To Love a Mareby Mayhem DarkshadowChaptersThe SleepoverStrange FeelingsThe Best Way to Keep A SecretJudgmentStrange OccurrencesThe ApologyBackfireTrial and ForgivenessFirst Heart's and Hooves DayThe SleepoverWritten by: Mayhem Darkshadow ******************** Chapter 1: What Shall We Do Then? Princess Luna paced around her bedroom trying to come up with something to entertain herself with. This was the second week in a row that she would do nothing but pace around her room trying to think of something fun, in fact she was pretty sure she had managed to wear a rut in the floor. She was new to the whole idea of fun but she wasn't about to give up so easily. "There must be something that I could do for fun," said Luna to herself. She looked over at the big screen TV and all the video game consoles. Celestia had bought her these to help her adjust to the modern world. Luna was good at gaming, too good in fact because she had beaten every game she had for every console and whenever she tried to play online nobody would play with her because she was too good. So the TV and consoles sat uselessly on the dresser. She flopped onto her enormous bed and stared at the ceiling. She was so bored she started counting the number of starts that had been stitched into her bed canopy, which didn't take that long. "Two hundred and twenty," she said to herself. This was beginning to get very annoying, she had nothing to do. Celestia was sleeping so she couldn't play or talk to her; she didn't want to bother the guards or the castle staff because she would just be keeping them from their duties. Who could she spend some time and have fun with, who? Luna bolted up from her bed with sudden realization. "Of course how could we...I be so stupid," she said aloud, "Twilight Sparkle our closest friend. Surely she could be a source of entertainment for us...me." Luna was very happy for a long period of time, but then she looked at the clock and went back to moping. "But it's too late at night and we...I don't want to disturb her sleep," she said out loud. Luna flopped back onto her bed, but then she bolted back up again. "Maybe we could have one of those, what did Celestia call them...sleepovers I think they were called," said Luna. Luna got up from her bed and went to her desk. She pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill and began to write. Dear Twilight Sparkle, We were wondering if you would maybe like to come to the Palace tomorrow evening and partake in a sleepover. If you are busy and cannot make it then we understand and we maybe hope that there is some other time this could happen. Please send a response ASAP so that we can plan accordingly. Princess Luna Luna read over the letter she had written and when she felt it was ready she used her magic to send it to Twilight via her baby dragon Spike. Luna just hoped that she would be able to come over tomorrow, this boredom was driving her insane. ********** Twilight woke up to the wonderful smell of breakfast, as well as the sound of clinking pots and pans. It sounded like Spike was making breakfast. She got out of bed and stretched her legs. She had what was probably the best night of sleep of her life. She decided to go to bed before midnight, which almost gave Spike a heart attack. She rubbed her eyes and then went downstairs to the kitchen. Spike was at work making pancakes, scrambled eggs, and hay bacon. "Hard at work are we?" asked Twilight. Spike looked over from the stove and smiled. "Well I was craving everything I'm making and decided to whip it all up. I invited everyone over for Sunday brunch if you don't mind," said Spike. Brunch? Twilight looked at the clock and realized it was 11:00 AM. "Oh no it's eleven I'm going to be behind on my work," said Twilight with a bit of panic in her voice. "Calm down Twilight I made this brunch so you could relax and spend some time with your friends," said Spike with a bit of anger in his voice. Twilight felt bad for what she said and her ears fell down. "I'm sorry Spike I just had a panic moment there. I hope I didn't make you feel underappreciated," said Twilight. "It's alright Twilight. On a different note you got a letter this morning. It's sitting on the table," said Spike. Twilight sat down at the table and picked up the letter that was sitting on her plate. She opened it a read it thoroughly, it was a very intriguing and thought provoking letter. "Is it from Princess Celestia?" asked Spike. "No it's from Princess Luna. She wants to know if I want to come to Canterlot tonight and have a sleepover with her," said Twilight. "Are you going to go?" asked Spike. "Well I don't know Spike, I'm behind on my work and I really think I need to stay home and do some work," said Twilight. "Come on Twilight go and have some fun. You're like Princess Luna's only friend and I'm sure she doesn't normally do anything when she's alone. It would probably mean the world to her if you showed up," said Spike. Twilight thought about what Spike said. She really was Princess Luna's only friends. It was sad but it was true. She taught Luna how to have fun last Nightmare Night and Luna had so much fun. Princess Celestia had noticed this and had asked Twilight to send letters to Luna. This happened for awhile but then the letters from Luna stopped coming, that and Twilight kind of forgot about it. "Alright Spike clear up by schedule for the evening I'm going to go to the sleepover," said Twilight. Twilight went and got a piece of parchment and wrote a response to Luna. She had Spike send it out and just in time because there was a knock on the door. All her friends showed up right on time for Sunday brunch. Twilight cleared her head and told herself that today she was going to have fun, and tonight she was going to make sure that she and Luna had fun. ********** Luna had gotten Twilight's response and was filled with unusual joy. She couldn't wait for Twilight to come over so they could have some fun. Then she realized that she had no idea what to do at a sleepover. She herself had never had one. Before Twilight was do to arrive she went to the Canterlot Library and tried to do research on what to do at a sleepover. She found nothing and started to get worried. She sure hoped that Twilight would have some ideas. Around six o'clock Luna got a knock on her door. "Your Highness, Twilight Sparkle is here," said the guard. "Send her in," said Luna. The door opened and Twilight walked into the room. She had never been in Luna's room before, but she had been in Celestia's when she was filly. The room was the same size as Celestia's, in fact the only difference seemed to be the color scheme. Celestia's room was white with vibrant colors, whereas Luna's was dark blues and black. It was still very nice. "Hello Twilight Sparkle, we...I thank you for coming," said Luna. Twilight noticed that Luna had used I instead of the royal "we" like she normally did. "Princess Celestia said that you had been going to a speech therapist. I just noticed you said I instead of we," said Twilight. "Oh yes our...my sister wants the best for me and it does seem to be helping," said Luna. Twilight set her saddle bags down and then looked at Luna. "So, what shall we do then Twilight Sparkle? I have never partaken in one of these sleepovers," said Luna. "Oh...well I'm not exactly an expert myself. I've only had one and it wasn't exactly the best. But I have a book that could help us," said Twilight. Twilight grabbed a book from her saddle bag, it was the same book that she used when she had a sleepover with Applejack and Rarity. It had helped, slightly. The first half of the sleepover went way wrong, but the second half was much better. Twilight opened the book and look through it just to remind herself of how to go about this. "Well Luna, there are lots of things we can do. We can play games, tell stories, gossip, do each other’s hair, or even have a pillow fight. We really just need to have fun, which I'm sure is something that you want," said Twilight. Luna smiled, she liked having fun. "Alright Twilight Sparkle fun sound good," said Luna. "Please Luna, just call me Twilight," said Twilight. "Okay then. Well Twilight I just have one question, what is a pillow fight?" asked Luna. "Oh, well I guess the whole purpose is to throw and smack each other with pillows," said Twilight. Luna's horn irrupted with magic and the pillows that were on her bed shot at Twilight with blinding speed. Twilight was happy that they were pillows, because they were going really fast. The pillows kept hitting Twilight until she was buried under pillows. Twilight emerged from the pillows with her head spinning. The static electricity from the pillows had caused Twilight's mane and tail to frizz up. Luna fell to the ground, laughing her head off. Twilight looked in the mirror; she could see why Luna was laughing. "Well, I don't think pillows are suppose to fly that fast, but it was exciting," said Twilight. She took a step forward out of the pillow pile and grabbed her head. Luna got a worried look on her face. "I'm sorry Twilight did I hurt you?" asked Luna. Twilight shook her head and then felt a bit better. "No I'm okay, but maybe we should stay away from the pillow fights. I know they are pillows, but they still hurt just a little bit," said Twilight. "Well good, now why don't you let me fix your mane and tail," said Luna. Luna had Twilight climb up on her bed while she got her hair brush and other beauty supplies. She climbed behind Twilight and then went about brushing the static out of her main and tail. Twilight was surprised how ginger and careful Luna was with her mane, she really seemed to know what she was doing. Luna got her mane back to how it normally looked and then went about braiding parts of her mane into multiple braids. "Well Luna, I'm quite surprised that you...well know your salon techniques so well," said Twilight. She hoped that she would not offend Luna by saying this, and she was quite happy that she didn't. "My sister and I use to do this kind of thing all the time. I guess I didn't forget how to do this even after being trapped in the moon for a thousand years," said Luna. She finished with Twilight's hair and Twilight went to the mirror and looked at it. It was mind blowing how good it was. Twilight didn't really know much about styling, something that always seemed to drive Rarity nuts, so she kind of just brushed it out every morning and called it good. Luna had done a really good job. "Wow Luna this is amazing, I wish I could do the same thing with your hair, but I don't know much about this kind of stuff," said Twilight. Twilight looked around the room, stopping for a second to take note that it had started snowing. She then noticed all the video games that were sitting on the dresser. "I didn't know that you liked video games Luna?" said Twilight. Luna got up from the bed and came over. "Oh yes, Celestia gave them to me in hopes that they would keep me entertained. They did for awhile but I guess I'm a good gamer because I've beat them all and nobody online will play with me," said Luna, "Why, are you a gamer to?" "Well I wouldn't say that I am a serious gamer, but I've played some things here and there," said Twilight. Luna smiled and turned on the TV and the Ponystation 3. "Have you ever played Super Pony Battle 5?" asked Luna. "No, but I've played Pony Battle 2 once," said Twilight. Luna gave Twilight a controller and then they started playing. Right off the back Luna came to a conclusion, Twilight had lied to her. Luna still beat her in every round that they played, but it was just barely. When they finally had had enough Luna shut off the console and TV and then laughed a little bit. "You lied to me Twilight Sparkle, you are a lot better at video games then you claimed to be," said Luna with a laugh "Well, maybe just a little bit," said Twilight. They both yawned, they didn't even realize that it was one o'clock in the morning. They had played video games for five hours. "Well, shall we go to bed then?" asked Twilight. "Of course," said Luna. They both got ready for bed in Luna's bathroom and then climbed into Luna's giant bed. Not only was it very comfortable, but it was huge. Luna shut off the lights and then closed the curtains on the bed to shut out most of the light. Luna noticed that Twilight had left a lot of space between the two of them. Something clicked in the back of Luna's mind, an awkward question she wanted to ask Twilight. "Twilight," said Luna quietly to see if she was awake. Twilight turned over and looked at Luna. "Mmmhmm," said Twilight. "Would...would...would you maybe like to cuddle?" asked Luna. Twilight thought about what Luna had asked. Part of her wanted to say she'd rather not, but most of her for some reason wanted to. "Umm...sure," said Twilight. She flipped back around and moved closer to Luna until her back was rubbing up against Luna's belly. She was quite warm. Luna wrapped her hooves around Twilight and then used magic to pull the covers over her. If either of them could have read each other’s mind they would realize that they were thinking the same thing, was it alright for two mares to cuddle as they slept? Author's Note (3/15/2013)- This is in the process of being edited so as to make for a better read. Will swap this out with the new one when I get it back Strange FeelingsWritten by: Mayhem Darkshadow ******************** Chapter 2: Strange Feelings Twilight left Canterlot late in the morning the next day. The morning had been very awkward for her and Luna. It was good thing that Celestia had joined them for breakfast; she broke the tension quite easily. Twilight had very mixed emotions of what had occurred last night, and she didn't understand them at all. Was it wrong for two mares to cuddle as friends? She didn't have any idea. "Maybe I can do research on this, I'm sure I must have a book about all of this," said Twilight to herself. Books, her mind always went back to her books. She was so use to being a student that it's what her mind always went to. Whenever she had something on her mind she didn't understand she would always turn to the library for assistance. This was normally a viable solution in most cases, but she was unsure about this one. One thing was for sure, she needed to keep this a secret. ********** Luna found herself once again pacing around her room, but this time it wasn't because she was bored. This time it was because she was confused. Back before her banishment it was very common for the sisters to have harems that followed them around, even harems that contained other mares. Luna could remember times when she would lay down surrounded by at least three or four mares. Times had obviously changed, but Luna couldn't understand why she felt so weird about what had happened last night. "Twilight wasn't opposed to the idea. I don't understand why breakfast this morning was so...full of tension," said Luna out loud. Luna hoped that none of her guards could hear her, or worse Celestia. Her older sister would surely not approve of these weird thoughts that were swimming through her head. She did however realize that Celestia was the only person that she would be able to talk to about this matter; she just didn't have any idea how she was going to go about it without giving herself away. ********** Twilight ran around the library in Ponyville. She sent Spike out to run some errands so she could have some time to herself to sort out her thoughts and read some books. "Why...isn't...there...anything!" she shouted as she poured through every section in the library. There was nothing, not one single book that could help her. Never had she been let down so badly by books. She flopped into a chair and put her hooves over her face. "What am I going to do?" she said to herself. There was a knock on the door and she got up and answered it. All her friends were standing in the doorway with concerned faces. "Twi, you okay sugar cube?" asked Applejack. "When you didn't show up for our usual weekly lunch we figured something was wrong," said Rarity. Twilight had forgotten about this, she had become so absorbed in her research. "Oh sorry girls, I had my head crammed in the books and well you know how that goes," she said with a nervous laugh. All her friends gave her looks of understanding. "Well the restaurant isn't full, I'm sure we could still get a table," said Rainbow Dash. Twilight smiled and they left for the restaurant. She then realized that maybe her thoughts were something that she could discuss with her friends, discretely of course. ********** It was at the daily afternoon tea that Luna decided to bring up her feelings with Celestia. The castle staff brought their tea out and little snacks as well, just as they always did, and then left them. It was a good day for tea, it was still snowing outside. Luna thought about how she was going to go about this and then started with a simple question. "Sister...how do you know if you have feelings for someone?" Luna asked. Celestia put her cup down and looked at Luna. "Well...hmm what kind of feelings are these? Feelings of Friendship, or Companionship?" asked Celestia. Luna blushed a bit. "Well...I don't know I've just been having strange feelings about someone lately," said Luna. Celestia took a sip from her cup and then smiled at her sister. "Awe Luna do you have a crush on someone?" asked Celestia. Luna blushed even harder; this was where she hoped the conversation wouldn't go. She didn't want to be told that she had a crush on her sister’s student. "Well I don't know sister...I guess I'm not a hundred percent sure," said Luna. Celestia continued to smiled and kept pressing for information. "It's okay Luna these feeling are strange, but they are telling you that you are certainly having feelings for another pony. So who is it? Who's the lucky stallion?" asked Celestia. Luna didn't know how to answer this question and she panicked and tried to come up with something. "Well...it's...it's not a stallion," stuttered Luna. Her lips had failed her; this was the wrong thing to say. She waited for judgment but Celestia was still smiling at her. "Well that's alright Luna I'm not going to judge you on that. Whoever this mare she must be very special," said Celestia. Luna laughed nervously. "Yeah, she is very special to me," said Luna, "Should I tell her how I feel about her?" Celestia nodded. "An admirable idea Luna. I'm sure you're nervous but it would be best to tell this mare how you feel about her," said Celestia. Celestia finished her tea and then returned to her duties. Luna sat at the table for just a while longer, thinking about what her sister had just said. She would let Twilight know how she felt; she just didn't know how she was going to. ********** Twilight sat at a table inside Sugarcube Corner with her friends, not saying a word. They were all so busy talking and eating that they hadn't noticed. She wanted to ask them about these feelings she was having, but she didn't want to give herself away. She also didn't want to be judged. Finally Pinkie Pie noticed that Twilight had talked much and called her out on it. "You're being so quiet today Twilight. What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" asked Pinkie Pie. "Oh sorry girls, I have a lot on my mind right now," said Twilight. "Well what's wrong sugar cube. Anything we could help you understand?" asked Applejack. Twilight thought about what she was about to say and then spoke. "Girls, how do you know if you have feelings for another pony?" asked Twilight. All her friends eyes widened, even Fluttershy's. Pinkie, being Pinkie, burst with joy and started bouncing around. "Twili's got a crushie. Twili's got a crushie," said Pinkie Pie and the top of her lungs. Rainbow Dash grabbed Pinkie Pie and shoved a cupcake in mouth. "Announce it to the world why don't you," said Rainbow Dash. Her friend all turned to her and began to talk to her about what she was feeling. "Well it certainly is a strange feeling," said Rarity, "I remember my first crush. I had knots in my stomach for weeks." "I'm kind of feeling the same way," said Twilight. Her friends seemed to think it was very cute. "Well it's just a natural feeling. But you make it sound like you've never felt this before. You've never had a special someone?" asked Rainbow Dash. Twilight shook her head and her friends all giggled. "So, who's the lucky stallion? Anybody that we know?" asked Applejack. Twilight chose her next words carefully. "Well...it's not a stallion. It's another mare," said Twilight nervously. Her friends said nothing, but they weren't shocked at all and they didn't judge her. "Well there is nothing wrong with that," said Rarity, "I'll admit I've felt attractions to other mares...when I was younger." "There is absolutely nothing wrong with liking another mare," said Rainbow Dash. It was after they all reassured her that there was nothing wrong with her that she realized she had the best friends in the world. They told her that it was ultimately her choice, but suggested that she told the mare she had feelings for about how she felt. Twilight decided that she was going to tell Luna how she felt, whether or not Luna felt the same way about. She thought about how she was going to do this as she walked back to the library. ********** Luna sat in the Ponyville Library waiting for Twilight to get back from her lunch. Her baby dragon Spike had let her in and said Twilight would be back soon. Luna noticed he was a very good host, he offered tea, coffee, snacks, and even books. Luna thanked him but said that her visit would only be a quick one, stating that she only wanted to talk briefly to Twilight and then head back to Canterlot. Time passed and Luna felt that maybe Twilight was not coming back. She was about to make the decision to leave when the front door opened and the purple mare walked into the library. She had snow all over her body, but all of it fell off when she jumped in shock. "Luna, this is an unexpected surprise," said Twilight. Twilight took off her coat and then came over to Luna. Luna felt the knots in her stomach twist tighter, but she knew what she was going to say, even though she was embarrassed. "Twilight can I talk to you about something, in private," said Luna. Twilight looked at her funny and then took them upstairs to her room. "So what's going on Luna?" asked Twilight, "I'm normally only use to getting visits from your sister." Luna looked down at the floor in embarrassment; she thought that maybe she should wait to tell Twilight. She picked up her head and took a deep breath. "We...I want to talk to you about last night. Something happened inside me, I don't know what, but I've been having strange feelings ever since then. