeared as nothing more than a fluffy blanket for a small child as they gently drifted across the sky. Rivers flowed and luscious green filled the land below, only to be tinted orange by the sun as it kissed the edge of the horizon goodbye for the night.

Anon felt a tear drip from his eye and fall to the world below while he stared, captivated by the sheer magnificence of the world before him. His eyes gradually drifted down to see the being granting him the fantastic view, and her brilliantly flowing mane of rainbows as she wore a serene smile that genuinely carried all the way to her eyes. Her wings gave a few more flaps before she settled into a gentle glide, and looked back to him. Upon noticing his tears, she immediately spoke up, concern weeding its way into her voice.

"Anon? Are you alright? You're crying." She said, her voice still as gentle and harmonic as Christmas bells against his ears.

Anon wiped the tears from his eyes, before fixing Celestia with a smile that warmed her heart, "It's just... so beautiful. All of it." He said, placing his hand on her cheek and rubbing her ear with his thumb.

Celestia struggled to keep the tears from welling up in her eyes, but lovingly leaned into the gesture of affection without hesitation. She nuzzled her cheek against the palm of Anon's hand for a few moments before he pulled his hand away and looked back out over the world below.

"You know... I was really scared of falling before, but now... now all I can think about is how amazing this is. Your world is absolutely breathtaking." Anon admitted, softly.

Celestia followed his gaze over the horizon just as a tear fell from her watery eyes, "It certainly has its moments, I admit. Although, my sun doesn't simply shine for the trees and nature, it shines for everypony under it. You included." She replied, a serene smile lingering on her face.

After a moment of pause, Anon leaned forward and rested his head atop of Celestia's while he hugged her neck.

"I never did get a chance to tell you how beautiful I think you are... well, at least not when you were... well, you." Anon mumbled, reveling in the warmth of Celestia's mane against his cheek.

The sun princess gingerly reached up to Anon's hand with her foreleg, and pawed at him until he wrapped his fingers around her hoof. She felt a wave of warmth rush over her as her heart fluttered in her chest, and with a shuddering sigh, she spoke once more.

"You're too kind, Anon... thank you. Were it anypony else, I might think they were simply just buttering me up." She said, with a soft laugh.

Anon chuckled, "Well I guess it's a good thing that I'm not someone else, then." He replied.

For a few moments, they glided in silence, both content to simply enjoy each other as the last of the sun's rays sunk below the horizon. Sparkling stars quickly appeared in their vision as the sky turned shades of violet, purple, magenta, and finally, dimmed to darkness.

"I don't think I've ever told you how you make me feel, Anon... at least, not the full truth." Celestia announced, prompting a curious look from Anon.

"How's that?"

"You have something of a headstrongness about you that I've admired ever since the first day I met you. When you're forward with me, instead of dancing around issues, or simply speak to me as if I was any other mare, it... it makes me feel like a normal pony again. When you've been nothing but 'The Princess' for a thousand years, feeling normal again, it's... amazing. I feel like I can be myself around you... even if I've been doing a poor job of it up until now." Celestia elaborated, a small frown forming on her muzzle, only for Anon to gently scratch her cheek and redirect her gaze back up to him.

"Hey now, let's not get too wrapped up in the past. You almost went full supernova and fought Chrysalis when you were already injured and weak just to protect me. I forgave you." Anon comforted, rubbing small circles in Celestia's fur with his thumb.

The white alicorn smiled gratefully as Anon gave her more reassuring scratches and affection. She craned her neck around to look at Anon properly, before gently pressing her forehead against his. They both closed thier eyes and simply enjoyed each other's presence while the wind softly whipped past them.

"I suppose I am just a tad overly apologetic, even now." Celestia murmured.

Anon simply chuckled.

"Just know... that you make me feel happy to be alive. Even in a world as beautiful as ours... being who I have to be grows old after a thousand years. You make each day feel like a new adventure. I cherish that." Celestia finished, pulling away just until she could look at Anon once more.

Anon opened his eyes and found two pools of magenta staring back at him with a kind of love he wasn't sure he'd ever even seen before. As the cool air passed by them, all he could see was the caring devotion in her eyes. He saw no more lies, no more deception, and it made his heart soar.

"Is this the part where we're supposed to kiss?" He asked, lovingly brushing his fingers through her mane.

"Only if you'll have me." Celestia replied, her voice nothing more than a whisper in the gentle wind.

Without another word between them, Anon leaned forward, and pressed his lips against hers. The contact was soft, gentle, but lingering, and as they pulled away from the chaste kiss, both of their hearts beat in sync.

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As Anon walked away from Celestia's room with a heavy sigh, he tiredly turned around to the sun princess and smiled.

"I had a really good time, Celestia. Thank you." He said.

