We don't talk about the Dark
"So you let him ride you into the room?"
Twilight chuckled, "It was pretty silly, but I had no reason not to." The moment in question being Spike's fifteen seconds of glory when Rarity was stolen by diamond dogs.
"I'm not sure if that's funny or obnoxious" Luna said, attempting to hide her smirk at the retelling. Apparently, one of the element bearers was foalnapped by a relatively benign group of simpletons a long while back. Of course, that didn't explain why Twilight had asked to meet with Luna, but the story was funny nonetheless
"After I busted the wooden door in, he shouted 'Lady Rarity, I'm here to save you!'" Twilight said, adopting a dramatic pose from a sitting position, and miming spike's voice.
"I have changed my mind." Luna placed down her teacup.
"What do you mean?" Twilight returned to a normal sitting position, her face taking on an inquisitive look.
"That is both funny and obnoxious."
The two burst into giggles, and they spent a minute trying not to glance at each other lest the giggling continue.
"Thank you so much for this meeting Twilight Sparkle, you always manage in some way to help put a smile onto my face."
Twilight struggled to respond for a second, lightly blushing, "I- it's nothing, we're friends, I'm glad to help"
Luna spoke once it looked like Twilight had settled down, "I take it, however, that you had a reason for coming here outside of simply chatting?"
Twilight looked guilty, "Yes bu-"
"Do not feel guilty Twilight Sparkle. Both you and I are busy ponies, and it is a long trip to Canterlot, the fact that you chose to come see me in person and speak with me of stories says a lot of your character."
Twilight looked a bit better, "I mean, I do have something to ask you... and I did want to spend time with you, but that's not why I came in pony."
Luna raised her eyebrow, "Surely you'd ask any question such as that to my sister? Am I mistaken?"
"No." Twilight said, "Not this, at least, not in a letter."
Luna took another look at Twilight. Her tone had shifted a large degree, and while she noticed the bags under Twilight's eyes upon seeing her, Luna had assumed it was simply Twilight being busy, or staying up studying or something. Upon a more intense look, Luna noted that Twilight's exhaustion encompassed her whole form. Her back arched, her wings drooped just a little, and her head hung down just a fraction.
"You've not been sleeping." Luna stated, or tried to broach at all, "Are you having nightmares? I'm sorry if-"
"No no, no nightmares" Twilight interrupted waving her hooves placatingly, "Rather, it's something keeping me awake."
Luna waited for a moment, "Something scary, Twilight Sparkle?"
"Something scary." She said.
In all of Luna's experience, she struggled to connect with ponies, but from a logical sense, she wasn't completely inept. She knew Twilight was struggling to say what she wanted to, so Luna simply waited in silence to let Twilight gather her thoughts.
A minute passed.
Two minutes.
Luna felt like she had to break the silence, "You are safe here Twilight Sparkle. Whatever is frightening you will not harm you. Especially not in my presence." Luna's face hardened, and her wings spread instinctually, defensively. Did someone threaten Twilight? The Twilight she knew was brave enough to stand against even her at the height of her power before she was an alicorn. What could have her so scared?
"Okay. So." Twilight began, "Let me try and... Let my try and explain this logically."
Luna simply nodded, and waited for her friend to begin.
"You can feel things with your hooves right?" Twilight lifted up a hoof, potentially to showcase the act.
Luna blanched, confused, and lifted up her own hoof in response, looked back at Twilight and nodded reactively.
Twilight began again, "If you're hoof isn't touching anything, you can still feel something... right?"
Luna felt her hoof, simply hovering, "I suppose so."
"Right, but it's just air pressure, from the atmosphere around your hoof. Our minds filter it out, but in the absence of anything else, it's still noticeable."
Luna's concern shifted a bit as Twilight began to explain, the tone and the connotation reminded her so much of her sister.
"It's the same with sound. Even in perfect silence, you can still hear things, but really it's just the sensitive microscopic hairs in our ears that shake when our hearts beat." Twilight continued. picking up speed in her explanation
"When there's nothing in your mouth, you can still taste if you focus. What your tasting is just the bits of saliva and other materials sitting in your mouth."
Luna realized what was happening, and her wings spread further, and her eyes widened. Touch, hearing, taste... She had to stop this. "Twilig-"
"It's the same thing with smell, air, like water, has a unique but bland smell that we forget exists until we're really thinking about it"
"Twilight, please stop." Luna said, but Twilight wasn't listening, at this point she had stood up, her eyes were as frantic as her speech. Luna quietly debated jumping over the table and clamping Twilight's mouth shut, but she hesitated.
"So, in the absence of light... What are we looking at?" Twilight ended, and turned to look at Luna, and nearly gasped. Luna was looking at Twilight in near terror.
"Luna?" Luna didn't move. She didn't think. She didn't see
"Luna" Twilight said more urgently, "Luna, why can we see darkness?"
No... Luna didn't know what to do now, she hesitated, and Twilight had spoken, and it was too late.
"STOP" The royal canterlot voice nearly blew the windows out as Luna screamed at Twilight point blank.
Twilight, already terrified, stopped, she didn't move, didn't even breath, didn't blink. Her mind struggled to understand why she was shouted at, what it... Didn't blink. Her eyes widened further.
"Guards!" Luna bellowed, "fetch my sister! Now!"
Twilight struggled to keep her eyes open and focused on Luna as she yelled.
Luna turned to twilight, and simply slid the table out from between them with her magic.
Twilight stepped away on instinct, terrified.
"Twilight Sparkle, look at me."
Twilight wondered for a moment at the nature of the statement, as if she would ever look away. She was shaking, and the dryness of her eyes combined with her terror of the last week being proven correct was causing her eyes to tear up.
"Twilight! Focus!" Luna had grabbed Twilight by the front two hooves and pulled them both into a sitting position. As she fell back, either on instinct, or from panic or something else,
Twilight blinked.
She saw darkness for a split second.
Then she opened her eyes again
That was a mistake.
Author's Note
A little short that burned it's way out of my mind from my existentialism fits. Now it's ponies, and I feel a little better about it.