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable last night. I've felt these feeling before, when you showed me how to have fun during Nightmare Night. I dismissed them as nothing, but they have come back," said Luna. Luna had no idea that Twilight knew where this was going. It was funny because she had planned to the same thing tomorrow; Luna had just beaten her to it. Luna took another deep breath. "Okay I'm just going to come right out and say it. I...I...I like you...like more than a friend I don't know how to explain it." Luna's eyes filled with tears and she fell to the ground crying. She had felt sad before, but never like this. She closed her eyes and let the tears pour down her face. She then felt hooves wrap around her body and squeeze her tight. Twilight was hugging her and comforting her. Luna opened her eyes and they met the gaze of Twilight. Twilight smiled at her and Luna smiled back. "I've been feeling the same way. I didn't understand it because I've never had a special someone, though your sister always encouraged me to try and find one. I didn't realize what these feeling were until my friends explained them to me. I was going to come to Canterlot and talk to you but you beat me to the punch," said Twilight. Luna wiped some tears from her eyes. "So, you don't think I'm weird?" asked Luna Twilight shook her head. "Of course not," she said. They hugged again, for what felt like forever, and then looked into each other’s eyes. They didn't know what to say to each other, a sleep over seemed to have turned into a relationship. "So, where do we got from here?" asked Twilight. "Hmm...I'm not sure. Are we in a relationship now?" asked Luna. They both thought about this. Twilight had never been in a relationship and it had been more than a thousand years since Luna's last relationship. Neither of them knew the answer to the question. Finally Twilight spoke up. "I guess we are. Seems like it started faster than a normal relationship," said Twilight. Luna agreed but neither of them seemed to care at all. They were quite satisfied with the choice that they had made and were both eager to see where it was going to go. Both of them were glad that they had the same feelings for each other, if one of them didn't then that would have made for a very awkward friendship. Author's Note (3/15/2013)- This chapter has also been sent away for re-editing. Will change it out for the new one when I get it back. The Best Way to Keep A SecretWritten by: Mayhem Darkshadow Edited by: psychohooves ******************** Chapter 3: The Best Way to Keep a Secret Twilight and Luna decided to keep there blossoming relationship a secret from all of their close friends and family. Even though nopony had judged either of them for their feelings for each other, they just felt that they weren't ready to tell anyone yet. They both agreed that if anyone asked they would just tell them that it didn't work out, but they were still friends. Everypony seemed to believe this, and they were satisfied. There was something that they were both worried about however; that was how they would maintain their relationship even though Twilight lived in Ponyville and Luna was up in Canterlot. Luna suggested that they could continue having sleepovers, but Twilight said that would cause suspicion. Luna then proposed that she could just come to Ponyville during the day or at least maybe the afternoons; however, Twilight told her that this idea wasn't any better. Eventually, the two mares agreed on a plan. Once or twice a week Twilight would travel to Canterlot or Luna would come to Ponyville. This was a solid plan, and the two mares gave it a shot. The first week was a little rough, but the second week was much easier; furthermore, nopony showed any suspicion or even questioned them. It was after three weeks of keeping their relationship a secret that Twilight mentioned whether or not they would tell anyone. It was two weeks before Hearth's Warming Ever and Luna was in Ponyville for the evening. Twilight had sent Spike to Rarity's, much to his overwhelming joy, so that they could be alone. They were cuddled up together on the couch reading a book. The fire was warm and they also had a blanket thrown over them. "Luna?" asked Twilight softly. "Yes sweetie?" Luna whispered. "Do you think it's maybe time we tell our friends and family about our relationship?" Twilight asked her. Luna remained silent. She wasn't mad or angry, she was just pondering the question. "Hmm...well I don't know Twilight. Its been three weeks; however I'm just not sure if I feel ready to tell anyone yet," said Luna nervously after a long silence. "That's alright. I was just curious. Honestly I don't think I'm ready yet either. I know our friends and family would be very supportive, but it's the people of Equestria that I am worried about. What if they don't accept us? What if they make fun of us?" Twilight said with a small amount of worry in her voice. Luna pulled Twilight closer to her and squeezed her tightly. "We'll worry about that when the time comes. Right now let's just enjoy what we have right now," Luna told her with a grin. They closed the book they were reading and cuddled up under the blanket. They were both rather tired, and a nap would be nice. Their yawns were pretty much synchronized. "Perhaps we should take a nap," chuckled Luna after the third in sync yawn, "I'm tired, and I can only assume you must be after a yawn like that." "I suppose a quick one wouldn't hurt," Twilight giggled, "I told my friend Rarity to keep Spike very busy." Luna smiled and nuzzled Twilight softly. It took them a while to fall asleep despite how tired they both were. While they were awake they spent time planning out how they were going to break it to their friends and family. Neither of them just wanted to go around telling everypony they knew. They both agreed that they wanted that moment to be special. The way they felt sounded much like a proposal in a way; however, they were just going to worry about it when the time came. What they didn't realize is that the time may be coming sooner than they thought. ********** Spike walked back from Rarity's in the snow. He still couldn't figure out why Twilight had sent him away even though he had chores to do. He did get to spend a lot of time with Rarity, which was way better than chores in his mind, but still he had noticed that for a few weeks now Twilight had been acting odd. He asked once what was going on, but she wouldn't tell him so he didn't bother. He figured either eventually she would tell him or he would convince her spill the beans. He simply wanted to know what she was hiding from him. He shook off the thoughts in his head, probably for the better, and kept working his way through the snow piling up to the Ponyville library. When he finally got to the door he found that it was locked up tight. "That's odd. Twilight was home when I left and she said she wasn't leaving Ponyville today," he muttered to himself. He pulled out his keys from his bag and unlocked the door. The lights were off, and it was very quiet. The only source of light was coming from the flames of the fireplace. Spike put his bag down and searched for any sign of Twilight. His head began to swim with different thoughts. Was she ponynapped? Was she hurt? Did she leave and not tell him? These were insane ideas, but he didn't think that they were impossible. Spike took a few deep breaths and recollected his thoughts. He realized everything that he was thinking was silly. Twilight probably was just running some errands or something, and he was sure she would be back at some point. He turned the lights on, and went to his desk to get some work done. As he was writing he caught something in the corner of his eye, something he hadn't noticed when the lights had been off. Someone was on the couch by the looks of it. Spike turned around in his chair and his jaw dropped. Twilight and Princess Luna were asleep on the couch. "Tw...Twi...Twilight?" stuttered Spike. Twilight's head bolted up and it turned slowly towards the desk. She had a look of complete fear on her face. "Sp...Sp...Spike? Wh...what are you doing back so early?" sputtered Twilight in absolute fear. Spike had a serious look on his face. "Nothing, Rarity and I managed to get all her work for the week done. She wanted me to thank you for sending me over to help, but I have a better question. Is this why you have been acting strange for weeks? Is this why you've been going to Canterlot without me some days and sending we away to others?" he asked. Twilight hung her head with embarrassment. She didn't want to respond to any of those questions. Spike sounded angry and Twilight remembered last time she made him really angry, he wouldn't speak to her for a week. Luna began to stir and woke up as Twilight was trying to gather her thoughts and come up with a good explanation for what was going one between her and Luna "Twili, what's wrong?" asked Luna when she saw the look of dread on Twilight's face. Twilight didn't say a word and Luna turned her head and saw Spike. Her cheeks turned red and she turned away in embarrassment. "Oh dear, oh no oh no oh no," said Luna in a panic. They both got off the couch and tried to explain themselves. Spike seemed to have switched into attack mode. He began to persistently question Luna to see if she had done something horrible to Twilight. "So what did you say to get her to do this huh? What did you promise? Did you use magic? Is she under a trance and doesn't know it? Did you threaten her? What?! Tell me!!," Spike said with pure rage in his voice. He was furious that this was the secret Twilight had been keeping from him. Luna was overwhelmed by the questions. "I would never hurt Twilight. She is very special to me," whispered Luna timidly. Spike then turned to Twilight. "What did she do to you? Do I need to tell Princess Celestia?" "NO!!!" yelled Luna and Twilight simultaneously. Spike crossed his arms. "I just might have to since you're both acting rather suspicious," he snarled. He grabbed a sheet of parchement and a quill from the table nearby and began to write, but the quill and parchment caught on fire by a spell from Twilight. She and Luna were really in a serious panic now. They needed to stop this before something bad happened. "Spike, please let us explain," pleaded Twilight. Spike turned around and crossed his arms. "I'm listening," he told them roughly. Twilight looked and Luna and then began to speak. Spike was about to be the first person to find out about there secret. "Spike Luna and I are...well...I guess there is no other way to say this... Spike we are in a relationship," said Twilight nervously. Spike unfolded his arms but he was still glaring. Twilight continued to speak, and she could feel tears building up in her eyes. "The reason I have been either going to Canterlot alone or sending you away is because we have been using that time to spend together alone. We didn't tell you or anypony else because we aren't ready to announce our relationship to anyone yet. I'm sorry that you were in the dark this whole time, and please understand that if I felt comfortable enough to tell you I would," said Twilight. She sounded on the verge of tears. Spike's anger subsided and he didn't want to let Twilight continue. However she started before he could stop her. "Please...please forgive me Spike...please," cried Twilight. Twilight broke down, and started crying. Luna embraced her and cooed her all while glaring at Spike. Spike felt terrible. He had never made Twilight cry before. He had also never yelled at her before like that. He didn't know what came over himself. He just was worried about her and protective instincts just seemed to kick in. He wanted to apologize, but Luna was still comforting Twilight. It was only when she finally stopped crying that he got his chance. "Twilight I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry. I was just worried about you. Something just sort of happened and all I wanted to do was protect you and make sure you were okay. I'm so sorry Twilight," he told her sincerely. Twilight wiped some tears from her eyes, and then smiled at Spike. "I know you didn't, and I understand," she said. Twilight came over and gave Spike a tight hug. He then proceeded to apologize to Luna for how he yelled at her, and she accepted his apology. "But did you really have to keep this a secret? I mean I wouldn't have told anypony unless you said I could," said Spike. Twilight wiped the stray tears from her eyes. "Well...we didn't want to be judged. It's not really friends and family we are worried about. It's other ponies. Stuff like this spreads like a disease, and Luna and I aren't ready for that," said Twilight. Spike understood, and he said that nobody would find out. He then turned to Luna to apologize to her. "I'm so sorry Princess. I didn't mean to say those things. I'm sure you do care a lot about Twilight, and if she is happy then so am I," said Spike. Luna smiled at Spike and accepted his apology. "Don't worry. I understand you just wanted to make sure she was safe. Know that I would never let anything bad happen to Twilight. I care for her deeply, for she was my first friend and much more than that now," said Luna. These word were reassuring to Spike. He promised for the third time that nopony would find out until they were ready to make the announcement. Twilight was glad that things had not gone as bad as they could have. Luna was special to her, but so was Spike; after all, Spike's friendship was not worth losing. Author's Note So...sorry this took so long to get out. It probably could have been posted last week I just kind of forgot that my editor had sent me the edits to it. I hope this is a bit better then the first two chapters. Also sorry that it's so short but I kind of ran out of ideas. Trust me when I say that it was much shorter before I added a bit more to it. Anyway enjoy and I'll try to do the next one ASAP. JudgmentWritten by: Mayhem Darkshadow Edited by: psychohooves ******************** Chapter 4: Judgment The week of Hearth's Warming Eve Twilight and her friends and their families all departed from Ponyville to Canterlot. Princess Celestia had invited them to spend the weeks of Hearth's Warming Eve and New Years at the castle. She stated in her letter that she and Luna wanted to spend time with close friends and also that it would be nice to have the castle full of people for the holidays. Literally a minute afterwards, Twilight received a note from Luna. Luna had arranged that Twilight's room was right across from her's, so Twilight would be able to easily slip into her room during the night. Twilight was looking forward to it, and so were are her friends. They arrived at the castle the Sunday of the week of Hearth's Warming Eve. Luna and Twilight had to control themselves; however, they did get some alone time when Luna took Twilight up to her room. They dropped off Twilight's belongings and then migrated to Luna's room. It's been a week since they've last seen each other. After they shut the door, Luna gave Twilight a warm kiss - their first ever kiss. "I've missed you," whispered Luna. Twilight kissed her back and then nuzzled her cheek against Luna's. "I've missed you too," she whispered back. They sat on the bed and conversed for a little while. "So," said Luna with a slightly peppy tone, "I was thinking maybe, if you're ready, tonight at dinner we could maybe tell everyone." Twilight thought about what Luna said and then came up with an idea. "How about one more day of secrecy and then tomorrow at breakfast we tell everyone?" she asked. Luna thought the idea over. She thought it was a good plan and didn't think one more day of secrecy would hurt. Nobody else knew about their relationship besides Spike, and much to their pleasure, he has kept the secret safe. "Okay my little bookworm. One more day, and then we let everyone know tomorrow. I must say, I think I'll be glad to tell everyone," Luna told her. Twilight agreed. She was pretty sure her friends and family were starting to grow suspicious of them. Luna was also pretty sure that Celestia was trying to figure out what was going on. It would be good when everyone would finally know about them. "So, what should we do?" asked Twilight curiously. "Hmm, well lunch isn't for a few more hours. Do you want to walk through the gardens?" Luna asked her. Twilight nodded and laughed sweetly. "Let me get my coat," she giggled. ********** The day wore on, nothing significant occuring. Lunch was uneventful, and so was dinner; however, it was good to talk to everypony. Twilight hadn't seen her parents in a month, and her brother and Cadance in a few months so they spent a lot of time catching up. After dinner everyone went their separate ways. During dinner Luna had whispered to Twilight to meet her up in her room for a surprise. After dinner Twilight had to dodge some conversations and a cupcake eating contest with Pinkie to make it up to the room. Luna was waiting for her on the bed. She was wearing her scarf and jacket, and she had Twilight's as well. "What's the surprise?" asked Twilight with a confused look on her face. "Put on your jacket and follow me out to the balcony," said Luna smoothly. Twilight did what she was asked, and followed Luna out to the balcony; however, Twilight was confused, for there was nothing out of the ordinary. "Luna?" asked Twilight. "Don't worry. This isn't the surprise. Now climb on." Luna bent down and gestured that Twilight climb on her back. Twilight did, and Luna took off into the sky. Twilight held on tightly as they flew up to the mountains around Canterlot. They landed on a flat alcove, and Twilight disembarked. There was a bed on the alcove, along with lots of blankets, a kettle and water, and a telescope. Luna pulled Twilight over to the bed and they sat down on it. She got the water going and pulled the blankets over them to keep them warm. "Luna I'm confused. What's the surprise you talked about?" asked Twilight, still very confused. "Give me a second," laughed Luna. Her horn began to glow as she began to summon her magic. She looked up and the sky and so did Twilight. The clouds began to slowly disperse to reveal the beautiful starlit sky. Twilight had never seen anything so beautiful. She could see every constellation clearly. It actually seemed like the stars were brighter then usual. Luna had outdone herself with this night. "It's so beautiful," said Twilight as she admired Luna's work. "It's all for you," said Luna sweetly. She nuzzled Twilight softly, and then they looked at the stars and drank hot chocolate. The stars were bright, the sky was a deep, rich midnight blue, and there were even some shooting stars. "This is so pretty Luna. I've never been able to look at stars like this," said Twilight as she gave Luna a soft kiss. Luna was already blushing pretty hard and Twilight's kiss just made her blush even harder. "I'm glad you like it sweetie," said Luna quietly. They spent a few hours up on the mountain until it got too cold for them. Luna used her magic to clear up everything, and then they flew back down to her room. They quickly prepared for bed and then climbed under the covers and snuggled so they could warm up. They were both a bit nervous as they fell asleep, tomorrow was they day that there secret would be revealed. ********** Celestia sat at the table in the dinning room. Everypony was sitting around it talking, waiting for the chefs to bring them breakfast. Normally she would just have the cooks bring things out throughout the morning and people could just eat whenever they woke up; however, this morning though she wanted to have a formal breakfast with everyone present. As she looked around the table she noticed that two ponies were missing, her sister and Twilight. She didn't seem to be the only one who had noticed. "Has anypony seen Twilight?" asked Applejack loudly. Everypony simultaneously said no. Celestia got up from her seat. "I'll go look for her and my sister. I'm sure Luna forgot to wake up, and Twilight is probably in the library even though I told her to relax," said Celestia. Celestia left the dinning room and went straight for Luna's bedroom. She had asked Luna to be up early but she had figured she would have over slept. After she woke her sister she would head to the library next. ********** Luna woke up with a big yawn, that had been one of the best nights of sleep she had had in a long time. She looked over at the clock and saw what time it was. They were late for Celestia's breakfast. "Twi, Twi wake up we overslept," said Luna quietly as she nudged Twilight. Twilight yawned and stretched then opened her eyes. Luna gave her a kiss and nuzzled her cheek with her's. "Morning sleeping beauty. Sorry to rush you, but we overslept and if we don't hurry, we'll miss Celestia's breakfast," Luna told her. "Oh, don't let my plans interfere with yours though," said a voice. The curtains on the bed were pulled open with magic and they saw a rather displeased Celestia standing in the doorway. She looked angry. "Both of you. My room. Now," she said sternly. ********** Luna and Twilight sat silently as Celestia paced back and forth lecturing them. "I'm not even angry about the whole thing. I'm angry because you decided to keep it a secret from me," said Celestia, still furious. Twilight had never seen Celestia this angry. She wasn't even like this when she accidentally used the love spell that one time. "Sister, we weren't ready to tell anypony yet. We didn't want to be judged," said Luna in protest. "Yes Luna, but she is my student and I am very protective of my students. Do you remember what happened to my last student?" asked Celestia coldly. Luna gulped and was speechless until she could find the words to say. "That was so long ago...I was a different person...I didn't mean to kill him..." stuttered Luna. "Princess, you know I would have told you right away, but I didn't want to be judged," said Twilight timidly. "Perhaps, but you should have told me anyway Twilight. I do NOT like it when my students keep secrets from me," yelled Celestia. Twilight's head fell, and she began sobbing. Celestia realized that she had gone too far. She had been caring for and mentoring Twilight ever since she was a filly and knew she was like a second mother to Twilight. Yet she had just caused her student to break into tears. Celestia sat down on the ground and pulled Twilight and Luna into a big embrace. "I am angry that you two didn't tell me, but I'm not going to hold it against you. I love you both more then anything in the world," Celestia whispered to them. They hugged for a bit longer and then Celestia let them go. "There is one thing however that I request you do. When we go downstairs I want you both to tell everyone. I don't want this to be a secret anymore to anyone," said Celestia in her usual tone of voice. Twilight and Luna looked at each other and smiled. "We were going to tell everypony at breakfast today anyway sister," explained Luna. Celestia smiled. She was glad they had planned to tell everyone. Keeping secrets is not the best way to keep your friends. ********** Everyone sat around the table eating the wonderful breakfast that the cook had prepared. Nopony said anything even though Princess Celestia had been gone for a while now. Also Twilight and Princess Luna hadn't showed up either. Just when everyone thought something was wrong Princess Celestia walked into the room followed by Luna and Twilight. They all sat down and then Celestia spoke up. "Twilight and Luna have something that they want to tell all of you," announced Celestia to all the ponies around the table. Celestia looked at Twilight and Luna and then they looked at everypony sitting around the table. Twilight and Luna looked at each other and then took a deep breath. "Everypony, I want to tell all of you that Luna and I are...well I guess... together is the best term to use," announced Twilight with no fear in her voice. They looked around at everypony. Some of them had looks of shock, others looks of confusion. But Pinkie's face was probably the most unsettling: a giant wide smile accompanied by extra wide eyes. "Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh this calls for a party!!!" she screamed. Pinkie jumped up from the table and began to bounce around faster then usual. She was also talking really fast. Rainbow Dash and Applejack jumped up and tackled her, but they couldn't stop her and instead got bounced around with Pinkie. "Who let her put too much sugar in her coffee?" yelled Applejack. "I think the better question is who let her have coffee in the first place?" said Rainbow Dash. With effort they both managed to get Pinkie to the ground, but she was still jittery and bouncy. "We'll um...take her outside for a while," said Applejack. The two ponies left with Pinkie and then all eyes were back on Luna and Twilight. Nobody said anything until Spike finally spoke up. "Well I'm glad you finally told everyone. It was getting too hard to keep the secret," said Spike. Celestia looked at Twilight and Luna. "I thought you said you didn't tell anypony?" she asked them. "We didn't. Twilight's assistant walked in on us sleeping on her couch together. We asked that he keep it a secret. And I think he deserves a reward for keeping it so long don't you Twilight?" said Luna. Twilight nodded, and Luna summoned one of the guards. "Bring the baby dragon a small goblet of rubies as a thanks for doing so well," said Luna. Spike's eyes widened at the mentioning of fine gems and he thanked Luna a millions times all while licking his lips. Twilight snickered at her assistant and then turned to her parents, her brother, and Cadance . "I'm sorry I didn't tell any of you, but I was to nervous to say anything. I didn't want to get judged either," said Twilight. "Twilight I would never judge you. You are allowed to make your own choices in life and if this makes you happy then I'm happy," said her mother. "I would never judge you sis. It's like mom just said you are old enough to make your own choices and I'm glad to see this one makes you happy," said Shining Armor. "I think it's cute," said Cadance with a giggle. Shining Armor looked at his wife and she looked at him. "Really? No words of encouragement? Just saying it's cute?" he said. "Well it is cute. They make a very cute couple," said Cadance, slightly annoyed. Twilight and Luna giggled and blushed and Shining Armor shook his head. Twilight turned to her father, who had been quiet this whole time, and didn't like was she saw. He was frowning, and his face had a looked that was a mix of anger and disgust. He got up from his seat and left the room. Her mother got up from her chair and followed and Twilight, Shining Armor, and Cadance did likewise. They all kept following him until they reached the castle entrance. "What's wrong dear?" asked her mother. "I can't accept this," said her father. Twilight stopped in her tracks. It was like she had just been pierced in the heart with a knife. "Wha...What?" she asked with a stutter. Her father turned around and faced them. "I can't accept this," he said, "It's not right and I don't want to think about it." Her mother got an angry look on her face. "You can't accept it? There is nothing wrong with it. She's our daughter and we should be able to accept the choices she makes," said her mother. "I just can't accept our daughter being in a relationship with another mare. I won't accept the fact that she's, well... that she's a fillyfooler," said her father. What her father said hit Twilight like a ton of bricks. "Daddy...you...you...why can't you accept me and Luna?" asked Twilight on the verge of tears. "Because it's not right. Two mares being together is wrong. I always hoped my daughter would settle down with a nice stallion, not another mare," said her father coldly, "If that is her choice then I don't want to have anything to do with it." Twilight's eyes began to gush tears, her father had basically just rejected her as his daughter because she loved Luna. Twilight turn around and ran upstairs to Luna's room, crying all the way and ignoring the yelling. ********** Twilight laid on Luna's bed crying her eyes out. She had lost track of how long she had been crying. Her father had just disowned her all because he couldn't accept her choice. She continued to sob when she heard the bedroom door open. Someone walked into the room and over to the bed. Whoever it was climbed in and laid down next to her. Twilight felt a wing cover her body, and she thought it was Luna, until she smelt the sweet smell of a perfume she knew quite well. "Your mother and brother are yelling at your father right now," said Cadance softly, "Celestia had to take Luna to her room because she tried to attack your father." Twilight continued to sob but she manged to get some words out. "He deserves it, he just disowned me," cried Twilight. Twilight went back to crying and Cadance gently rubbed her mane and cooed her. There was a reason Twilight had always called her the best foal-sitter in Equestria: Cadance was comforting her like she did when she was a filly. "Shh. It's okay sweetie. It's okay. Getting it all out will make you feel better," said Cadance softly. They sat there for about half and hour until Luna came into the room. Twilight wasn't crying anymore. Instead she was just sitting on the bed, staring at the wall. Cadance bent down and whispered softly in her ear. "Luna is here for you. If you need me at all you know were to find me," she said. Cadance gave Twilight a kiss on the head and then traded places with Luna. Luna climbed up on the bed and snuggled with Twilight. They were quiet for a while, and then Luna finally spoke up. "Do you want to talk about it at all?" asked Luna. Twilight shook her head. "It would just make me even more upset," she said sadly. "I'm sorry baby. That must have really hurt to hear," said Luna softly. Twilight nodded her head, and her ears fell. Luna kissed them a few times, and they perked back up. Twilight looked at Luna for the first time. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying so much. "I don't want to let this ruin the holidays...it's just I've never heard words like that from my father," said Twilight. Luna could only assume that Twilight's father wasn't normally like this, and this was just some kind of slip up of something. "Would you like to go back downstairs?" asked Luna. "Yeah... I think I'm out of tears," said Twilight with a slight chuckle. ********** It turned out that Twilight's father had left after the conclusion of the arguing with her mother and brother. His reaction really hurt Twilight emotionally, so it was very lucky that she had some of the most caring friends and family in all of Equestria. It didn't take Twilight long to push the events of the morning behind her and enjoy the holidays. Everypony, while still concerned about the episode that morning, was more interested in Luna and Twilight. They all asked questions and gave them their full support. Only one person talked to Twilight about her relationship alone besides Princess Celestia, and that was her mother. It was the day of Hearth's Warming Eve, and Twilight mother asked her to come up to her room, saying all she wanted to do was talk. Twilight was able to get up there alone and her mother was waiting for her on the bed. "So honey...I just wanted to make sure that you were okay after what your father said. Cadance said she went upstairs while we yelled at your father, and she said you were a mess," said her mother. Twilight trotted up to her mother and sat on the bed beside her. This was still a rather touchy subject; however she hadn't gotten a chance to talk to her mother yet. "Honestly, I was devastated when he said that. I've never heard Daddy talk like that before," said Twilight. "I know. I was just as shocked as you were. I never knew he had such a problem with...well... anyway... all that matters is that you are okay. I'm going to have a serious talk with him after the holidays are over. So I haven't got to ask you yet, but how did you and Princess Luna end up...well... together?" asked her mother sweetly. "Oh...well it was kind of sudden really. During Nightmare Night I taught Luna how to have fun and well...I guess act like a normal pony in today's age. She considers me her one and only friend in the world. Anyway, I'm getting off track. She asked me over to the castle for a sleepover, and we had a lot of fun. I slept in her bed with he and we ended up cuddling. I'll admit that isn't really much of a way to spark a relationship, but it did somehow. She came over the next day and explained her feelings for me and said she had been having these feeling since Nightmare Night. Well... it kind of just carried on from there," said Twilight. Her mother laughed a bit. Twilight just spoke as if she had prepared this explanation in advanced. She gave her daughter a hug and a kiss on the forehead. "Well if you are happy, then I'm not one to judge you. You're my daughter, but you are old enough to make your own decisions," said her mother. Twilight smiled and hugged her mother. "Thank you mommy," she said softly. "You're welcome sweetheart. Now let's go downstairs," said her mother. Author's Note He's another one. Much longer then what I normally do. This will probably be the last chapter for now until I can come up with some new ideas. Still unsure whether I will be putting it on hiatus or not. Also if y'all see any grammar or spelling errors my editor or I have missed please feel free to let me know so I can fix them ASAP. Enjoy Strange OccurrencesWritten by: Mayhem Darkshadow Edited by: psychohooves ******************** Chapter 6: Strange Occurrences Celestia walked up the stairs of the east part of the castle towards Luna's room. It was already twelve in the afternoon, and her sister and Twilight had not crawled out of bed yet. They must have been up later than she had anticipated. She wanted to surprise them with a lovely breakfast, like her own belated Hearts and Hooves Day celebration with her two favorite ponies in all of Equestria; however, since they were still sleeping, she figured they must have had one crazy night. Hopefully they didn't do anything too outrageous, Celestia thought to herself as she climbed the final few stairs. The door to her sisters bedroom was shut but not locked. Celestia gave a quiet little knock and then, when nopony answered, entered the room quietly. The curtains on the windows and surrounding Luna's bed were still shut. Celestia used her magic to opened the blinds, with complete knowledge that the curtains around the bed were enchanted to block out light. When the light flooded the room she was able to get a good idea of what happened the night before. Both of their dresses were laying on the ground along with some more scandalous items. There were also multiple empty wine bottles, some of which were Celestia's favorite and exclusive vintages. There was also a certain overpowering aroma: A mixture of sweat and other things. Celestia was pretty sure she knew what had happened. Oh well it was bound to happen at some point, she sighed, The best I can do is be supportive and not scold them for raiding my wine collection. Celestia shook her head slightly and then slowly open the curtains that were around the bed. A smile grew on her face when she saw the two of them. Twilight was cuddled up tightly against her sister, and Luna had her arms and wings wrapped around her student. Aren't they just adorable? she thought with a smile. However, the both of them smelled as if they had ran a marathon last night. This only caused Celestia to snicker lightly. She moved in closely and nuzzled them both on the cheeks softly. "Wake up sleepy heads," she whispered quietly into their ears, "You're both missing out on a wonderful day." At first there was no response, but finally Luna and Twilight began to stir. The both of them slowly rose out of bed, yawning and stretching their legs. "Good morning my dears," chimed Celestia as they began to become more aware, "Or...I guess I should be saying good afternoon." Luna and Twilight finally opened their eyes and were able to get a good look at their surroundings. After a fair amount of silence Twilight finally spoke up. "Did...did we do what I think we did last night...?" Luna took another second to look around at her room. There was absolutely nothing that didn't scream yes surrounding them. "Yes my love I think we did." Both of them immediately turned to Celestia and opened their mouths, but she stopped them before they could speak. "You both don't need to apologize for anything. I'm not even the slightest bit angry with you. I wouldn't even say I'm angry that you drank some of my vintage wines. The point I'm trying to make is that you did something that showed you two really do love each other dearly and have further cemented the bond you have together." This little speech was something Celestia had been waiting years to say to either Twilight or Luna; however, Twilight had been so shy, and Luna of course had her thousand year absence. Celestia never imagined that she would be giving the speech to them together. She was so overcome with emotions she pulled them both into a huge embrace and even shed a few tears silently. Luna and Twilight looked at each other and shrugged slightly. It was very unlike Celestia to behave in such a matter. The older princess finally let them go after making sure it didn't look like she had cried a little. "Well," she started, "You both managed to sleep through breakfast, but lunch hasn't been prepared yet. I want the both of you to take a bath and then come downstairs." Celestia turned and headed for the door. As soon as she put a hoof out the door she got it caught on a trip wire. She managed to pull her head back into the room just in time to see something impale itself in the wall at the end of the corridor. "Is something wrong sister?" Luna asked curiously. Celestia didn't move her head from where it was and tried to keep calm and collected. However, on the inside she was panicking. "Oh nothing. Just a thought crossing my mind," she replied calmly. She exited the room and shut the door. She turned and looked at the object impaled in the wall. It was one of the flag poles the guards carried. She glanced around the hallway and realized it was empty. This disturbed her quite a bit. Luna's guards were not at their posts like they were supposed to be. I must have missed that wire when I walked into the room. Something about this isn't quite right. ********** As Celestia shut the door Twilight turned to Luna. "She was acting very weird wasn't she?" asked Twilight curiously. "She was. I can't quite figure out why though," responded Luna, just as confused. Since they couldn't seem to piece anything together about what just happened they just decided to take a bath. They both walked together into the bathroom and Luna started the water. Twilight walked into the closet looking for towels when something fell from the ceiling and smacked her on the back of the head, knocking her to the floor. Luna heard the commotion and ran into the closet. Twilight was still on the floor clutching her head. She had been hit by Luna's chest plate. "Are you okay sweetheart?" asked Luna as she tried to look at Twilight's head. Twilight moved her hoof and Luna was glad to see that she wasn't bleeding. But she did have a nice welt. Luna kissed it softly and then helped Twilight up off the ground. Luna could not help but wonder though. How had Twilight managed to get hit by her chest regalia? Someone had obviously been going through her stuff and she was going to find out who. ********** After a quick bath, Luna and Twilight prepared for the day and then made their way downstairs. Twilight was still rubbing the back of her head. Luna gave it another kiss as they walked down the stairs to the main floor. "What just happened was very strange," mentioned Twilight halfway down the stairs. Luna nodded in agreement. The regalia had somehow been tied to the ceiling and fell when Twilight entered the closet. They were about halfway down the stairs when Twilight slipped on one of the steps and lost her balance. Luna managed to catch her and put her back on her feet. They looked down at the step she had slipped on. It was coated with grease. "You okay dear?" panicked Luna. "Yeah, yeah I'm okay," responded Twilight quickly. They both carefully stepped over the greased step and continued to the dining hall. They found Celestia waiting for them. "Is something wrong my little ponies?" Luna and Twilight sat down and then explained the situation to Celestia. "I think something is going on sister," said Luna after they finished. "Something is going on indeed," said Celestia, "This morning I was almost hit by a flag pole. So either the guards are playing a very very dangerous prank or something more serious is going on. Twilight and Luna looked at each other with worried faces. Considering that the guards would never play a prank on any of them, it could only mean that someone was out to get them. But who would do this? ********** (Earlier in the Week) Scarface and his gang of ponies walked into the backroom of Canterlot's seediest bar. Scarface and his gang specialized in...well the only word for it was mayhem. Lately business had been slow, but they had finally gotten a contract. When they entered the room there was a pony wearing a cloak and hood covering his face. "Thank you for coming gentlemen," said the mysterious pony. Scarface sat down while his gang stood around him. "So, you wish to contract some controlled chaos?" asked Scarface curiously. The pony remained silent. "You wish to contract controlled chaos?" repeated Scarface. "Yes, yes I do," responded the pony. Scarface smiled. "I assume you have the proper funds." The pony nodded and pushed a small bag of bits towards Scarface. "The down payment for your services. I'll give you the rest once the job is complete." Scarface's horn glowed with magic, and a knife came out from under the table. The knife sliced the bag open, and gold fell out onto the table. Scarface and his gang smiled. "What is it that we can do for you my friend?" asked Scarface politely. The pony sat forward. "I wish for you to scare Princess Luna." Some of Scarface’s cronies muttered among themselves. Scarface shushed them and then turned back to their customer. "This is a tall order sir," a stoic Scarface responded, "That will take a lot of work. Are there any specific requests?" The pony sat back in his chair and then sat forward again. "I do not want you to harm Princess Luna; just scare her enough so she'll leave her marefriend. However..." Nightlight pulled off the hood and revealed his face to the gang of criminals. "My daughter Twilight is her marefriend. I don't mind if you scare her too, but if you harm her at all I will not pay." ********** The following two weeks did not go over well for either Twilight or Luna. Weird little accidents kept happening to both of them. The most disturbing part was that they didn't happen all the time. One thing would happen only but nothing else afterwards, giving them a false sense of security, only to be caught off guard later. Luna spent a lot of time trying to figure out the meaning of these attacks. Twilight spent a lot of time cowering in the library. A lot of the "accidents" that kept happening had actually caused bodily harm to her. Both Spike and her friends had noticed this and tried to cheer her up, but it didn't work. She didn't want to leave the safety and comfort of the library, which she had kept locked 24/7 since the accidents started happening. ********** Twilight sat up in her room reading a book on transportation spells. She kept glancing around nervously. Spike was out at Rarity's because he had gotten fed up with Twilight's paranoid behavior. The whole library was quiet and for once Twilight felt slightly safe. It had been a weird two weeks but she felt that it was all behind her and Luna. Twilight let out a slightly happy sigh and then heard sounds coming from downstairs. She slammed her book shut and then jumped. Her heart began to race rapidly. Somepony was in her house. She got up cautiously from her bed and crept out of her room. Walking over to the balcony and looked downstairs. She didn't see anyone. "Hello, is somepony in here? The library is closed," called Twilight. No response. Twilight let out a sigh. She really was over reacting. Twilight laughed a little bit, and her stomach responded with a loud growl. Snack time I guess. Twilight took a step towards the stairs, and her hoof caught something. She tripped, fell down the stairs, and crashed into the wall. She closed her eyes in pain and then looked up towards the top of the stairs. She was able to catch the faint outline of a strand of wire. Twilight cried out and let some tears pour from her eyes. She crawled over to her desk and scrawled out a quick note. Luna, Another accident happened today. I'm really scared. Please come get me. Love, Twilight Twilight rolled up the letter and then sent it to Luna. The response was immediate. Luna said she was on her way and that she would bring her back to the castle. This was comforting for Twilight, but she was still freaking out. She crawled over to the couch and let some for tears fall. Something was going on and she didn't like it at all. ********** Celestia trotted through the castle towards the library. Luna had informed her that Twilight had gotten hurt from another occurrence and she was bringing her back to the castle. The occurrences were still going on at the castle too but Celestia, with the help of Shining Armor, had increased security tenfold. Luna's guards posted outside the door let her in. Twilight and Luna were sitting on the couch. Twilight was holding a cup of tea, which was shaking badly. Luna had a hoof around wrapped around Twilight. Celestia sat down and rubbed a hoof through her mane. "Are you okay my little pony?" Celestia asked her student softly. Twilight nodded and sipped her tea nervously. She was an absolute wreck. Celestia gave her a comforting kiss on the forehead and then got up from her seat. "I'm going to go increase security some more and I'll also let Twilight's family know she is here," announced Celestia, "Keep her safe Luna." Luna nodded and snuggled closer to Twilight. She nibbled on Twilight's ear, which caused Twilight to crack a smile and laugh. Celestia smiled and left them alone. It was time to get to the bottom of this. ********** Scarface walked into the back room of the same bar he met Nightlight in two weeks ago. Nightlight was there, waiting for him. "Updates?" asked Nightlight with a frown. Scarface sat down in the chair opposite Nightlight and smiled. "It's going well. Both Princess Luna and your daughter are quite spooked." Nightlight remained stoic, but inside he was quite satisfied. He hoped they would end their relationship soon. Scarface's smile stayed on his face as he reached into his bag and pulled out a tape. He put it on the table and slid it to Nightlight. "A video of what we have done so far and the reactions," explained Scarface. Nightlight took the tape. "Good. I've wanted to know how much progress was being made. Once they finally separate I will pay you the money." Scarface's smile fell. Nightlight was one of those kinds of customers. They were going to have to ramp up their activities so they could end it quickly. ********** Celestia sat in the throne room thinking about everything that had happened over the past few weeks. Other than the first time she set off a trap none of the other ones seemed to be for her. In fact they were all for Luna and Twilight. Someone really was out for them. There was a knock on the door and two of her Solar Guards entered the room. "Anything?" Celestia asked them almost impatiently. "Yes your Majesty. We managed to find over two dozen hidden cameras around the castle and Twilight Sparkle's house in Ponyville.” Celestia frowned. "Were you able to trace them to the source?" The guards shook their heads and Celestia sighed. This whole ordeal was slowly turning into a nightmare. "Please go and find out who sells these cameras. Question them and figure out who bought these. Please make haste," commanded a very serious Celestia. The guards saluted and ran out of the room. Celestia fell back into her chair and let out a grunt. What an utter mess this is becoming. I should go check on Twilight and Luna . ********** Scarface sat in the chair behind his desk counting up the gold they had been paid. It was enough for them to get by until they got the rest of the payment. There was a knock on the door and his technology expert came in. "What is it?" snapped Scarface. "Umm...the guards managed to find the cameras. They are on their way to the store we bought them from," said the pony nervously. Scarface slammed his hooves on the desk and got up. "Guess we need to go pay our security friend a visit." ********** Nightlight sat in his dark office holding the video tape the hired thugs had given him. He had some reluctance to watch it but he knew that Scarface and his gang always did what they were asked to do. "I have nothing to worry about they wouldn't step out of bounds if it meant not getting paid. Besides...I'm only doing what's best for my little girl," said Nightlight to himself. He took a deep breath, pushed the tape into the VCR, and pressed play. ********** Scarface sat on top of the pony that provided them with their surveillance equipment. He held a knife to that pony's throat while three of his men held the pony down. "Please!! You don't have to do this!" pleaded the pony, "I won't tell them who I sold the cameras to I swear. Please I have a family." Scarface was not a pony of the kind hearted nature and held a grimacing smile on his face. "Sorry, you've been a very helpful provider my friend. But we can't have any loose ends that will get us exposed." ********** Princess Celestia's Solar Guards galloped down Canterlot's main street towards Dave's In-Home Security. It was right around closing time, but they prayed the place would still be open. They traced the cameras back to this shop and were now hoping the owner could tell them who had purchased them. They galloped up to the door, which was still unlocked, and went inside. The lights were still on but the whole building was dead quiet. "Something isn't right," mentioned one of the guards to the other. They walked through the main building looking for any signs of life. Nopony seemed to be there. Then they came across the door to the office and noticed it was slightly ajar. They opened it and were appalled by what they found. "One of us needs to run back to the castle and report to the Princess immediately. This situation just got a hell of a lot more complicated." Lying on the ground was the owner of the store. He had a huge gash right across his throat and blood was still seeping out of it. The most troubling part about this was what was most noticeable. The gash was still fresh. ********** Nightlight sat quietly in his study watching the video tape. Tears were pouring down his face and onto the floor. This video was the most heart breaking thing he had ever watched in his life. Twilight sat cuddled up next to Luna crying her eyes out. Luna was doing her best to comfort her saddened lover. "Shh its okay Twilight it’s okay. Nopony is going to hurt you or me. We are safe here at the castle." The words didn't help at all, and Twilight continued to bawl. Luna rubbed a hoof through her mane and kissed away some of the tears. "I'm so scared right now Luna. It's obvious whoever is doing this is out to get us. But why would anybody ever do something so cruel?" Luna did not answer but instead began to cry a bit herself. "I don't know sweetheart I don't know. I'm worried too. I haven't been able to sleep for days now." The two of them put their heads together and continued to cry their eyes out. Nightlight shut off the video and put his face into his hooves. His heart was aching right now. What he hoped would have been a way to help those two only turned out to be a means of bringing fear and pain. How could I have done this to Luna and Twilight? How could I have been so blinded by rage and wrongdoing that I would stoop so low and cause this? My blindness and inability to understand has cost me my family life. Nightlight sniffed and wiped some tears from his eyes. He would never be able to forgive himself for what he had caused. He then went into his desk and pulled out a quill and parchment. I need to make this right. Author's Note So sorry if you maybe saw this earlier. I had to delete it and re-post it because of some technical difficulties (a follower said he received no notification that a new chapter had been posted). Anyway I know this one is a bit different than normal but trust new it leads into what is coming. As usual if you see a notable mistake let me know. Enjoy. Update 4/9/2013- Okay guys I've been giving this a lot of thought ever since I posted this chapter. I realize I could have done a much better job then I actually did. Therefore my plan in the future (just don't have the time right now) is to revise this and try and break it up into two parts. I plan to leave the original up and add the other two after it. When I wrote this I was under a lot of stress and that may have affected my writing. I'll post a blog about it later. Update 5/16/2013- So I'm still giving thought as to how to go about fixing this. The plan is still to break this into multiple parts but I may just change how this all goes about so as to maybe kill off potential confusion. Anyway rewriting this chapter is very low on my list of things to do. The ApologyWritten by: Mayhem Darkshadow Edited by: psychohooves and Avatar of Shadow Chapter 7: The Apology Nightlight approached the front gates of the castle casually; a few