"Me too. I hope you're not too opposed to going on more flights in the future. I had such an enjoyable evening that I find myself wanting more." Celestia replied, a small blush on her cheeks.

"More of the flying, or more of me?" Anon teased.

"Can't a mare have both?" Celestia replied, prompting a laugh from both of them.

"Well, I should probably be getting to bed. Not sure what Luna's got in store for me, but if it's anything like what we just did, then it's gonna be great." Anon smiled.

Celestia nodded, "She was ecstatic about what she was going to show you. I hope you two have a fantastic date." She smiled.

"Thanks. I'd better get going, but, uh... I'll see you later, yeah?" Anon asked, a glimmer of excitement in his voice.

"Of course, Anon. I'd love to." Celestia beamed.

With that, Anon leaned in and wrapped his arms around Celestia. While they were close, he placed a small kiss on her lips, making both of them blush, before pulling away. With a small wave, Celestia headed back into her room to sleep for the night, while Anon made his way over to his old room in the castle. Within a few minutes, he found his destination, stepped inside and prepared for bed. Sleep came quickly enough, and before he knew it, he was sleeping peacefully in his old bed.

When Anon opened up his eyes, he found himself sitting in the middle of an open field filled with tall grass that waved back and forth with the gusts of wind passing over them. Large mountains surrounded the field and framed the brilliant moon as it reflected distinctly blue light back down onto his surroundings, framing the world in a bright azure hue.

Anon quickly sat up and looked at the horizon to find that planets hovered close by, along with millions of speckling stars that gave even more illumination to the ground below. The brilliance of the night sky illuminated everything so brightly that Anon almost had to squint from the sheer volume of light filling the canyon he found himself in.

"Is it too bright? Here, let me fix that." Luna spoke up, her voice emanating from all around Anon.

Instantly, the brightness dimmed to an acceptable level, and Anon found himself searching for the source of Luna's voice.

"Luna? Where are you?" He asked.

"Oh, my apologies. I'll be right there." Luna replied, before several of the stars above suddenly swirled and moved out of the sky.

Anon watched in fascination as the stars danced back and forth with each other, eventually forming a spiral that darted down to his side and exploded into a flash of light. Once the flash was gone, Luna stood before him, her crown and regalia forgone and a simple teal bandana wrapped around her neck.

"Hello." Luna smiled.

"That was quite an entrance. You look great, by the way." Anon returned the smile.

"Thank you, Anon. You look dashing as well. My apologies for not being here to greet you. I had to finish up with another pony's nightmare over in Manehattan. As of now, however, I am officially free for the rest of the night." Luna beamed.

"Awesome. How'd you free up the whole night though? I thought nobody else could do your job." Anon asked, curiously.

Luna dismissively waved a hoof, "Oh, Equestria can go one night without my full protection. Ponies are hardier than that, I mean, if we weren't, then all of ponykind would have been wiped out during my thousand year absence." She replied.

Anon shrugged, "I guess that's fair enough. Now, what did you want to do for the night? Since I've got you for the whole night, and everything." He teased.

"Well," Luna blushed slightly as she rubbed her foreleg with her hoof, "This isn't exactly your dream, right now. I was hoping to show you... a bit more than just that." She explained.

"What do you mean?" Anon asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I would much rather show you than tell you. I think it's more exciting that way." Luna replied.

"Okay. I guess I'm ready when you are." Anon shrugged.

With a nod, Luna walked over to his side, her horn already glowing white hot with magical intent. Anon watched in slight apprehension as she reached his side, and cast a spell that surrounded them both in a transparent bubble. Once that was done, the bubble quickly lifted off of the ground and flew into the sky. Anon watched the world around him as the bubble flew along the inside of the canyon, quickly passing a river, trees, bushes, and a whole manner of other strange structures that stuck out of the ground like large toothpicks.

Anon pressed his hands against the bubble as he noticed dozens of white dots littering the canyon floor below.

"Hey, Luna? What are those little white blobs down there?" He asked.

"Those are pony's dreams, Anon. Yours looked just like that until I pulled you here." Luna explained.

"Uh huh... and where is 'here', exactly?" Anon questioned, turning to look at Luna.

"The dream realm." Luna happily answered, just as the bubble reached its final destination.

The bubble popped, leaving Anon and Luna standing on a platform in front of a massive swirling vortex of dreams that spiraled and circled each other in a mesmerizingly rythmatic display. Anon stared in awe a the sight while Luna simply walked toward the beautiful sight as if it were nothing special. After a moment, Anon rushed to catch up with her.

"So, what do you think? I like to organize them this way so I can easily keep track of the nightmares." Luna said, fixing Anon with an excited smile.

"Luna, this is... just wow. This is amazing. I've never seen anything like it." Anon replied, looking up at the dreams passing by.

Each individual dream could be seen in brief flashes as the white blurs passed by. One showed a mare with a stallion, simply enjoying each other's company, while another showed a colt playing with his friends. Anon let out a breathless chuckle at the sight, before one dream in particular caught his eye.

"Why's that one red?" He questioned, pointing to the offending dream.

"Hmm? Oh that's a nightmare," Luna let out a sigh, "I hate leaving pony's without my aide, but as I said, tonight is a night for the two of us. Not for all of Equestria." She replied.

"You know, Raven told me about it a little bit, and you have too, but neither of you really went super into detail about it. How exactly do you deal with a pony's nightmares?" Anon asked, curiously.

"It depends on the nightmare. If it's something as simple as a filly giving a presentation in front of their whole class, then I usually just speak with them about not letting anxiety get the better of them. If it's something more dramatic... like nightmares of the changeling invasion, then I have to be much more... violent. " Luna admitted.

"Woah, woah, woah," Anon replied, waving his hands around, "You mean to tell me that you've been getting to kick changeling ass this whole time and you didn't invite me?" He questioned, leaning forward with an expectant look on his face.

"W-well... I wanted to... but I wasn't sure if you would enjoy the act as much as I do." Luna replied, sheepishly rubbing her foreleg.

Anon quickly looked at the nightmare, finding that there were indeed changelings present in the dream, and they were quickly encircling the lone pony in the scene.

"Well now's your chance to make it up to me." Anon smirked.

A grin quickly spread on Luna's face, "You know, smashing Changelings does sound romantic when you think about it."

"It sure does. I just wish I had something to hit them with." Anon responded.

Luna laughed, "Anon, this is the dream realm. Anything you can dream is reality here." She explained, before a set of navy blue armor magically appeared on her, covering most of her body.

Anon stared at Luna for a few seconds, his jaw barely resisting the urge to drop, before he looked down at himself. He took a moment to concentrate, and much like Luna, a set of green armor appeared around him, complete with a golden-visored helmet and a bright white 'one-one-seven' on his chest.

"Oh yeah. Daddy likes." Anon grinned, as he admired his new suit.

"Now, shall we go save that dreamer, Anon?" Luna asked, a smirk on her face.

"Yeah," Anon replied, his voice suddenly much deeper, "Just one more thing... I need a weapon."

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Some Time Later

Anon and Luna reappeared in the dream realm, both absolutely covered in slime green blood. They both shared a hearty laugh as their armor vanished from their bodies, taking all the changeling remains along with it.

"Ahahaha, you took Chrysalis's head off!" Anon doubled over in laughter.

"Well of course! She said my flanks were the size of my sister's. That's just uncalled for!" Luna replied, through her giggles.

"Aw man, that was great. That was the most fun I've had in forever." Anon wiped a tear from his eye as he finally managed to control his laughter.

"Agreed. That was much more enjoyable than the actual invasion. Much less at stake, as well." Luna nodded, walking up to Anon's side.

Anon sat down as Luna approached, a small mat suddenly appearing under him just as he reached the floor.

"Did you see the look on that pony's face? They were absolutely not expecting us to come in guns blazing like that." Anon chuckled.

"Or 'chainsaw-guns', as you called it. I thought they were going to faint when you cut that praetorian guard in half." Luna snickered as she sat down beside Anon.

"Fainting? In a dream? What would even happen then? Would you just... go into another dream?" Anon asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"I'm not sure. I've never tried." Luna laughed, prompting another laugh out of Anon as well.

"This has been great, Luna. Thanks for this. I've had an absolute blast." Anon smiled, as Luna leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm glad. I was worried you would be terrified of the dream realm. You know, you're the first creature I've taken here in a thousand years." Luna replied, looking up at the swirling dreams in front of them.

Anon followed her gaze and smiled, "Thank you for sharing it with me."

For a few moments, they simply enjoyed the silence and view, but eventually, Anon turned his head to look down at the lunar princess with a soft smile on his face. She met his gaze, her teal eyes staring up at him with the comfort and gentleness of a calm ocean.

"Anon?" Luna asked.

Anon didn't answer. He simply leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Luna gasped silently as he kissed her, but quickly returned the kiss in earnest. After a time, they pulled away from each other, a hot blush on both of their faces as they continued to stare into each other's eyes.

"I think I can safely jot this down as the best evening of my life." Anon smiled.

Luna returned the smile, "It's only the start of many, many more."

Author's Note

Why yes, I have been playing Halo a lot lately, how could you tell?

I hope you guys liked that one. I had a lot of fun writing it. As for the vote earlier this week, an absolutely overwhelming amount of you were fine with the time skip, so I'm just gonna leave it as is. We're reaching the end of this story, and I don't feel like it'd be worth the time and effort to do a seperate thing after the fact anyways. I have a commission story to write after this one, you see, and a lot of people wanted a sequel to Cold, so I should probably get on that too, huh?