beads of sweat were running down his face. He was extremely nervous about what he was about to do, due to the possibility of two dramatically different outcomes. He could either fix what he had caused or could face even greater problems than before. He walked up slowly to the front gate and Princess Celestia's Solar Guards. "You are not allowed on castle grounds Nightlight Sparkle," explained one of the guards as he approached them. Nightlight frowned. "On whose orders?" The guards both returned the frown. "By order of your son, Captain Shining Armor," stated one of the guards. Nightlight figured his son would have taken action after the damage he caused to Twilight. He let out a huge sigh and pulled a letter out of his saddle bag. "That's understandable so I won't argue, but since I can't do it in person, will you please give this letter to my daughter, Twilight Sparkle?" The two guards looked at each other and then nodded. "We can do that I suppose," they responded. Nightlight thanked them and left. His hopes were high now, and he prayed for a good outcome as he made his way home. ********** There was a knock on the library door, causing Luna and Twilight to look up from the book they were reading. There hadn't been any "accidents" in a few days, so they were both starting to relax a bit. "Enter!" shouted Luna at the door. One of Celestia's guards entered the room carrying a scroll in his mouth. He walked over to the couch and gave Twilight the letter. "A message," explained the guard when he saw Twilight's confused look. "From who?" asked Twilight curiously. "Your father.” The guard left the room leaving Twilight and Luna alone again. Twilight had a look of utter confusion on her face, while Luna had a look of absolute disgust. Twilight broke the seal and opened the letter. Luna gave her a look. "You aren't actually going to read that, are you love?" she asked Twilight. Twilight looked up at her. "I think I should, and you should too. It's addressed to both of us." Luna grimaced and moved closer to Twilight so she could read along. Dear Twilight and Luna, I do hope that this letter does reach the both of you and is not rejected. I have been giving a lot of thought to the mistakes I made when I first learned about your relationship. How I reacted was inexcusable to say the least. I want to apologize for that and more. However, I won’t give out a list of what I’m sorry for. Instead I have a request for both of you. Could you both, or just Twilight if Luna doesn't want to come, meet me in the Canterlot park around twelve so that I can apologize in person. If you do not wish to come by I understand, and it will be the last you hear from me. If you do come by it would make me very happy. Sincerely, Nightlight Sparkle Twilight and Luna read the letter twice before rolling it up. Twilight could tell her father really meant what he had written; unfortunately, Luna didn't seem to be convinced. "You're not thinking of going are you sweetheart?" questioned Luna. Twilight nodded her head. "Of course I am." Luna looked at Twilight with a very serious face. "But think of all he did. Think of all the pain he caused you and, to an extent, us." Twilight's face fell. Luna had a good point. But she also knew that they couldn’t just ignore her father’s wishes. After all, he was her father. "Luna, I can tell when my father is being sincere. If you look closely at the letter there are tear stains on it. I think his heart may finally be in the right place.” Twilight put her hoof on Luna's cheek. She curled her lower lip and gave Luna her best puppy dog eyes. "Pwease come with me Woona?" pleaded Twilight in her best baby voice. Luna smiled and gave Twilight a kiss. "Oh you know I can't say no to you my sweet little filly.” ********** Nightlight sat on a bench in Canterlot Park. He pulled out his pocket watch. It was two minutes to twelve. I suppose they aren't showing up. I guess I'll make my leave. Nightlight got up from his seat when he saw two ponies walking his way. He sat back down and took a deep breath. This was going to be one of the hardest things he'd ever done in his life. Twilight and Luna sat down on the bench across from Nightlight's. Twilight's face showed little emotion, and Luna's showed unhappiness. "Thank you for coming," said Nightlight quietly. "We were surprised to get your letter father. We were both surprised to hear that you wanted to apologize," said Twilight. Nightlight took a huge breath and looked Twilight and Luna in the eyes. "Yes I do. I've had a lot of time to think about what I did. I realized that I've hurt both of you. I shouldn't have reacted how I did. I should have supported the both of you from the start. I will understand if you don't want to forgive me but I am praying that you will." Twilight turned to Luna. Neither of them said anything. They just looked in each other’s eyes. Luna knew that Twilight wanted to forgive him but that's because he was her father. Luna wasn't sure how she felt about the matter. She could tell without a doubt he was being sincere. She also didn't have to probe his mind with magic to know that he really wanted their forgiveness. Still everything he did outweighed the current situation. Luna shook her head and Twilight glared at her. "Give us a second to talk about this," Twilight told her father. Luna and Twilight got from their seat and walked away from Nightlight. When they felt they were far enough away from him they began to argue. "Why can't we forgive him Luna?" asked Twilight coldly. "Think of everything he did Twilight. Forget for a moment that he's your father and think about it. I watched you cry for two weeks straight. He's playing the father card with hopes that you'll bend to that and forgive him. He doesn't deserve forgiveness. At least he doesn't right now," snapped Luna in a serious tone. Twilight was taken aback. Luna had never snapped at her. Some tears started to fall from Twilight's eyes and she turned away from Luna. "I just want what's best for us Twilight," explained Luna sweetly, "If that means maybe not having your father around then it is what it is." Twilight sniffed and wiped some tears from her eyes. She knew Luna was right, but she couldn't imagine a life without her father. After not saying anything for a few seconds Twilight turned around. "You're right. He doesn't deserve it right now. Maybe after he has had some more time to think about everything," she told Luna quietly. Luna wrapped a hoof around Twilight and nuzzled her cheek. "Be strong. I'll do the talking if you'd like." Twilight nodded and they walked back over to Nightlight. "Mr. Sparkle," Luna started, "You are being sincere and your heart has finally moved to the right place. However, in light of everything that you did we cannot forgive you. Not right now at least. Maybe some time in the future, but not now." Nightlight felt the vein in his forehead pulse. "Are you just saying that Luna, or are you both being serious?" Twilight wiped some more tears from her eyes and spoke up in Luna's defense. "That is from both of us Daddy. While I may have not felt like that at the beginning of this apology I realized that Luna was right. We can't just forgive you after everything you did. Just know that you are still my father, and I will love you no matter what," sobbed Twilight. Twilight couldn’t take anymore, got up from her seat, and teleported. She didn't want a whole park full of ponies see her break down. Luna, after giving Nightlight a nod out of politeness, trotted off to where she figured Twilight disappeared to, the Castle. Nightlight just sat there. He was trying to figure out where he may have gone wrong. He figured Twilight would have been the most likely of everypony to forgive him right away. Giving a small sigh he got up from his seat and exited the park. His plan was not going how he had hoped. ********** Nightlight walked up the steps of his son and daughter in-laws house. He knew that both Cadance and Shining Armor were home. While he hadn't really hurt them as much as Twilight and Luna he still was seeking their forgiveness for how he acted. Nightlight knocked on the door and waited. Cadance answered it. When she saw who it was Cadance’s smile fell to a frown. Nightlight had never seen Cadance frown once. "Would you like something before I shut the door on you," snarled Cadance. Nightlight cleared his throat. "I came to apologize to you and Shining." Cadance's expression didn't change. She wasn't sure if she wanted to believe her father in-law or not. "I suppose you can come in if you want," said Cadance rudely. Nightlight followed his daughter in-law inside. Cadance didn't say a word and left him in the living room while she went into the kitchen. She came back with Shining Armor. Shining looked like he was ready to throw his father out even though he hadn't said anything yet. "What do you want before I toss you out of my house?" growled Shining Armor. "I came here to apologize to both of you for what I've done," explained Nightlight sincerely. Shining Armor continued to frown. Cadance's frown disappeared, but she remained stoic. "I think you should be apologizing to Twilight and Luna, not Cadance and I," said Shining Armor. "I already did. They did not forgive me but they at least considered it could possibly be done in the future," shot back Nightlight. Shining Armor's frown fell even further. Cadance remained as she was. "After all you did to them I'm not surprised in the least to hear they didn't forgive you. The fact that they are considering it is shocking," snarled Shining Armor. Nightlight didn't say a word. This apology was starting to head south. "So you’re asking for our forgiveness then?" questioned Shining Armor. Nightlight nodded. "Why in the name of the coldest circle of hell should we do that? Look what you've done to this family Dad. You managed to ruin it out of plain stupidity! Forgiveness is the last thing you deserve! I'm glad to see that you at least feel bad about it all but you should have realized this the moment you disowned Twilight, not almost three months later! Be happy that Twilight and Luna are at least considering forgiving because as far as I'm concerned you are no longer a father to me!" Shining Armor got up from his seat and stormed off to his office. Cadance let out a sigh and addressed Nightlight. "I think you should go," she told him. Nightlight, shocked from what his son had just said, got up and left the house. He didn't feel like trying to do anymore. Right now all he wanted to do was crawl in bed. ******** The last portion of Nightlight's steadily failing plan was to ask Velvet for forgiveness. Although he knew she wouldn't forgive him either, he at least wanted to try. He was hoping that getting forgiveness from Twilight and Luna as well as Shining and Cadance would act as leverage when convincing her. He didn't have that leverage, and that made things much more difficult. Still he had planned to butter her up with lunch at her favorite restaurant before even asking the question. In order to actually get her to show up he wrote her a fake letter. He made it look as if a close family friend was going to be in Canterlot for the day and wanted to know if Velvet would like to grab some lunch and catch up. Nightlight already reserved a table under the false name and made sure it was not in a position where Velvet would be able to see him from the front door. His plans were all set up, yet the possibility of failure was close to one-hundred percent. ********** Nightlight sat inside Daisy and Rose's Cafe waiting for Velvet to show up. He had gotten a table that was near the back and obscured by booths. Much to his luck it was also a very busy day. It felt like ponies were going in and out every minute. He pulled out his watch. She should be here any minute, he thought. Sure enough as soon as he put his watch away Velvet walked around the corner. As soon as she saw him her face turned red and her smile fell to a frown. Luckily for Nightlight she didn't make a scene. In fact she walked over and sat down at the table. He could tell she was about ready to burst and made sure he crafted his speech the right way. "Is this some kind of joke Nightlight?" snarled Velvet, "I thought I was meeting Pantheon here for lunch." Nightlight took a deep breath and went into explanation. "I had to lure you here under false pretenses. If you had known it was me asking you to come here you would have ignored that letter." Velvet furrowed her brow. Why did Nightlight have to be such a crafty pony? "So why did you want to see me?" asked Velvet coldly. Nightlight looked Velvet in the eyes. She was growing more agitated, so he had to be very careful with his choice of words. "I wanted to apologize. No. I wanted to beg for your forgiveness Velvet. I've had a lot of time to think about what I have done to our family. I was wrong in every single way. I shouldn't have lashed out like I did," said Nightlight quietly and carefully. Velvet opened her mouth and looked as if she was going to blow her top. Luckily for Nightlight the waitress brought his order to them and just in time. Velvet shut her mouth and looked at the plate that had been put in front of her. Placed on the plate was a dandelion and spinach sandwich and a small cup of celery and carrot soup. It was her favorite meal in all of Equestria. Her frown disappeared, and she looked at Nightlight. "You really are trying to work this in your favor aren't you?" she asked him. Nightlight's only response was that he hadn't forgotten about his family. He said that they would at least eat and then Velvet could decide what she wanted to do. Velvet thought this was actually kind of sweet for him to say, though she refused to show it. Nightlight worried about whether or not his plan was working as the two ponies ate silently. Velvet's mood had changed since her arrival; however, that didn't signify anything in his mind. Velvet could be happy on the outside and still furious on the inside. Once they finished eating they continued to talk. Nightlight started. "Before you decide anything I just want to say something. I know you are furious at me for how I acted. I would be too. Whether you forgive me or not, I want you to move back into the house. I'll let you decide whether you want me to stay or not." Velvet looked at him. She was starting to wonder if he really had changed. "There is one thing I don't understand. Why did you act like that in the first place? All this wouldn't have happened if you would have just given Twilight your support!" Night knew she was going to ask this. He himself had given that question a lot of thought. "I have thought about this a lot. I think it is simply due to how I was taught ever since I was a young colt," responded Nightlight. Velvet looked at him, unconvinced with his response. "Explain," she said. Nightlight leaned back in his chair. "Just think about my upbringing. You've met my parents. They are some of the most conservative ponies in all of Equestria. I'm sure if they ever found out about Twilight and Luna, they would freak out. They raised me to believe in conservative ways. Just think about the first time they met you. You made my mother pass out." Velvet remembered that day well. Nightlight's parents reactions were quiet scary. There was a lot of yelling and fighting. She remembered that they didn't speak for months. "But I still don't understand. You defended me in that situation but you didn't defend your own daughter and give her your support? That doesn't make any sense," Velvet told him. Nightlight sighed. "I know it doesn't, but trust me. From the moment I was born my parents raised me under their conservative ideas. I guess some of them must have stuck. I realize now that they are all wrong." He really is manning up for his mistakes, Velvet thought to herself. "Have you apologized to anybody else?" Nightlight nodded his head. "I have already apologized to Twilight and Luna as well as Shining and Cadance. Twilight and Luna said they wouldn't forgive me now but maybe in the future. Cadance never really gave me an answer but I'll assume it's a no. As for Shining...well let's just say I don't think I'm a father to him anymore." Velvet wasn't in the least bit shocked that nopony forgave him. She was glad nopony did because he didn't deserve it at all. "Nightlight Sparkle, you really hurt me and your family with how you reacted. You on your own managed to ruin our bonds and maybe even our marriage. But you are being very brave by apologizing to me in person as well as the rest of your family. That being put aside I will say that you will not be getting my forgiveness, nor do I accept your apology. You need to learn that what you did was wrong and you need to learn it the hard way. I was going to tell you this later but now seems to be the best time. I have been seeing a lawyer for the past month. We have been working on some documents together. We've been working on divorce papers for you and me." Nightlight felt his whole world crash around him. This whole plan had just taken a turn for the worse. "Velvet...you...you can't be serious," stammered Nightlight. Velvet nodded her head. Her eyes were sparkling with tears. "I'm sorry Nightlight but it is what it is. You don't deserve to be a member of this family after what you did. I'm making sure that. The restraining orders are being signed by a judge next week. The divorce papers are still being worked on. I will call you when they are done." Velvet got up from the table. It was all too much for her. She turned around and began to leave. Before going though she made two more statements. "Please be out of the house by Monday," she told him, "Also don't think that I'm doing this because I hate you. I don't hate you one bit. That doesn't mean I still love you. You ruined that after what you said to your daughter. Just know that I'm proud of you for apologizing to all of us. That at least shows you feel remorse for your sins. Maybe in time this will all correct itself but things will never be the same and you know that." Velvet trotted off and Nightlight could see stains on the floor from her tears. There was nothing else he could do. Everything he had hoped would have happened disappeared in that instant. Wiping away a few tears he paid for the meal and left the cafe. His plan was a bust and he was unsure what he was going to do now. Still it had one more part and he figured this one would at least go over without problems. That of course was pay Scarface for his services. Author's Note Sorry this took so long everyone. I had this done back at the beginning of April but I rewrote it because I felt I did a really bad job. Anyway this one should be much better I put a lot of effort into making this chapter stand out from previous ones. If you see any mistakes that were missed let me know so I can fix them. Hope everyone enjoyed Nightlight getting what he deserved. Update 5/28/13: Okay guys Nightlight is not going to commit suicide. While I hate spoilers I should explain he is talking about clearing up everything with Scarface and his gang. Update: Okay guys I fixed the ending so hopefully it doesn't sound like Nightlight is going to commit suicide. BackfireWritten by: Mayhem Darkshadow Edited by: psychohooves and Avatar of Shadow *****Fair Warning, Trouble Ahead***** Chapter 8: Backfire Nightlight's plans had very unexpected results. Instead of mending the problems with his family, he only made them worse. The only task he completed successfully was managing to stop Scarface and his gang from terrorizing Twilight and Luna. He paid them in full and even gave them a bit extra. Scarface questioned his motives; however, Nightlight stood firm. If he ever wanted to have any chance fixing anything he needed to start over fresh. Unfortunately for Nightlight, Scarface and his gang had one rule: to never stop until the job was complete. ********** Twilight and Luna sat upstairs in Luna's room, sprawled out on the bed engaged in a very competitive session of video games. Twilight appeared to be performing better than normal, tied with Luna for wins. "I hope you aren't mad at me for everything Twilight. I just felt it was something that had to be done," Luna mentioned as she pummeled Twilight's chosen character in Super Pony Fighter IV. Twilight nodded her head. "I don't blame you for anything. I feel better honestly, but I'm still a bit depressed." Luna leaned over and gave Twilight a nuzzle and a kiss. Tonight was Twilight's last night in Canterlot. Twilight finally felt her sense of security had returned and was ready to return to Ponyville, though Luna was sad to see her go. After their lips broke apart Twilight got up off the bed. "I'll be right back. I need to use the bathroom. Don't cheat while I'm away." Luna gave Twilight an evil smile but assured Twilight she wouldn’t cheat. Twilight shook her head and trotted to the bathroom. Luna rested her head and enjoyed the silence, only for it to be broken by a blood curdling scream. Luna bolted from the bed and ran to the bathroom. Twilight was on the floor clutching one of her hooves with another. There was blood dripping onto the ground. Twilight didn't say a word and showed Luna her hoof. Luna's eyes widened in both shock and horror. "Is...is that...how?" Embedded in Twilight's hoof was a small dragon scale. The scale didn’t appear to be lodged too deeply; however, she was bleeding rather profusely. "I reached to flush the toilet, and it popped out of nowhere," Twilight cried in distraught. Luna was really worried. Twilight need to get to a doctor and quickly. However Luna noticed a piece of paper sitting on floor. She picked it up and read its contents. It read “You didn't heed the warnings”. Luna panicked, levitated Twilight onto her back, and galloped out of the room, praying that the palace infirmary hadn’t closed yet. ********** Princess Celestia galloped trough the castle towards the palace infirmary after being informed that Twilight had been seriously injured. Celestia slowed to a trot as she got to the door. She looked in and saw Twilight was sitting on one of the bed and being attended to. Luna and Shining Armor were also there. Celestia quietly knocked on the door and entered. "So what did I miss?" she asked them. Luna levitated a small silver dish over to her sister. Celestia was taken aback when she saw what was in it. "Is that a dragon scale?" she sputtered. Luna and Shining Armor nodded. Celestia picked up the scale and examined it. Half of it was covered in blood. She could only imagine the pain Twilight was in. Celestia put the scale down and Luna set the dish aside. "I don't think it's safe for Twilight to go home tonight," she said. Luna and Shining Armor nodded in agreement. Celestia then turned and addressed Shining Armor. "Shining Armor, do you have anypony looking into this?" Shining Armor nodded. "Yes Princess Celestia. My guards are combing the castle as we speak." Celestia nodded her head in approval. She then turned back to Luna. "We need to talk in private." Luna raised an eyebrow and followed Celestia out of the infirmary. When they were allow Luna addressed Celestia. "Sister. What is it?" Celestia let out a sigh. "I’m about to tell you something you don’t want to hear. Luna...you need to take the night watch tonight." Luna was flabbergasted. "Sister! This is Twilight's last night." Celestia put a hoof on Luna shoulder. "I know Luna, but I've been covering for you since Twilight arrived. I'm exhausted." Luna took a second to look at Celestia. Her eyes were bloodshot, and the area around them was dark. "I suppose you do need some sleep sister," Luna grumbled, "But what about Twilight?" Celestia patted Luna playfully on the head. "She can sleep with me in my room, which is going to be heavily guarded." Luna rolled her eyes. "I suppose so sister." Celestia pulled Luna into a hug. "Thank you for understanding Luna. Have I ever told you how much I love you?" "Every day Tia, but it never hurts to hear." Celestia and Luna laughed a little and then went back in the infirmary to accompany Twilight. Tonight was going to be a crazy night. ********** "Ready for bed yet my faithful student?" Celestia called from her bed. "Almost Princess," Twilight responded from Celestia's bathroom, "I'm just re-bandaging my wound." Celestia smiled and went back to her book. Typical Twilight... Always being overly thorough. She thought to herself. Twilight always made Celestia feel young at heart. Twilight came out of the bathroom and carefully walked over to the bed. The palace doctor had told her to be careful with her wound. Fortunately for her, it was not deep enough that it needed stitches. However, there was still the possibility of an infection, and being cautious never hurt anypony. As Twilight climbed into bed, Celestia put her book away and snuggled underneath the covers. "I can't think of the last time you slept with me, Twilight," Celestia mentioned as they got comfortable. Twilight smiled and got a bit closer to her mentor. "Not since I was a filly, I think." Celestia thought about it and realized that Twilight was right and that they haven’t had any bonding time for quite a while. "I feel like we haven't really had that much alone time together, Twilight," Celestia said. Twilight nodded. "Well Luna has been hogging me quite a bit for the last few months." Celestia and Twilight burst into a fit of giggles. "So Twilight I need to ask," Celestia started, "How does Luna treat you?" "Like a princess," Twilight responded , "I...I love her." Twilight's cheeks lit up, causing her to look away from Celestia. "I know you do Twilight. She loves you too," Celestia told the flustered pony, "My sister was not very happy that she had to take the night watch tonight." Twilight giggled nervously, and Celestia let out a yawn. "Well Twilight, I'm pretty tired. I haven't had a decent night of sleep in a few weeks. Feel free to go to bed whenever you feel like it." Celestia shut off the light on her bedside table and laid her head to rest. Celestia began to close her eyes but was cut short as Twilight began to cuddle up next to her. Celestia nuzzled her student and covered Twilight with one her wings. It had been quite the couple of weeks for those in the palace, and she could only imagine the stress that Twilight was probably feeling. As Celestia closed her eyes she heard Twilight whisper something. "I love you Princess." Celestia leaned forward and gave Twilight a kiss on the top of the head. "I love you too Twilight. Sweet dreams." ********** Luna sat on the throne nodding off as she listened to the night court. Her mind was only on one thing. It was on Twilight. She hated being away from her little bookworm. It was comforting at least to know that Twilight was safe with her sister. Maybe if she could get away for a second she could sneak off. "Princess Luna." Luna's eyes snapped open. The court was staring at her. "Are we boring you Princess?" one of the nobles asked rudely. Luna rubbed her eyes and let out a small yawn. "I'm sorry... I'm just a bit tired. Do continue." The nobles looked at each other and kept talking. Luna immediately zoned out again. It was going to be a long night. ********** Twilight woke up in a cold sweat. She just had one of the worst nightmares of her life. She had dreamed that her father was the one behind all the accidents and one of them resulted in Luna's death. Twilight knew it was only a dream but she almost felt like it was foreshadowing something. After wiping the sweat from her brow Twilight but her head back down next to her mentor but was interrupted by a growl from her stomach. I guess I didn't eat enough for dinner. Twilight carefully got out of bed and went to the door. She opened it carefully and peered out. The guards were wide awake. As Twilight began to trot out, the guards turned and stared at her. "Do you need something Ms. Sparkle?" one of them asked. Twilight was so tired that she had a hard time stringing together her thoughts. "Umm...I'm hungry. I'll just go down to the kitchens and get a snack." As she took a step forward, they stopped her. "Sorry Ms. Sparkle but Princess Luna ordered that you be escorted anywhere you needed to go," they explained. Twilight let out disgruntled sigh. "Okay, well can one of come with me then?" The guards looked at each other silently until one of them stepped forward. "I'll accompany you Ms. Sparkle,” the guard said. Twilight rolled her eyes in annoyance and trotted down to the kitchens, following closely behind by her guard. The walk gave Twilight time to think about her nightmare. What did it mean? What she really wanted to do, besides get a snack, was go talk to her father; unfortunately, that would be impossible with the guards following her around. Twilight figured if she took her time getting a snack she might be able come up with a plan to get away. When they arrived at the kitchens the guards stood in the doorway and let Twilight go about her business. Twilight slowly walked around and collected everything she needed to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. As she made her snack Twilight kept taking glances at the guard. He hadn't moved from his position. In fact, Twilight was convinced that he didn’t even blink. How am I going to get away from him? Then an idea popped into Twilight's head. "Umm...I hate to ask, but I need a favor," Twilight mentioned to the guard. The guard looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. He couldn't believe he was being paid to foalsit a grown mare. "What is it that you require Ms. Sparkle?" Twilight continued to play the part and rubbed her hooves together nervously. "Well...umm...could you go into the cold storage and get me some fresh milk please." The guard frowned. "Could you not get it yourself?" Twilight put on her best puppy dog eyes. "I'm scared." The guard stared at Twilight and let out a sigh. "Sure I'll get the little foal her milk," he said sarcastically. The guard went over to the door to cold storage and opened the door. Twilight frowned, feeling bad for what she was about to do. Without a second thought, Twilight ran forward and slammed the door shut. Before running off, she cast a spell on the door so that it would open in a few minutes. Once she was satisfied Twilight ran out the back exit of the kitchen. It wasn't too late, and Twilight hoped her father was still awake. Little did Twilight know that things were about to take a turn for the worse. ********** Nightlight woke up from a very deep sleep. Though he didn’t wish to answer, he crawled out of bed and made his way downstairs. When Nightlight opened the door, he was surprised to see Scarface and his gang. "Gentlemen," Nightlight started after a big yawn, "What are you doing here?" Scarface frowned at Nightlight. "Why don't you step outside Nightlight?" ********** Twilight trotted down the street of Canterlot towards her old house. She was very eager to talk to her father due to the dream she just had. As Twilight turned the corner, she saw a bunch of ponies, including her father, standing outside the house. Twilight stood around the corner and tried to listen in on what they were saying. "I don't understand," Nightlight stammered. "I paid you in full and even included some extra." "Times are tough now Nightlight and we are changing our rates," Scarface explained. Nightlight stood his ground. "I paid you already I'm not giving you anymore money." Twilight was confused. Money? Rates? What the heck is going on? "I think you will," Scarface said. "You see we have quite a bit of incriminating evidence against you. All the accidents you had us cause were recorded. We also recorded the times we met in that bar. It would be a shame if perhaps the Royal Guard were to anonymously receive said evidence." Nightlight didn't know what to say. They essentially had him backed into a corner. "How...how much do you want?" "Everything you have," Scarface responded immediately. Twilight knew that her father was in trouble. These ponies were blackmailing him. However, she was taken aback. Her dream was true. Her father was behind all the incidents. How could he do this? Still, Twilight knew that he needed help. Twilight was about to run off when her father’s eyes met hers. "Twilight?" he called in fear. Scarface and his gang turned around and spotted Twilight. Before Twilight could run away, the ponies chased her down and restrained her. Scarface turned back to Nightlight and smiled. "Is this your daughter?" he asked Nightlight. Nightlight fell to his knees and began pleading. "She is. Please don't do anything to her." Scarface turned to his gang and nodded. The ponies threw Twilight on the ground and began beating her viciously. Twilight could do nothing but cry in pain and try and cover her vital areas. "No! Please don't hurt her," Nightlight cried. He rushed forward to stop them but two of the gang members held him back. Eventually the ponies stopped beating Twilight and Nightlight got a good look at her, not that he wished to. Twilight was brutally hurt. One of her eyes was swollen shut and the other was bleeding. Her nose was crushed and a waterfall of blood was pouring out of it. There were also dark red marks all over her body from all the kicks. Twilight moaned quietly and tried to get up but was cut short by Scarface yanking her by her mane, causing her to scream in agony. A knife slid out of his pocket and he held it to Twilight's throat. "Now that we have your attention, you are going to do as we asked," Scareface said roughly, "You are going to give us all the money you have. If you don't, you are going to watch me slit your daughter's pretty little throat and continue to watch as she bleeds and dies." Nightlight was sobbing quietly. He sniffed and hung his head. "I'll give you whatever you want. Please don't kill my Twilight." Scarface smiled and laughed menacingly. His gang followed in suite. However, the laughing stopped almost as fast as it started. Nightlight looked up at the sky to see that the weather had changed dramatically. The whole sky had filled with clouds and lightning began flashing. Then, all of a sudden, a powerful voice boomed from the sky. "GET AWAY FROM MY TWILIGHT!!!" A bolt of lightning struck right in front of Scarface, and Princess Luna stood before him. Her eyes were glowing white wearing an expression that could have stuck anypony dead with just a look. "NOBODY TOUCHES MY TWILIGHT!!!" Luna screamed in the Royal Canterlot Voice. Luna's horn erupted with magic and blasted Scarface with a bolt of magic. Scarface turned white and then, after a small flash of light, was gone. Realizing their leader was gone, Scarface's cronies ran for their lives. However, nopony could escape the enraged Princess of the Night. With each magic blast, Luna sent the ponies that hurt her marefriend to oblivion. When they were all gone Luna's anger subsided and she fell onto the ground and held Twilight in her hooves. Luna feared the worse but was glad to find Twilight was still breathing. "Twilight!" Luna flipped her head around and saw Nightlight coming forward. "Get away from her," Luna growled. Nightlight stopped. "Please Princess Luna she's my daughter." Nightlight was about to take a step forward when there was a blinding flash of light, so bright he had to cover his eyes. When he opened them back up Twilight and Luna were gone. ********** Five ponies stood around a hospital bed at the Canterlot General Hospital. Twilight was lying in the bed asleep. Luna had rushed her to the emergency room for fear of her condition. Luckily, after some tests and examinations, the doctors concluded that Twilight was not in critical condition. They moved her to a private room, and she was currently in a medically induced sleep. Each of her hooves was currently being held, one by Luna and one by Velvet. Luna was crying quietly while Velvet just sat there, staring at her daughter's bruised and broken body. Standing right beside Luna was Celestia, who was slowly stroking her sisters mane. Shining Armor and Cadance were standing next to Velvet, neither of them saying a word. As soon as they had arrived, Luna had explained what happened. She also explained what she had heard. Luna hadn't told Twilight but she had magically formed a connection between their minds. She heard every word that Nightlight and the thug ponies had uttered. All the ponies in the room didn't know what to think about this shocking discovery. "Let me inside. I want to see my daughter." Everyone in the room was immediately alert and awake. "I'm sorry Mr. Nightlight but by order of Princess Luna you are not allowed inside," explained one of the Night Guards. There was a commotion outside the door and it burst open. Nightlight was trying to fight his way inside the room. "Get him out of here," cried Luna in anger. Nightlight continued to struggle. "I just want to see my daughter." Despite how much effort he put into it Night could not best the two Royal Guards. Eventually they had him in a strangle hold. "This is unjust," exclaimed Nightlight in anger. Nopony said anything. Then, all of a sudden Velvet jumped up from her chair, ran over to Nightlight, and started smacking his face." "How...could...you...do this?!?" she screamed. Shining Armor rushed forward and pulled Velvet away from Nightlight. Velvet burst into tears and cried into her son’s shoulder. Before anymore tension broke in the room, Princess Celestia stepped forward. "Nightlight Sparkle. My sister has informed me of everything that you have done and how you paid that gang of ponies to separate Twilight and Luna by means of psychological distress. Is this true?" Nightlight looked up at the Princess of the Day. He knew that lying would solve nothing. "Yes," Nightlight whispered as he hung his head. Celestia shook her head in disgust. "Nightlight Sparkle. For conspiring against a Princess of Equestria as well as causing extensive injuries to my Faithful Student I am placing you under arrest." Nightlight looked up. "That is not grounds for arrest Princess." It had been a long time since Princess Celestia had exercised absolute power, but seeing the state of her student had awaken the anger inside her. "That may or may not be true. We will let trial by your peers decide that. Until then we can at least keep you away from your family. Guard please take Mr. Sparkle to the Royal Dungeons." Luna looked up from Twilight. The Royal Dungeons? Those haven't been used in centuries. Tia must mean business. As the Guards pulled Nightlight away he struggled and fought against them. "Twilight!" he called out. There was a rustling and Twilight slowly woke up. "Daddy?" Twilight moaned. Everypony rushed to Twilight's side. "Sweetheart you're awake," Luna said. Twilight wasn't listening. She was looking around with her one non-swollen eyes for her father. "I heard my Dad. Where is he," she asked. "I sent him away Twilight," Celestia explained, "He won't be able to hurt you anymore." Twilight opened her mouth to speak but her mother cut her off. "You need more sleep sweetheart. Princess would you please." Luna's horn lit up and she touched it to Twilight's temple. Twilight immediately felt her eyes get heavy and she slowly fell back to sleep. Before she was completely out, she managed to mutter one more phrase. "Daddy...come back." Trial and ForgivenessWritten by: Mayhem Darkshadow Edited by: Avatar of Shadow and TimeLord_Whooves Chapter 9: Trial and Forgiveness A little mood music "Please Princess," Twilight cried, "Please can I just see him." It had been a few days since the whole Night Light ordeal and Twilight's father still remained incarcerated in the Castle dungeons. Those hadn't been used in centuries so everpony knew something was up when Celestia commanded Night Light remain there until a trial. Twilight had been pleading with Celestia, first to have Night Light released because he was innocent, but then to just see him. Princess Celestia's response every time had been no and this time was no different. "For the last time Twilight, I said no," Celestia snapped. As much as she loved her student, she was starting to get annoyed with the constant begging. Twilight's eyes filled with tears and she sobbed. "Why are you doing this?" she questioned, "I've never seen you like this before. You're always so kind and caring, but now...you aren't the same pony." Princess Celestia sighed, put her work down, and looked at her student. "I know my dear, but I'm doing this for your own good. Your father hurt you and Luna physically and mentally. He nearly caused your death. He was even involved indirectly in the murder of an innocent pony. He doesn't deserve to be a part of your life and that's why I want to make sure he can't be. I'm doing this for your own good my faithful student." Twilight hit her breaking point and just bawled her eyes out. Celestia tried to comfort her but Twilight shoved her away and ran off. "I hate you!" was all she shouted before disappearing. Luna, who had just entered the throne room, saw that Twilight was running away. She tried to stop her but got shoved aside. Luna, slightly hurt, asked Celestia what happened. "Did she ask again if she could see him?" Celestia nodded. "Yes and once again I had to shut her down. It hurts me every time." "I heard her say she hated you." Luna looked a bit closer at her sister and saw she was crying. Never in her many years had Celestia heard those words come out of the mouth of her student. "Maybe you should reconsider Night Light's situation Tia," Luna started, "Do you not think you're being a bit harsh." As soon as Luna spoke those words, Celestia regained her composure. "No Luna, that pony is a danger to the citizens. I don't plan to do anything drastic but you and I both know he doesn't deserve any chances." Luna sort of had to agree with what Twilight said. She had never seen her sister act like this. "I know he doesn't Tia, but Twilight is completely distraught." "I know she is, but in time she'll get over it and realize that I just want what's best," Celestia replied. Luna sighed and decided that she didn't want to talk to her sister anymore. Right now she wanted to make sure Twilight was okay. ********** Luna spent the next hour trying to find Twilight. She went to her room, the library, the kitchen, and all the other places she would have expected Twilight to be. Twilight, however, was not to be found. Luna was going to give up when she finally found her lover. Twilight had locked herself up in the astronomy tower. She had her eye slammed into the telescope and seemed to be, rather angrily, looking for constellations. "Twilight," Luna said quietly. No response. Luna got a little closer but Twilight wouldn't acknowledge her presence. "Come on you stupid bucking telescope, focus in. Who the hay messed with the calibrations," Twilight growled. Luna got a bit closer and put her hooves on Twilight's shoulders. Twilight immediately flipped around and pushed Luna off her. "Get away from me," she snapped, "I don't want to see you right now." Luna was speechless. Twilight was really furious and she hesitated to even speak. "I just want to make sure you're okay." "I don't want your comfort right now Luna," Twilight spat, "You don't want to help me at all." Luna gulped and decided she should just leave Twilight alone. Before leaving though, she left Twilight with some words. "I know you're angry sweetheart. I wish I could convince my sister to change her judgment but she won't budge. I agree with her somewhat in that something needs to be done about your father. That aside, I also understand why you are distraught right now. Just know that whatever happens I still love you and will always love you." Luna left the room and Twilight lost all focus of what she was doing. She wanted nothing more than to chase after the Night Princess but decided maybe that wasn't best. In the end she decided she would do what she always did when she was angry. Go to the library. ********** Going to the library didn't help in the slightest. Twilight had calmed down a bit but was still rather furious. After trying to read, she gave up and went to get dinner. This did not go any better. Luna and Celestia were there, enjoying a meal. Before they could even ask her to sit and have dinner with them, Twilight ran off in a storm. Despite the fact that she was starving, Twilight did not want to be with either of the princesses right now. Lost as to what to do, she found an unused guest room and decided to get some sleep. This didn't happen, at least not right away. She spent a few hours crying and then about an hour sniffing and grumbling. Eventually, though, she did fall asleep but it was only for a few hours. When Twilight woke up, she was not in the same room. She was in Luna's room, tucked into the bed. Sitting on the bedside table was a tray with food on it and a note. Twilight, I know you didn't get any dinner so I brought some for you. I know you are angry sweetie and I understand completely. I'm going to be at the Night Court for a while. When I get back, I would like it if we could talk. Luna Twilight wanted to crumple the letter up, but she just set it aside and dove into her dinner. It was a bit cold but a simple spell took care of that. She ate slowly, enjoying every wonderful bite. With each bite she slowly felt better. By the time she was done, Twilight wasn't even angry anymore. She really didn't know what to feel. Right know there was just too much on her mind. "Oh good, you're awake." Twilight turned to the door and saw Luna standing in it. The Princess of the Night closed the door and walked over to the bed. She sat down but neither of them said anything. Luna assumed the silence meant Twilight didn't want to speak. "I guess I'll just leave," she whispered softly. Luna got up to leave but felt a hoof grab her own. Twilight pulled Luna back onto the bed and pulled her into a hug. She rested her head on Luna's shoulder but didn't cry. Luna wrapped her own hooves around Twilight and held her close. Neither of them said anything but their emotions did enough. Using extreme care, Luna lowered them onto the bed and pulled a blanket across their bodies. The whole room was dead quiet, so quiet you could have probably heard an atom shift. It was soon broken by quiet sobbing. The tears, surprisingly, were coming from Luna. "Twilight, I'm so sorry for all this. I have tried talking to my sister but she won't budge. I wish there was something that I could do," Luna sobbed. Twilight couldn't hold her own emotions in and added to the tears in the room. Together they cried and cried until all the bad feelings were gone. "I know you've done what you can Luna. I guess I just need to accept this all and move on," Twilight said quietly into Luna's ear. Luna grabbed Twilight's mane in her hoof and stroked it. She wished she had an answer to all this. She wished nothing more than to see Twilight happy again. Luna knew though, that if Night Light was convicted, and he would be, that her little sparkle would never be the same again. ********** The rest of the week leading up to the trial was not any better. Twilight was no longer angry at Luna, but was still rather furious at Celestia. This was mostly because of how stubborn the Solar Princess was being. She refused to listen to Twilight and even Luna's pleas. Twilight's family life was not any better. Her mother, her brother, and even Cadence did everything in their power to try and convince Twilight to forget about Night Light. She tried her best to convince them otherwise but they wouldn't budge, especially Shining Armor. Twilight eventually gave up when she realized her Luna was the only sane pony left in the world. The two of them spent all their time together up to the day, Twilight even attended the Night Court with Luna, though she spent a lot of the time asleep on Luna's shoulder. The night before Night Light's trial, Luna called off the Court so she could be with Twilight. Unfortunately for both of them, they both had to be involved in the trial since it was about them. Celestia would also be with them, Luna had promised to sit between her and Twilight, and they would both be required to give a testimony on the stand. "Are you ready for tomorrow?" Luna asked as she tenderly brushed Twilight's mane. Twilight, careful not to mess up Luna's work, shook her head. Luna understood completely. They knew that the outcome was going to be against Night Light and had already decided that after the trial they were going to leave Canterlot for awhile. Twilight wanted to get away from it all and Luna only wanted to be with Twilight. They had already packed their bags and acquired their train tickets. They would depart right after the trial. "Where did all the happiness go Luna?" Twilight asked as Luna finished up. Luna wasn't sure how to answer the question. The one and only answer was before Night Light had found out about them. She did not want to say this though. "It's still here Twilight. I guess it’s just hiding. Once we leave, I'm sure it will come back." Twilight didn't have a response to this. She knew that nothing was ever going to be the same. Her family was broken, her teacher was doing nothing but hurting her, and her father was suffering with every passing second. As far as Twilight was concerned, Luna was the only thing left in her life that was still intact. Sure, time would pass but she knew that these events would never be forgotten. ********** The day had arrived, Night Light's trial. Luna and Twilight neglected to ride with Celestia, despite the fact she had requested they do so. Twilight hadn't even spoken to Celestia in over a week. This hurt Celestia very much but she didn't show it, especially not today. Deep down, the older princess knew this was the right thing to do, even if it would cost her two ponies she loved deeply. The whole courtroom was packed with what could possibly have been every pony in Canterlot and the surrounding towns. Some ponies Twilight recognized, others she had no idea who they were. Twilight also saw her family. They all gave her smiles but she didn't acknowledge them. Why would she? They were only here to celebrate Night Light's fall. Luna and Twilight took their seats at the Prosecutor's table. Celestia was already there but she didn't say a word to them, which she knew was probably a good idea. The jury entered the room and then the judge entered soon after. Everypony stood up. "Please be seated," he said to everpony in the room. They all did so and then the trial began. "Bring the Defendant in." A door to the right of the room opened up and Night Light was escorted in by a pair of Royal Guards. He was placed in his seat and then the trial continued to proceed. The prosecution gave their opening statement, followed by the defense. Then the testimonies began. The prosecutor started with Luna. After Luna gave her sworn truth oath, the questioning began. "Princess Luna, how well do you know the Defendant?" the prosecutor asked. "Well, not that well. I have only been together with Twilight for five months," Luna replied. "Would you have guessed that he was able to do the deeds that he has done?" "Well no because, as I said, I haven't known him for that long." "You where one of the few ponies to witness what happened to Twilight Sparkle, yes?" "Yes I was. The rest of the witnesses are... well, no longer with us." "You were also able to hear Night Light's confession of his deeds?" "Well yes, I was but..." "So you would agree then, that Night Light Sparkle is guilty of causing both psychical and mental damage to both yourself and Twilight Sparkle as well as indirectly causing the near death of Twilight Sparkle and the murder of an innocent bystander?" "Well yes, but the first crime is hardly punishable by law. As for the murder, I know nothing about it. Nothing about that was spoken on that night." "That may be Princess, but what is your answer to the previous question?" "My answer is, yes to the first part and no to second but..." "No further questions your honor." Luna snorted. She wanted nothing more than to pummel the prosecutor. She probably could have gotten away with it to, but she decided not to. The defense went about questioning a handful of ponies, including Night Light, but to be honest, it really didn't help the case. The final questioning was from the prosecution, and the pony being questioned was Twilight herself. "Ms. Sparkle you are the only other pony beside Princess Luna that heard your father's confession of his crimes, yes?" "Yes I was." "So everything that your father has done is in fact true?" "Yes it is but..." "So would you say he is the direct cause of the pain and suffering you have endured including your near death beating?" "No he did not. He tried to save me!" Twilight shouted. The whole courtroom went silent. "He tried to save me from that gang of ponies. The only reason he couldn't was because he was being restrained by two ponies that were twice his size. He pleaded for them to stop what they were doing to me. My father, in no way caused anything those ponies did to me that night." Twilight turned to the judge and, despite how hard she tried, broke down. "Please... please don't take my Daddy away from me. I know he did some bad things but he only thought he was looking out for my best interests. He then knew he was wrong and apologized not only to me, but to my entire family. We didn't forgive him but we’re glad to see that he was at least trying to make up for what he has done. Please... I love him and I don't want to see him go." Twilight said no more and just bawled. Luna shot straight up to the stand and pulled Twilight down from it. The judge called a recess so the jury could discuss their verdict. Luna initially brought Twilight back to the table but, because she couldn't get Twilight to calm down, left the room and found a private area. Luna let Twilight cry into her shoulder for the entire recess. By the time they had returned, Twilight was down to just sniffing quietly. They took their seats and then jury came back in. "Has the jury reached a verdict?" the Judge asked. The foreman stood up from his seat and nodded. "We have, your honor. We find the defendant guilty of all charges against him." The silence in the room was eerie. The only real sound was Twilight's renewed blubbering. Night Light remained emotionless, probably because not one emotion could describe what had happened. "Night Light Sparkle," the Judge started, "For the crimes that you have committed. The psychical and mental torment of Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle, as well as being indirectly involved in the murder of an innocent pony, I am sentencing you to eighty years in prison with no chance of release on good behavior." Commotion erupted in courtroom as everypony started discussing the trial and the verdict. Twilight had given up completely and buried her face into Luna’s chest. Luna looked up at Celestia but spoke no words. The Jugdge banged his gavel and tried to call order but this didn't work. However, a few spoken lines made the whole room silent. "Drop all the charges." Princess Celestia was up from her seat and looking at the Judge. "Princess?" he gaped, completely baffled. "Drop all charges against Night Light Sparkle. I can no longer stand to see my student in the condition that she is in. Drop all charges and release Night Light Sparkle." The Judge opened his mouth to speak, but when he saw the face Celestia was giving him, he shut it. "All charges dropped," he said rather quietly. The noise that filled the court room was deafening. Celestia turned around and was toppled over by an incoming pony. Twilight wrapped her hooves around her mentor and cried her eyes out in joy. Luna quickly joined her and Celestia wrapped her wings around the two of them. Everything had seemed utterly and completely lost, but Celestia, who had finally come to her senses, came forth and saved the day. Twilight and Luna could not have been filled with anymore joy than what they were experiencing. As Celestia held them, she heard her student quietly whisper that she loved the older alicorn. This brought tears to Celestia’s eyes. She, herself was glad that it was all over, mostly anyway. Despite the fact that Night Light was a free stallion, he still had to be led out by the guards. As he passed by, Celestia spoke softly to him. "Be wise with the second chance you have been given, Night Light. In no possible way do you actually deserve it. I only gave it to you because I could no longer stand to see Twilight as she was. Use this opportunity to fix what you've broken." Celestia finished with a nod and went back to comforting her sister and her student. Underneath Celestia's wings, Twilight and Luna were holding hooves. The world which they thought was crashing around them had recovered. It wasn't perfect, but it was a start. ********** Five Months Later Twilight and Luna sat a table at Symphonious, waiting for two particular ponies. Twilight was especially impatient. Luna found it rather cute and funny. "Twilight calm down, they just entered the restaurant," Luna giggled. Twilight remained unsettled until the two ponies they had been waiting for walked up. "Sorry we're late," Night Light said politely. The other pony that was with him was Velvet. The past five months had been rather event filled. After Night Light was cleared of all charges, he received the wrath of many ponies, including the rest of the family. For a solid week, he couldn't even leave the house without being tormented or assaulted, physically or verbally. Once some time had passed, he was able to work hard to try and fix what he had shattered, his family. Initial attempts had not been very successful. One incident between him and Velvet ended with Night Light having to go to the hospital and get stitches. Twilight was rather destroyed by the rest of her family’s lack of forgiveness, even after a lot of time had passed. When some members of the family saw this, they loosened up a bit. There was also a lot of convincing and arguing, both from Twilight and Luna. Velvet and Night Light were now living together again. Velvet had stopped divorce proceedings, but their relationship was still iffy. Night Light and Twilight had spoken on this, sometimes with Luna, and he figured they probably would never get back together completely. Twilight was still hoping that, in time they would. Cadence had also given in to the pleading. Night Light was still probably her least favorite pony in all of Equestria, but she would at least acknowledge his presence and even speak to him sometimes. The only pony that refused to take him back was Shining Armor. As far as he was concerned, Night Light was dead to him. He wouldn't acknowledge his father or speak to him. Twilight did her best with her brother, but there was no budging with him. She wanted the whole family to be back together but was happy that at least part of it was. "It's alright Daddy," Twilight said with a smile. Night Light and Velvet sat down and they engaged in some small talk. "So what makes you think you are good enough to date my daughter?" Night Light asked with a chuckle. Luna quickly burst into laughter and tried not to choke on the drink in her mouth. Twilight gave her father a look but knew he was just messing with the princess. Even Velvet joined in on the playful giggles. Luna decided to play along. "Well, I would say that is because I'm a Princess of Equestria and am charged with the raising and lowering of the moon as well as leading an entire country of ponies. Does that make me qualified sir?" Night Light gave Luna a wink and a smile. Luna went back to laughing and, despite her best attempts, could not suppress them. Twilight could tell that this night was going to be an eventful one but a fun one none the less. ********** Luna and Twilight walked through the door to Luna's bedroom. The night had been fun and dinner had been exquisite. The both of them wished it wouldn't end but sleep was necessary. As the two of them were getting ready for bed, they chatted about the night. "It seems like your parents were actually rather happy tonight sweetheart," Luna mentioned from the bathroom. Twilight couldn't help but agree with the statement. "Yeah, I noticed. I'm kind of hoping that means they've worked more of their problems out," Twilight replied. Luna came out of the bathroom with a smile on her face and crawled into bed with the lavender unicorn she loved more than any other pony in the world. "Me too Twilight, me too," Luna said as she gave Twilight a soft kiss. The two of them cuddled up under the sheets and Luna turned the lights off with magic. Next month would be the one year anniversary of when the two of them started dating. So much had happened in that time. There had been lots of joy as well as lots of pain. The future was bright though and as each of them slowly drifted off into slumber, they could not wait for what it held. Author's Note Here is the url to Rated PonyStars AU sequel http://www.fimfiction.net/story/134044/night-of-redemption ********** And thus the turbulent tale of Twilight and Luna's love for each other ends. I'm sure many of you will be sad to see it end but hey all good stories must eventually come to a close. Just a few things before I announce something that will make you all go nuts. Firstly I want to give a big shout out to TimeLord_Whooves. My usual editor psychohooves is unable to help me with edits at the time. I asked TimeLord if he would be willing to help. He said yes and did a great job. Next I just want to say I hope all of you listened to the mood music and enjoyed it. Awhile back I did a thing where I took questions from people and one was if you could pick a theme song for all your stories what would it be. I thought Victim by Avenged Sevenfold was a good fit and then thought yesterday that it might make good mood music for the last chapter. Lastly I just want to say something that I know might make some of you sad. I will not be writing a sequel to this story. I never thought that To Love a Mare was going to have a sequel in the first place and also I just don't really see what I would write about. I know a few people have asked but I just wanted to let all the readers know that a sequel will not be happening. Now on to a very important announcement. While I did just say that I won't be writing a sequel To Love a Mare isn't exactly over. About a month ago I was contacted by Rated PonyStar (I'm sure most of you have heard of him. If you haven't look him up because he's an amazing author). Anyway he is actually a fan of To Love a Mare (as well as Guardian Angel) and asked me if he could write a sort of Alternate Ending fic for To Love a Mare. Of course I said yes why would I say otherwise. I don't want to release any details but let's just say the idea he has is a good one and I can't wait to read it myself. He has no clue when it will get released but I just thought I'd let all of you know that it's not over yet. Now you all can feel free to squeal like fan girls. First Heart's and Hooves DayWritten by: Mayhem Darkshadow Edited by: psychohooves ******************** Chapter 5: First Heart's and Hooves Day Luna and Twilight were glad that they had finally told their friends and family about their relationship. It was like they had just pushed a very large boulder off their chests. Before they knew it, though, a lot of other ponies knew about them as well. They figured it wouldn't take too long anyway. Nopony really bothered them about it in Canterlot, but Ponyville was a different story. A few ponies in Ponyville thought that Twilight was invading on the Royal family, and they started calling her rude names. To make things worse the Ponyville Enquirer wrote a very slanderous and horrible story about Twilight which had caused her to lock herself in the library and cry her eyes out. When Luna read this story she threatened to shut down the news paper if they ever printed something like that again. No other stories were printed, and they even sent out an apology. None of these things compared to what was happening in Twilight's family life. Her father refused to speak with any of them. Her father's behavior made her mother so angry that she packed up all her things and was living with Cadance and Shining Armor. Twilight and Luna tried to go and talk to him, but he shut the door on their faces right after he had opened it, causing Twilight to cry for the next few hours despite Luna's attempts to cheer her up. Twilight gave up trying to talk to him after that incident. ********** Before Luna and Twilight knew it, Heart's and Hooves Day was upon them. It was the first time that either of them had a special somepony to spend the day with. After a week of planning, they had the whole day mapped out. Luna would come to Ponyville, and they would go to Sugarcube Corner for breakfast. After that, they would take a lovely walk through the park and then would leave for Canterlot and have lunch on the train provided by the Royal cooks. Once in Cantlerlot, they were going to make a brief stop to see Twilight's mother before going back to the Castle to have tea with Celestia. Then they would get ready for dinner, which Luna had arranged to be at the best resturant in Equestria: Symphonia. After dinner, they would go back to the castle, and Twilight would stay for the night. Luna said she had a little surprise planned for Twilight. ********** Twilight sat on a chair in her bedroom. It was Heart's and Hooves Day, and Luna would be over any minute to begin their plans. Twilight wanted to spice herself up a bit, so she had asked Rarity to come over and help her out. She showed up at six in the morning and it was now eight. The only reason it was taking so long was because Rarity kept changing her mind about how to style Twilight's mane, and it was getting annoying. "No, no, no, that simply won't do!" cried Rarity out loud. "Rarity, Luna is going to be hear any minute now," said Twilight with a slightly annoyed tone, "Could you please hurry up?!" "Why Twilight, darling, style takes time," said Rarity with a gasp. "You cannot rush perfection." They heard a knock on the front door followed by Spike's greeting of Princess Luna. It was then that Rarity realized she may have to bend the rules of style just this once. In no time at all she finished and let Twilight have a look. She had done a stellar job. Twilight didn't know much about mane styles; however, she knew that this was a simple plaited hairstyle. "You look lovely dear. Now don't keep the Princess waiting," said Rarity. Twilight thanked her and then made her way downstairs. She found Spike and Luna engrossed in friendly chatter that appeared to be about her. Moving very quietly Twilight sneaked up on Luna and then squeezed her sides playfully. Luna squealed and jumped a little. "Happy Heart's and Hooves Day my very special somepony," said Twilight sweetly. Luna turned around and faced Twilight and then gave her a quick kiss. "You're looking especially beautiful today. I love what you have done with your mane," said Luna with a smile. Twilight blushed a little. "My friend Rarity did it for me," she said quietly. "And it was no problem at all dear," said Rarity as she descended the stairs. "Thanks again Rarity. Now you don't mind taking care of Spike for me right?" asked Twilight. "Of course not. I'm taking Sweetie Belle and Spikey Wikey to brunch later to celebrate the day. But don't worry about me you two, just be sure to have a wonderful day," said Rarity. Twilight thanked Rarity one more time as Rarity pushed them out the door. ********** The bell on the door of Sugarcube Corner rang as Twilight and Luna walked into the bakery. Plenty of couples were already there enjoying breakfast with their significant other. Some of them glanced at the two, but most of them didn't. Twilight walked up to the counter, which was being manned by Mrs. Cake. She was not looking at them, but Pinkie Pie saw them. "Oh Twilight you're here!" shouted Pinkie in joy, "I already have a table reserved for you." "Now Pinkie we don't reserve tables. You should know that by now," snapped Mrs. Cake in slight frustration. Luna looked at Twilight with her "I'm going to have some fun face." "Do you think you could make an exception, just this once maybe?" she said while trying not to laugh. Mrs. Cake, while still turned around, got slightly annoyed with them. "The only way we'd reserve a table for you is if you were a princess," she yelled with an annoyed tone. Mrs. Cake spun around, and her jaw dropped when she saw who was standing at the counter. "P..P...Prin...Princess Luna?!" she stuttered. Mrs. Cake immediately disappeared into the kitchen shouting to Mr. Cake that Princess Luna was here all while yelling at Pinkie Pie to find them a table. "That was kind of mean of you Luna," said Twilight as they sat down. Luna, however, didn't respond. She was too busy laughing with Pinkie Pie, so hard they could not speak. "Oh Princess, that was so funny," said Pinkie Pie as she wiped some tears from her eyes. Their laughter slowed to a chuckle and then Pinkie Pie left them to tend to other customers. Luna reached across the table and grabbed Twilight's hooves in her's. "Happy Heart's and Hooves Day sweetheart," said Luna sweetly. Twilight giggled and blushed. "Happy Heart's and Hooves Day to you too," said Twilight. They looked into each other's eyes until a loud bang made them both jump. In fact they weren't the only ponies that had jumped. Some had even fallen out of their seats. The bang had come from the kitchen door being slammed open as the Cake's rushed out carrying lots of baked goods and other assorted things. They put them all on the table and then stood back smiling. "I...I hope everything is to your liking Princess Luna," said Mr. Cake with a slight stutter. "Yes...had...had we known you were coming we would have made preparations ahead of time," said Mrs. Cake nervously. Luna laughed slightly. "Oh it is quite all right Twilight and I didn't want to make a big deal out of this," said Luna with a snicker. Mr. and Mrs. Cake looked at each other, then at Twilight and Luna. They both had very confused looks on their faces, like they were trying to process and comprehend something. "Are...are you...both...together?" asked Mr. Cake nervously. Twilight and Luna nodded. "We...we hadn't...hadn't realized that the rumors were true," said Mrs. Cake quietly to them. Twilight and Luna looked at each other. Twilight gave Luna the I'll explain in a second look. "Well...con...congrats to the both of you," said Mr. Cake. "If...if...if you need anything just...just let Pinkie Pie or us know," said Mrs. Cake. They bowed and then went back to the kitchen, whispering to each other as they walked. When they were gone Twilight started to laugh. This time Luna did not understand what was so funny. After Twilight's laughing finally subsided, she explained. "Wow. They are acting exactly like they did when Princess Celestia was here," said Twilight with a giggle. Luna just had a confused look on her face. She waited for Twilight to explain, but Twilight continued laughing, so she just decided to trying some of the delectable sweets that had been brought to them. When Twilight finally stopped laughing, she went into explanation. "I'm sorry. You really had to be at that brunch to understand why I find it funny. The Cakes were nervous when your sister was here for a special brunch and...well I guess they aren't use to catering to royalty," said Twilight calmly. Luna still didn't understand so she just kept on eating and shaking her head at Twilight while she continued to snicker here and there. "There is one other thing I don't understand," Luna stated after she swallowed a mouth full of coffee, "How have they not heard about us?" Twilight put down the cupcake she was about to bite into and answered Luna's question. "Well the Cakes run this whole business by themselves, and they also have two little foals that they have to take care of. They very rarely leave Sugarcube Corner, so it doesn't shock me that they didn't know about us," said Twilight. Luna nodded her head in understanding. Caring for foals was hard work, as Celestia constantly told her when she was young. Luna couldn't imagine what it would be like with two foals. She felt bad now for playing a prank on the two bakers. She told herself that she needed to apologize but only after she finished eating all this delicious food. ********** After breakfast, and Luna's sincere apology to the Cake's for causing them stress, they headed to Ponyville park for a nice quiet walk through the park. It turned out they weren't the only ones that had though of this, for there were quite a few couples besides themselves walking through and relaxing in the park. Also, unlike Sugarcube Corner, all the other couples were looking at them. It looked like ponies in Ponyville had yet to get over the fact that Twilight was with a member of the Royal family. Twilight started feel tension and moved a bit closer to Luna. "It's okay. I'm right here," Luna whispered in Twilight's ear. They continued to walk. Nopony said anything to them but simply stared at them. Twilight had thought she had gotten over being uncomfortable, but apparently she hadn't. "Maybe... maybe we should stop and take a break..." said Twilight timidly. Luna, while really enjoying the scenery, didn't like seeing Twilight uncomfortable, so she agreed. They stopped at a shady area underneath a large oak tree and sat down. Fewer ponies were staring at them now that they weren't moving. "Still uncomfortable Twi?" asked Luna sweetly. "Mhmm..." whimpered Twilight, "I thought I had gotten use to it... but a lot of ponies were staring at us and that hasn't happened in a while..." Luna gave Twilight a soft kiss and then nibbled on her ear affectionately. "It's alright I'm here for you," said Luna quietly. Twilight felt better, but she still couldn't believe that she was nervous about them. She had really hoped that by now the citizens of Ponyville would have forgotten their relationship or gotten over it, but this didn't seem to be the case. She wondered how same sex couples like Lyra and Bon Bon managed things like this. "Okay, I think they've stopped staring," Luna whispered in Twilight's ear, "But walk close to me if you still feel nervous." "Okay..." said Twilight quietly, "We should probably make our way to the train station anyway." ********** The train ride up to Canterlot was pretty uneventful. They were met by a small group of Luna's personal guards, who said that they would be patrolling the train as they went along. Luna had arranged for them to have their own private car so that they could have lunch together followed by an uninterrupted nap. A few of the Royal Chefs had prepared them an amazing lunch of portabella steaks in a light cream reduction and a exquisite dandelion salad. Luna and Twilight were so full by the end of it that they passed out together on the large couch and didn't wake up until the arrived in Canterlot. Luna dismissed her guards after they exited the train. She told Twilight that they had not been her idea, but in fact her sisters. Twilight said that she didn't really care that much. After the guards left they walked through Canterlot towards Shining Armor and Cadance's house. Twilight noticed that, unlike in Ponyville, very few ponies were even looking at them. "They are all still scared about how I reacted after the newspaper printed that awful story about you," Luna said to her. "But that was a Ponyville news paper," said a confused Twilight, "Why are people in Canterlot scared about that?" "Well I guess that little Ponyville newspaper started selling in Canterlot. My guards spent three days running around the city destroying all the papers. I told them I didn't care if they broke into ponies homes if it meant destroying those papers," said Luna seriously. "Luna that's unjust!!" cried Twilight, "Breaking into ponies homes over a paper!" Luna's ears fell and she looked away from Twilight. "We...I'm sorry... I didn't like seeing you sad..." she said timidly. Twilight gently rested a hoof on Luna's back. "It's okay Luna. It's behind us anyway," Twilight told her lover. Luna perked back up, and just in time. They walked up the steps of Twilight's brother's house. Twilight knocked on the door and it was answered by Cadance. "Happy Heart's and Hooves Day!" screamed Luna and Twilight as they pulled Cadance into a big hug. "Eeep!" squeaked Cadance. Twilight and Luna had manged catch her off guard, just as they had planned to. "Twili...Auntie Luna...too tight...can't...air," stammered Cadance as she tried to break free of the vice grip of a hug. Luna and Twilight giggled and let her go. It took Cadance a couple of seconds to catch her breath and then she started laughing. "You two are a couple of silly little fillies," Cadance laughed. They walked inside, still laughing. They sat down in the living room and chatted. Cadance wanted to hear about what they had done so far. "Well we had a wonderful breakfast at Sugarcube Corner," Twilight told her sister, "Followed a by a walk in the park." "Where Twilight clung to me like a little baby filly," laughed Luna. Twilight's cheeks turned bright red. "I...I did not," she said bashfully. Luna snickered a bit. "You did sweetie, but it was cute and under the circumstances completely okay," said Luna comfortingly. "What happened?" asked Cadance curiously. "The ponies of Ponyville are still bugging Twilight. They were all staring at up as we walked through the park," Luna told her niece. "Well that's not fair to either of you," said Shining Armor as he came down the stairs. He looked a little flustered. "What's wrong Shining?" asked Twilight and Cadance and the same time. Shining Armor slumped down into a chair and groaned slightly. "It's mom..." he groaned loudly. Twilight still didn't understand what was wrong. "Should I go talk to her? She's not upset is she?" asked a still confused Twilight. Shining Armor looked at his sister. "Go talk to her if you want to..." he said with yet another groan. Twilight, still confused, walked upstairs to the guest room and knocked on the door. "Come in," said Twilight Velvet. Twilight opened the door and found her mother sitting at her dresser, doing her make up. "Hi sweetheart," said Twilight Velvet to her daughter. Twilight walked over to her mother and wrapped her hooves around her. "What are you doing?" Twilight asked her softly. "Getting ready for a date," said Twilight Velvet quietly. Twilight perked up a bit. "With daddy?" she asked curiously. Her mother patted her hooves softly. "No sweetheart. Do you remember Mr. Nighthooves, our old neighbor?" asked Twilight Velvet. "I do," Twilight told her "Do you remember how his wife passed away a few years ago?" asked Velvet. "How could I forget? I spent that whole day crying," said Twilight. "Well he's in town for the weekend and heard about what happened with me and your father and asked if i wanted to go to dinner tonight. And just as friends may I add," said Velvet when she saw the look on Twilight's face. "So...does that mean that you and dad are...you know...getting a divorce?" asked Twilight. "If he keeps up how he's acting, maybe. For now, I'm going to let him figure this out and maybe man up a bit," said Velvet with a snide tone. Twilight watched as her mother finished getting ready. She couldn't believe that her family was falling apart because of her. Her mother noticed that she appeared distraught and tried to cheer her up. "So do you have anything special planned for Luna?" she asked. "Yeah we are going to have a nice dinner and then spend the rest of the night at the castle," Twilight told her. "Sounds like fun," said Velvet. "Just be careful with whatever you do tonight." When her mother was finally done they went back downstairs. Luna was sitting on the couch talking with Cadance. They didn't see where Shining Armor was. Luna got up from the couch and walked over to say hello to Velvet, but was surprised when she was pulled into a big hug. "It's...good to see you Mrs. Sparkle," said Luna awkwardly. "Oh don't sound so confused dear. You're part of the family now, and family members get hugs," Velvet told her. Luna was still in a bit of shock but awkwardly hugged Velvet back. Velvet let go of Luna and then grabbed her coat from the closet. "Well I need to go so I'm not late. All four of you have fun tonight and don't do anything crazy." Velvet left and then everyone let out a huge sigh. "Well...that was not how I was expecting to see her..." said Twilight with relief, "I was worried that she would be moping." "I'm glad that your mother is happy Twilight. Anyway we should get up to the castle so we can get ready for dinner," said Luna. Twilight and Luna said goodbye to Shining Armor and Cadance and then headed for the castle. ********** Dinner was great, and Luna had used it to give Twilight her surprise. Well it was more like a surprise package. First was a beautiful amethyst and sapphire necklace. Twilight joked and said that she would have to keep it away from Spike or he'd eat it. The second part of the surprise was...something Twilight didn't expect at all. Luna sang to her and not simply singing a melody to Twilight. Luna got up on the band stand, played the piano, and full on serenaded Twilight. Twilight was blown away and completely speechless. She had to resist the urge to jump up on stage and kiss Luna all over. Before they created a scene at one of the most prestigious eateries in Canterlot they paid for their meal and went back to the castle. Twilight was still waiting to give Luna her surprise. Twilight had spent a month planning it and waited until they were in Luna's room. "Sweetheart, before we do anything I need to freshen up a bit," said Twilight carefully trying not to give herself away. Luna looked at her and wasn't fooled, so she played coy with her. "Okay then. I'll get out this dress and get more comfortable," snickered Luna. Twilight, oblivious to the fact that Luna had caught on, disappeared into the bathroom. Luna did what she said she was going to do and got out of her dress. She climbed in bed and got comfortable while she waited for Twilight. A few minutes passed by and no Twilight. Five minutes passed by and still no Twilight. Finally, after quite a bit of time, Twilight came out of the bathroom, wearing some very scandalous lingerie. "Oh my," giggled Luna, "Don't we look sexy?" Twilight smiled and climbed into the bed. She got on top of Luna and began kissing her passionately all over. Luna let her keep going but she was also laughing. Twilight stopped after Luna spent a straight minute giggling and laughing. "Why are you laughing?" asked Twilight slightly annoyed, "Aren't you aroused?" Luna stopped laughing and smiled at Twilight. "I mean I am sweetie, and I'm not," said Luna with a smile. Twilight got off of Luna and hung her head. Luna felt bad for laughing and gave Twilight a hug from behind. "You've never done this before have you?" she asked. "No..." said Twilight quietly, "I read a book... but I guess not well enough..." Luna chuckled. "This isn't something you can learn from a book sweetheart. This is something you learn by practicing." Luna then flipped Twilight around and got on top of her. "Here love. I'll show you," she said quietly. Author's Note Okay so I know I kind of ended on a cliff hanger at the end there and I'm sure I'll get some shtick for it. Don't worry next chapter will pick up more or less right in that spot I just thought a little added suspense would be great. Aren't I just the worst? Anyway as per usual if you see any small mistakes my editor or I missed let me know and I'll fix them. The plan is 3 or 4 more chapters and then the fic will be concluded. Enjoy
The SleepoverWritten by: Mayhem Darkshadow ******************** Chapter 1: What Shall We Do Then? Princess Luna paced around her bedroom trying to come up with something to entertain herself with. This was the second week in a row that she would do nothing but pace around her room trying to think of something fun, in fact she was pretty sure she had managed to wear a rut in the floor. She was new to the whole idea of fun but she wasn't about to give up so easily. "There must be something that I could do for fun," said Luna to herself. She looked over at the big screen TV and all the video game consoles. Celestia had bought her these to help her adjust to the modern world. Luna was good at gaming, too good in fact because she had beaten every game she had for every console and whenever she tried to play online nobody would play with her because she was too good. So the TV and consoles sat uselessly on the dresser. She flopped onto her enormous bed and stared at the ceiling. She was so bored she started counting the number of starts that had been stitched into her bed canopy, which didn't take that long. "Two hundred and twenty," she said to herself. This was beginning to get very annoying, she had nothing to do. Celestia was sleeping so she couldn't play or talk to her; she didn't want to bother the guards or the castle staff because she would just be keeping them from their duties. Who could she spend some time and have fun with, who? Luna bolted up from her bed with sudden realization. "Of course how could we...I be so stupid," she said aloud, "Twilight Sparkle our closest friend. Surely she could be a source of entertainment for us...me." Luna was very happy for a long period of time, but then she looked at the clock and went back to moping. "But it's too late at night and we...I don't want to disturb her sleep," she said out loud. Luna flopped back onto her bed, but then she bolted back up again. "Maybe we could have one of those, what did Celestia call them...sleepovers I think they were called," said Luna. Luna got up from her bed and went to her desk. She pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill and began to write. Dear Twilight Sparkle, We were wondering if you would maybe like to come to the Palace tomorrow evening and partake in a sleepover. If you are busy and cannot make it then we understand and we maybe hope that there is some other time this could happen. Please send a response ASAP so that we can plan accordingly. Princess Luna Luna read over the letter she had written and when she felt it was ready she used her magic to send it to Twilight via her baby dragon Spike. Luna just hoped that she would be able to come over tomorrow, this boredom was driving her insane. ********** Twilight woke up to the wonderful smell of breakfast, as well as the sound of clinking pots and pans. It sounded like Spike was making breakfast. She got out of bed and stretched her legs. She had what was probably the best night of sleep of her life. She decided to go to bed before midnight, which almost gave Spike a heart attack. She rubbed her eyes and then went downstairs to the kitchen. Spike was at work making pancakes, scrambled eggs, and hay bacon. "Hard at work are we?" asked Twilight. Spike looked over from the stove and smiled. "Well I was craving everything I'm making and decided to whip it all up. I invited everyone over for Sunday brunch if you don't mind," said Spike. Brunch? Twilight looked at the clock and realized it was 11:00 AM. "Oh no it's eleven I'm going to be behind on my work," said Twilight with a bit of panic in her voice. "Calm down Twilight I made this brunch so you could relax and spend some time with your friends," said Spike with a bit of anger in his voice. Twilight felt bad for what she said and her ears fell down. "I'm sorry Spike I just had a panic moment there. I hope I didn't make you feel underappreciated," said Twilight. "It's alright Twilight. On a different note you got a letter this morning. It's sitting on the table," said Spike. Twilight sat down at the table and picked up the letter that was sitting on her plate. She opened it a read it thoroughly, it was a very intriguing and thought provoking letter. "Is it from Princess Celestia?" asked Spike. "No it's from Princess Luna. She wants to know if I want to come to Canterlot tonight and have a sleepover with her," said Twilight. "Are you going to go?" asked Spike. "Well I don't know Spike, I'm behind on my work and I really think I need to stay home and do some work," said Twilight. "Come on Twilight go and have some fun. You're like Princess Luna's only friend and I'm sure she doesn't normally do anything when she's alone. It would probably mean the world to her if you showed up," said Spike. Twilight thought about what Spike said. She really was Princess Luna's only friends. It was sad but it was true. She taught Luna how to have fun last Nightmare Night and Luna had so much fun. Princess Celestia had noticed this and had asked Twilight to send letters to Luna. This happened for awhile but then the letters from Luna stopped coming, that and Twilight kind of forgot about it. "Alright Spike clear up by schedule for the evening I'm going to go to the sleepover," said Twilight. Twilight went and got a piece of parchment and wrote a response to Luna. She had Spike send it out and just in time because there was a knock on the door. All her friends showed up right on time for Sunday brunch. Twilight cleared her head and told herself that today she was going to have fun, and tonight she was going to make sure that she and Luna had fun. ********** Luna had gotten Twilight's response and was filled with unusual joy. She couldn't wait for Twilight to come over so they could have some fun. Then she realized that she had no idea what to do at a sleepover. She herself had never had one. Before Twilight was do to arrive she went to the Canterlot Library and tried to do research on what to do at a sleepover. She found nothing and started to get worried. She sure hoped that Twilight would have some ideas. Around six o'clock Luna got a knock on her door. "Your Highness, Twilight Sparkle is here," said the guard. "Send her in," said Luna. The door opened and Twilight walked into the room. She had never been in Luna's room before, but she had been in Celestia's when she was filly. The room was the same size as Celestia's, in fact the only difference seemed to be the color scheme. Celestia's room was white with vibrant colors, whereas Luna's was dark blues and black. It was still very nice. "Hello Twilight Sparkle, we...I thank you for coming," said Luna. Twilight noticed that Luna had used I instead of the royal "we" like she normally did. "Princess Celestia said that you had been going to a speech therapist. I just noticed you said I instead of we," said Twilight. "Oh yes our...my sister wants the best for me and it does seem to be helping," said Luna. Twilight set her saddle bags down and then looked at Luna. "So, what shall we do then Twilight Sparkle? I have never partaken in one of these sleepovers," said Luna. "Oh...well I'm not exactly an expert myself. I've only had one and it wasn't exactly the best. But I have a book that could help us," said Twilight. Twilight grabbed a book from her saddle bag, it was the same book that she used when she had a sleepover with Applejack and Rarity. It had helped, slightly. The first half of the sleepover went way wrong, but the second half was much better. Twilight opened the book and look through it just to remind herself of how to go about this. "Well Luna, there are lots of things we can do. We can play games, tell stories, gossip, do each other’s hair, or even have a pillow fight. We really just need to have fun, which I'm sure is something that you want," said Twilight. Luna smiled, she liked having fun. "Alright Twilight Sparkle fun sound good," said Luna. "Please Luna, just call me Twilight," said Twilight. "Okay then. Well Twilight I just have one question, what is a pillow fight?" asked Luna. "Oh, well I guess the whole purpose is to throw and smack each other with pillows," said Twilight. Luna's horn irrupted with magic and the pillows that were on her bed shot at Twilight with blinding speed. Twilight was happy that they were pillows, because they were going really fast. The pillows kept hitting Twilight until she was buried under pillows. Twilight emerged from the pillows with her head spinning. The static electricity from the pillows had caused Twilight's mane and tail to frizz up. Luna fell to the ground, laughing her head off. Twilight looked in the mirror; she could see why Luna was laughing. "Well, I don't think pillows are suppose to fly that fast, but it was exciting," said Twilight. She took a step forward out of the pillow pile and grabbed her head. Luna got a worried look on her face. "I'm sorry Twilight did I hurt you?" asked Luna. Twilight shook her head and then felt a bit better. "No I'm okay, but maybe we should stay away from the pillow fights. I know they are pillows, but they still hurt just a little bit," said Twilight. "Well good, now why don't you let me fix your mane and tail," said Luna. Luna had Twilight climb up on her bed while she got her hair brush and other beauty supplies. She climbed behind Twilight and then went about brushing the static out of her main and tail. Twilight was surprised how ginger and careful Luna was with her mane, she really seemed to know what she was doing. Luna got her mane back to how it normally looked and then went about braiding parts of her mane into multiple braids. "Well Luna, I'm quite surprised that you...well know your salon techniques so well," said Twilight. She hoped that she would not offend Luna by saying this, and she was quite happy that she didn't. "My sister and I use to do this kind of thing all the time. I guess I didn't forget how to do this even after being trapped in the moon for a thousand years," said Luna. She finished with Twilight's hair and Twilight went to the mirror and looked at it. It was mind blowing how good it was. Twilight didn't really know much about styling, something that always seemed to drive Rarity nuts, so she kind of just brushed it out every morning and called it good. Luna had done a really good job. "Wow Luna this is amazing, I wish I could do the same thing with your hair, but I don't know much about this kind of stuff," said Twilight. Twilight looked around the room, stopping for a second to take note that it had started snowing. She then noticed all the video games that were sitting on the dresser. "I didn't know that you liked video games Luna?" said Twilight. Luna got up from the bed and came over. "Oh yes, Celestia gave them to me in hopes that they would keep me entertained. They did for awhile but I guess I'm a good gamer because I've beat them all and nobody online will play with me," said Luna, "Why, are you a gamer to?" "Well I wouldn't say that I am a serious gamer, but I've played some things here and there," said Twilight. Luna smiled and turned on the TV and the Ponystation 3. "Have you ever played Super Pony Battle 5?" asked Luna. "No, but I've played Pony Battle 2 once," said Twilight. Luna gave Twilight a controller and then they started playing. Right off the back Luna came to a conclusion, Twilight had lied to her. Luna still beat her in every round that they played, but it was just barely. When they finally had had enough Luna shut off the console and TV and then laughed a little bit. "You lied to me Twilight Sparkle, you are a lot better at video games then you claimed to be," said Luna with a laugh "Well, maybe just a little bit," said Twilight. They both yawned, they didn't even realize that it was one o'clock in the morning. They had played video games for five hours. "Well, shall we go to bed then?" asked Twilight. "Of course," said Luna. They both got ready for bed in Luna's bathroom and then climbed into Luna's giant bed. Not only was it very comfortable, but it was huge. Luna shut off the lights and then closed the curtains on the bed to shut out most of the light. Luna noticed that Twilight had left a lot of space between the two of them. Something clicked in the back of Luna's mind, an awkward question she wanted to ask Twilight. "Twilight," said Luna quietly to see if she was awake. Twilight turned over and looked at Luna. "Mmmhmm," said Twilight. "Would...would...would you maybe like to cuddle?" asked Luna. Twilight thought about what Luna had asked. Part of her wanted to say she'd rather not, but most of her for some reason wanted to. "Umm...sure," said Twilight. She flipped back around and moved closer to Luna until her back was rubbing up against Luna's belly. She was quite warm. Luna wrapped her hooves around Twilight and then used magic to pull the covers over her. If either of them could have read each other’s mind they would realize that they were thinking the same thing, was it alright for two mares to cuddle as they slept? Author's Note (3/15/2013)- This is in the process of being edited so as to make for a better read. Will swap this out with the new one when I get it back
Strange FeelingsWritten by: Mayhem Darkshadow ******************** Chapter 2: Strange Feelings Twilight left Canterlot late in the morning the next day. The morning had been very awkward for her and Luna. It was good thing that Celestia had joined them for breakfast; she broke the tension quite easily. Twilight had very mixed emotions of what had occurred last night, and she didn't understand them at all. Was it wrong for two mares to cuddle as friends? She didn't have any idea. "Maybe I can do research on this, I'm sure I must have a book about all of this," said Twilight to herself. Books, her mind always went back to her books. She was so use to being a student that it's what her mind always went to. Whenever she had something on her mind she didn't understand she would always turn to the library for assistance. This was normally a viable solution in most cases, but she was unsure about this one. One thing was for sure, she needed to keep this a secret. ********** Luna found herself once again pacing around her room, but this time it wasn't because she was bored. This time it was because she was confused. Back before her banishment it was very common for the sisters to have harems that followed them around, even harems that contained other mares. Luna could remember times when she would lay down surrounded by at least three or four mares. Times had obviously changed, but Luna couldn't understand why she felt so weird about what had happened last night. "Twilight wasn't opposed to the idea. I don't understand why breakfast this morning was so...full of tension," said Luna out loud. Luna hoped that none of her guards could hear her, or worse Celestia. Her older sister would surely not approve of these weird thoughts that were swimming through her head. She did however realize that Celestia was the only person that she would be able to talk to about this matter; she just didn't have any idea how she was going to go about it without giving herself away. ********** Twilight ran around the library in Ponyville. She sent Spike out to run some errands so she could have some time to herself to sort out her thoughts and read some books. "Why...isn't...there...anything!" she shouted as she poured through every section in the library. There was nothing, not one single book that could help her. Never had she been let down so badly by books. She flopped into a chair and put her hooves over her face. "What am I going to do?" she said to herself. There was a knock on the door and she got up and answered it. All her friends were standing in the doorway with concerned faces. "Twi, you okay sugar cube?" asked Applejack. "When you didn't show up for our usual weekly lunch we figured something was wrong," said Rarity. Twilight had forgotten about this, she had become so absorbed in her research. "Oh sorry girls, I had my head crammed in the books and well you know how that goes," she said with a nervous laugh. All her friends gave her looks of understanding. "Well the restaurant isn't full, I'm sure we could still get a table," said Rainbow Dash. Twilight smiled and they left for the restaurant. She then realized that maybe her thoughts were something that she could discuss with her friends, discretely of course. ********** It was at the daily afternoon tea that Luna decided to bring up her feelings with Celestia. The castle staff brought their tea out and little snacks as well, just as they always did, and then left them. It was a good day for tea, it was still snowing outside. Luna thought about how she was going to go about this and then started with a simple question. "Sister...how do you know if you have feelings for someone?" Luna asked. Celestia put her cup down and looked at Luna. "Well...hmm what kind of feelings are these? Feelings of Friendship, or Companionship?" asked Celestia. Luna blushed a bit. "Well...I don't know I've just been having strange feelings about someone lately," said Luna. Celestia took a sip from her cup and then smiled at her sister. "Awe Luna do you have a crush on someone?" asked Celestia. Luna blushed even harder; this was where she hoped the conversation wouldn't go. She didn't want to be told that she had a crush on her sister’s student. "Well I don't know sister...I guess I'm not a hundred percent sure," said Luna. Celestia continued to smiled and kept pressing for information. "It's okay Luna these feeling are strange, but they are telling you that you are certainly having feelings for another pony. So who is it? Who's the lucky stallion?" asked Celestia. Luna didn't know how to answer this question and she panicked and tried to come up with something. "Well...it's...it's not a stallion," stuttered Luna. Her lips had failed her; this was the wrong thing to say. She waited for judgment but Celestia was still smiling at her. "Well that's alright Luna I'm not going to judge you on that. Whoever this mare she must be very special," said Celestia. Luna laughed nervously. "Yeah, she is very special to me," said Luna, "Should I tell her how I feel about her?" Celestia nodded. "An admirable idea Luna. I'm sure you're nervous but it would be best to tell this mare how you feel about her," said Celestia. Celestia finished her tea and then returned to her duties. Luna sat at the table for just a while longer, thinking about what her sister had just said. She would let Twilight know how she felt; she just didn't know how she was going to. ********** Twilight sat at a table inside Sugarcube Corner with her friends, not saying a word. They were all so busy talking and eating that they hadn't noticed. She wanted to ask them about these feelings she was having, but she didn't want to give herself away. She also didn't want to be judged. Finally Pinkie Pie noticed that Twilight had talked much and called her out on it. "You're being so quiet today Twilight. What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" asked Pinkie Pie. "Oh sorry girls, I have a lot on my mind right now," said Twilight. "Well what's wrong sugar cube. Anything we could help you understand?" asked Applejack. Twilight thought about what she was about to say and then spoke. "Girls, how do you know if you have feelings for another pony?" asked Twilight. All her friends eyes widened, even Fluttershy's. Pinkie, being Pinkie, burst with joy and started bouncing around. "Twili's got a crushie. Twili's got a crushie," said Pinkie Pie and the top of her lungs. Rainbow Dash grabbed Pinkie Pie and shoved a cupcake in mouth. "Announce it to the world why don't you," said Rainbow Dash. Her friend all turned to her and began to talk to her about what she was feeling. "Well it certainly is a strange feeling," said Rarity, "I remember my first crush. I had knots in my stomach for weeks." "I'm kind of feeling the same way," said Twilight. Her friends seemed to think it was very cute. "Well it's just a natural feeling. But you make it sound like you've never felt this before. You've never had a special someone?" asked Rainbow Dash. Twilight shook her head and her friends all giggled. "So, who's the lucky stallion? Anybody that we know?" asked Applejack. Twilight chose her next words carefully. "Well...it's not a stallion. It's another mare," said Twilight nervously. Her friends said nothing, but they weren't shocked at all and they didn't judge her. "Well there is nothing wrong with that," said Rarity, "I'll admit I've felt attractions to other mares...when I was younger." "There is absolutely nothing wrong with liking another mare," said Rainbow Dash. It was after they all reassured her that there was nothing wrong with her that she realized she had the best friends in the world. They told her that it was ultimately her choice, but suggested that she told the mare she had feelings for about how she felt. Twilight decided that she was going to tell Luna how she felt, whether or not Luna felt the same way about. She thought about how she was going to do this as she walked back to the library. ********** Luna sat in the Ponyville Library waiting for Twilight to get back from her lunch. Her baby dragon Spike had let her in and said Twilight would be back soon. Luna noticed he was a very good host, he offered tea, coffee, snacks, and even books. Luna thanked him but said that her visit would only be a quick one, stating that she only wanted to talk briefly to Twilight and then head back to Canterlot. Time passed and Luna felt that maybe Twilight was not coming back. She was about to make the decision to leave when the front door opened and the purple mare walked into the library. She had snow all over her body, but all of it fell off when she jumped in shock. "Luna, this is an unexpected surprise," said Twilight. Twilight took off her coat and then came over to Luna. Luna felt the knots in her stomach twist tighter, but she knew what she was going to say, even though she was embarrassed. "Twilight can I talk to you about something, in private," said Luna. Twilight looked at her funny and then took them upstairs to her room. "So what's going on Luna?" asked Twilight, "I'm normally only use to getting visits from your sister." Luna looked down at the floor in embarrassment; she thought that maybe she should wait to tell Twilight. She picked up her head and took a deep breath. "We...I want to talk to you about last night. Something happened inside me, I don't know what, but I've been having strange feelings ever since then. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable last night. I've felt these feeling before, when you showed me how to have fun during Nightmare Night. I dismissed them as nothing, but they have come back," said Luna. Luna had no idea that Twilight knew where this was going. It was funny because she had planned to the same thing tomorrow; Luna had just beaten her to it. Luna took another deep breath. "Okay I'm just going to come right out and say it. I...I...I like you...like more than a friend I don't know how to explain it." Luna's eyes filled with tears and she fell to the ground crying. She had felt sad before, but never like this. She closed her eyes and let the tears pour down her face. She then felt hooves wrap around her body and squeeze her tight. Twilight was hugging her and comforting her. Luna opened her eyes and they met the gaze of Twilight. Twilight smiled at her and Luna smiled back. "I've been feeling the same way. I didn't understand it because I've never had a special someone, though your sister always encouraged me to try and find one. I didn't realize what these feeling were until my friends explained them to me. I was going to come to Canterlot and talk to you but you beat me to the punch," said Twilight. Luna wiped some tears from her eyes. "So, you don't think I'm weird?" asked Luna Twilight shook her head. "Of course not," she said. They hugged again, for what felt like forever, and then looked into each other’s eyes. They didn't know what to say to each other, a sleep over seemed to have turned into a relationship. "So, where do we got from here?" asked Twilight. "Hmm...I'm not sure. Are we in a relationship now?" asked Luna. They both thought about this. Twilight had never been in a relationship and it had been more than a thousand years since Luna's last relationship. Neither of them knew the answer to the question. Finally Twilight spoke up. "I guess we are. Seems like it started faster than a normal relationship," said Twilight. Luna agreed but neither of them seemed to care at all. They were quite satisfied with the choice that they had made and were both eager to see where it was going to go. Both of them were glad that they had the same feelings for each other, if one of them didn't then that would have made for a very awkward friendship. Author's Note (3/15/2013)- This chapter has also been sent away for re-editing. Will change it out for the new one when I get it back.
The Best Way to Keep A SecretWritten by: Mayhem Darkshadow Edited by: psychohooves ******************** Chapter 3: The Best Way to Keep a Secret Twilight and Luna decided to keep there blossoming relationship a secret from all of their close friends and family. Even though nopony had judged either of them for their feelings for each other, they just felt that they weren't ready to tell anyone yet. They both agreed that if anyone asked they would just tell them that it didn't work out, but they were still friends. Everypony seemed to believe this, and they were satisfied. There was something that they were both worried about however; that was how they would maintain their relationship even though Twilight lived in Ponyville and Luna was up in Canterlot. Luna suggested that they could continue having sleepovers, but Twilight said that would cause suspicion. Luna then proposed that she could just come to Ponyville during the day or at least maybe the afternoons; however, Twilight told her that this idea wasn't any better. Eventually, the two mares agreed on a plan. Once or twice a week Twilight would travel to Canterlot or Luna would come to Ponyville. This was a solid plan, and the two mares gave it a shot. The first week was a little rough, but the second week was much easier; furthermore, nopony showed any suspicion or even questioned them. It was after three weeks of keeping their relationship a secret that Twilight mentioned whether or not they would tell anyone. It was two weeks before Hearth's Warming Ever and Luna was in Ponyville for the evening. Twilight had sent Spike to Rarity's, much to his overwhelming joy, so that they could be alone. They were cuddled up together on the couch reading a book. The fire was warm and they also had a blanket thrown over them. "Luna?" asked Twilight softly. "Yes sweetie?" Luna whispered. "Do you think it's maybe time we tell our friends and family about our relationship?" Twilight asked her. Luna remained silent. She wasn't mad or angry, she was just pondering the question. "Hmm...well I don't know Twilight. Its been three weeks; however I'm just not sure if I feel ready to tell anyone yet," said Luna nervously after a long silence. "That's alright. I was just curious. Honestly I don't think I'm ready yet either. I know our friends and family would be very supportive, but it's the people of Equestria that I am worried about. What if they don't accept us? What if they make fun of us?" Twilight said with a small amount of worry in her voice. Luna pulled Twilight closer to her and squeezed her tightly. "We'll worry about that when the time comes. Right now let's just enjoy what we have right now," Luna told her with a grin. They closed the book they were reading and cuddled up under the blanket. They were both rather tired, and a nap would be nice. Their yawns were pretty much synchronized. "Perhaps we should take a nap," chuckled Luna after the third in sync yawn, "I'm tired, and I can only assume you must be after a yawn like that." "I suppose a quick one wouldn't hurt," Twilight giggled, "I told my friend Rarity to keep Spike very busy." Luna smiled and nuzzled Twilight softly. It took them a while to fall asleep despite how tired they both were. While they were awake they spent time planning out how they were going to break it to their friends and family. Neither of them just wanted to go around telling everypony they knew. They both agreed that they wanted that moment to be special. The way they felt sounded much like a proposal in a way; however, they were just going to worry about it when the time came. What they didn't realize is that the time may be coming sooner than they thought. ********** Spike walked back from Rarity's in the snow. He still couldn't figure out why Twilight had sent him away even though he had chores to do. He did get to spend a lot of time with Rarity, which was way better than chores in his mind, but still he had noticed that for a few weeks now Twilight had been acting odd. He asked once what was going on, but she wouldn't tell him so he didn't bother. He figured either eventually she would tell him or he would convince her spill the beans. He simply wanted to know what she was hiding from him. He shook off the thoughts in his head, probably for the better, and kept working his way through the snow piling up to the Ponyville library. When he finally got to the door he found that it was locked up tight. "That's odd. Twilight was home when I left and she said she wasn't leaving Ponyville today," he muttered to himself. He pulled out his keys from his bag and unlocked the door. The lights were off, and it was very quiet. The only source of light was coming from the flames of the fireplace. Spike put his bag down and searched for any sign of Twilight. His head began to swim with different thoughts. Was she ponynapped? Was she hurt? Did she leave and not tell him? These were insane ideas, but he didn't think that they were impossible. Spike took a few deep breaths and recollected his thoughts. He realized everything that he was thinking was silly. Twilight probably was just running some errands or something, and he was sure she would be back at some point. He turned the lights on, and went to his desk to get some work done. As he was writing he caught something in the corner of his eye, something he hadn't noticed when the lights had been off. Someone was on the couch by the looks of it. Spike turned around in his chair and his jaw dropped. Twilight and Princess Luna were asleep on the couch. "Tw...Twi...Twilight?" stuttered Spike. Twilight's head bolted up and it turned slowly towards the desk. She had a look of complete fear on her face. "Sp...Sp...Spike? Wh...what are you doing back so early?" sputtered Twilight in absolute fear. Spike had a serious look on his face. "Nothing, Rarity and I managed to get all her work for the week done. She wanted me to thank you for sending me over to help, but I have a better question. Is this why you have been acting strange for weeks? Is this why you've been going to Canterlot without me some days and sending we away to others?" he asked. Twilight hung her head with embarrassment. She didn't want to respond to any of those questions. Spike sounded angry and Twilight remembered last time she made him really angry, he wouldn't speak to her for a week. Luna began to stir and woke up as Twilight was trying to gather her thoughts and come up with a good explanation for what was going one between her and Luna "Twili, what's wrong?" asked Luna when she saw the look of dread on Twilight's face. Twilight didn't say a word and Luna turned her head and saw Spike. Her cheeks turned red and she turned away in embarrassment. "Oh dear, oh no oh no oh no," said Luna in a panic. They both got off the couch and tried to explain themselves. Spike seemed to have switched into attack mode. He began to persistently question Luna to see if she had done something horrible to Twilight. "So what did you say to get her to do this huh? What did you promise? Did you use magic? Is she under a trance and doesn't know it? Did you threaten her? What?! Tell me!!," Spike said with pure rage in his voice. He was furious that this was the secret Twilight had been keeping from him. Luna was overwhelmed by the questions. "I would never hurt Twilight. She is very special to me," whispered Luna timidly. Spike then turned to Twilight. "What did she do to you? Do I need to tell Princess Celestia?" "NO!!!" yelled Luna and Twilight simultaneously. Spike crossed his arms. "I just might have to since you're both acting rather suspicious," he snarled. He grabbed a sheet of parchement and a quill from the table nearby and began to write, but the quill and parchment caught on fire by a spell from Twilight. She and Luna were really in a serious panic now. They needed to stop this before something bad happened. "Spike, please let us explain," pleaded Twilight. Spike turned around and crossed his arms. "I'm listening," he told them roughly. Twilight looked and Luna and then began to speak. Spike was about to be the first person to find out about there secret. "Spike Luna and I are...well...I guess there is no other way to say this... Spike we are in a relationship," said Twilight nervously. Spike unfolded his arms but he was still glaring. Twilight continued to speak, and she could feel tears building up in her eyes. "The reason I have been either going to Canterlot alone or sending you away is because we have been using that time to spend together alone. We didn't tell you or anypony else because we aren't ready to announce our relationship to anyone yet. I'm sorry that you were in the dark this whole time, and please understand that if I felt comfortable enough to tell you I would," said Twilight. She sounded on the verge of tears. Spike's anger subsided and he didn't want to let Twilight continue. However she started before he could stop her. "Please...please forgive me Spike...please," cried Twilight. Twilight broke down, and started crying. Luna embraced her and cooed her all while glaring at Spike. Spike felt terrible. He had never made Twilight cry before. He had also never yelled at her before like that. He didn't know what came over himself. He just was worried about her and protective instincts just seemed to kick in. He wanted to apologize, but Luna was still comforting Twilight. It was only when she finally stopped crying that he got his chance. "Twilight I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry. I was just worried about you. Something just sort of happened and all I wanted to do was protect you and make sure you were okay. I'm so sorry Twilight," he told her sincerely. Twilight wiped some tears from her eyes, and then smiled at Spike. "I know you didn't, and I understand," she said. Twilight came over and gave Spike a tight hug. He then proceeded to apologize to Luna for how he yelled at her, and she accepted his apology. "But did you really have to keep this a secret? I mean I wouldn't have told anypony unless you said I could," said Spike. Twilight wiped the stray tears from her eyes. "Well...we didn't want to be judged. It's not really friends and family we are worried about. It's other ponies. Stuff like this spreads like a disease, and Luna and I aren't ready for that," said Twilight. Spike understood, and he said that nobody would find out. He then turned to Luna to apologize to her. "I'm so sorry Princess. I didn't mean to say those things. I'm sure you do care a lot about Twilight, and if she is happy then so am I," said Spike. Luna smiled at Spike and accepted his apology. "Don't worry. I understand you just wanted to make sure she was safe. Know that I would never let anything bad happen to Twilight. I care for her deeply, for she was my first friend and much more than that now," said Luna. These word were reassuring to Spike. He promised for the third time that nopony would find out until they were ready to make the announcement. Twilight was glad that things had not gone as bad as they could have. Luna was special to her, but so was Spike; after all, Spike's friendship was not worth losing. Author's Note So...sorry this took so long to get out. It probably could have been posted last week I just kind of forgot that my editor had sent me the edits to it. I hope this is a bit better then the first two chapters. Also sorry that it's so short but I kind of ran out of ideas. Trust me when I say that it was much shorter before I added a bit more to it. Anyway enjoy and I'll try to do the next one ASAP.
JudgmentWritten by: Mayhem Darkshadow Edited by: psychohooves ******************** Chapter 4: Judgment The week of Hearth's Warming Eve Twilight and her friends and their families all departed from Ponyville to Canterlot. Princess Celestia had invited them to spend the weeks of Hearth's Warming Eve and New Years at the castle. She stated in her letter that she and Luna wanted to spend time with close friends and also that it would be nice to have the castle full of people for the holidays. Literally a minute afterwards, Twilight received a note from Luna. Luna had arranged that Twilight's room was right across from her's, so Twilight would be able to easily slip into her room during the night. Twilight was looking forward to it, and so were are her friends. They arrived at the castle the Sunday of the week of Hearth's Warming Eve. Luna and Twilight had to control themselves; however, they did get some alone time when Luna took Twilight up to her room. They dropped off Twilight's belongings and then migrated to Luna's room. It's been a week since they've last seen each other. After they shut the door, Luna gave Twilight a warm kiss - their first ever kiss. "I've missed you," whispered Luna. Twilight kissed her back and then nuzzled her cheek against Luna's. "I've missed you too," she whispered back. They sat on the bed and conversed for a little while. "So," said Luna with a slightly peppy tone, "I was thinking maybe, if you're ready, tonight at dinner we could maybe tell everyone." Twilight thought about what Luna said and then came up with an idea. "How about one more day of secrecy and then tomorrow at breakfast we tell everyone?" she asked. Luna thought the idea over. She thought it was a good plan and didn't think one more day of secrecy would hurt. Nobody else knew about their relationship besides Spike, and much to their pleasure, he has kept the secret safe. "Okay my little bookworm. One more day, and then we let everyone know tomorrow. I must say, I think I'll be glad to tell everyone," Luna told her. Twilight agreed. She was pretty sure her friends and family were starting to grow suspicious of them. Luna was also pretty sure that Celestia was trying to figure out what was going on. It would be good when everyone would finally know about them. "So, what should we do?" asked Twilight curiously. "Hmm, well lunch isn't for a few more hours. Do you want to walk through the gardens?" Luna asked her. Twilight nodded and laughed sweetly. "Let me get my coat," she giggled. ********** The day wore on, nothing significant occuring. Lunch was uneventful, and so was dinner; however, it was good to talk to everypony. Twilight hadn't seen her parents in a month, and her brother and Cadance in a few months so they spent a lot of time catching up. After dinner everyone went their separate ways. During dinner Luna had whispered to Twilight to meet her up in her room for a surprise. After dinner Twilight had to dodge some conversations and a cupcake eating contest with Pinkie to make it up to the room. Luna was waiting for her on the bed. She was wearing her scarf and jacket, and she had Twilight's as well. "What's the surprise?" asked Twilight with a confused look on her face. "Put on your jacket and follow me out to the balcony," said Luna smoothly. Twilight did what she was asked, and followed Luna out to the balcony; however, Twilight was confused, for there was nothing out of the ordinary. "Luna?" asked Twilight. "Don't worry. This isn't the surprise. Now climb on." Luna bent down and gestured that Twilight climb on her back. Twilight did, and Luna took off into the sky. Twilight held on tightly as they flew up to the mountains around Canterlot. They landed on a flat alcove, and Twilight disembarked. There was a bed on the alcove, along with lots of blankets, a kettle and water, and a telescope. Luna pulled Twilight over to the bed and they sat down on it. She got the water going and pulled the blankets over them to keep them warm. "Luna I'm confused. What's the surprise you talked about?" asked Twilight, still very confused. "Give me a second," laughed Luna. Her horn began to glow as she began to summon her magic. She looked up and the sky and so did Twilight. The clouds began to slowly disperse to reveal the beautiful starlit sky. Twilight had never seen anything so beautiful. She could see every constellation clearly. It actually seemed like the stars were brighter then usual. Luna had outdone herself with this night. "It's so beautiful," said Twilight as she admired Luna's work. "It's all for you," said Luna sweetly. She nuzzled Twilight softly, and then they looked at the stars and drank hot chocolate. The stars were bright, the sky was a deep, rich midnight blue, and there were even some shooting stars. "This is so pretty Luna. I've never been able to look at stars like this," said Twilight as she gave Luna a soft kiss. Luna was already blushing pretty hard and Twilight's kiss just made her blush even harder. "I'm glad you like it sweetie," said Luna quietly. They spent a few hours up on the mountain until it got too cold for them. Luna used her magic to clear up everything, and then they flew back down to her room. They quickly prepared for bed and then climbed under the covers and snuggled so they could warm up. They were both a bit nervous as they fell asleep, tomorrow was they day that there secret would be revealed. ********** Celestia sat at the table in the dinning room. Everypony was sitting around it talking, waiting for the chefs to bring them breakfast. Normally she would just have the cooks bring things out throughout the morning and people could just eat whenever they woke up; however, this morning though she wanted to have a formal breakfast with everyone present. As she looked around the table she noticed that two ponies were missing, her sister and Twilight. She didn't seem to be the only one who had noticed. "Has anypony seen Twilight?" asked Applejack loudly. Everypony simultaneously said no. Celestia got up from her seat. "I'll go look for her and my sister. I'm sure Luna forgot to wake up, and Twilight is probably in the library even though I told her to relax," said Celestia. Celestia left the dinning room and went straight for Luna's bedroom. She had asked Luna to be up early but she had figured she would have over slept. After she woke her sister she would head to the library next. ********** Luna woke up with a big yawn, that had been one of the best nights of sleep she had had in a long time. She looked over at the clock and saw what time it was. They were late for Celestia's breakfast. "Twi, Twi wake up we overslept," said Luna quietly as she nudged Twilight. Twilight yawned and stretched then opened her eyes. Luna gave her a kiss and nuzzled her cheek with her's. "Morning sleeping beauty. Sorry to rush you, but we overslept and if we don't hurry, we'll miss Celestia's breakfast," Luna told her. "Oh, don't let my plans interfere with yours though," said a voice. The curtains on the bed were pulled open with magic and they saw a rather displeased Celestia standing in the doorway. She looked angry. "Both of you. My room. Now," she said sternly. ********** Luna and Twilight sat silently as Celestia paced back and forth lecturing them. "I'm not even angry about the whole thing. I'm angry because you decided to keep it a secret from me," said Celestia, still furious. Twilight had never seen Celestia this angry. She wasn't even like this when she accidentally used the love spell that one time. "Sister, we weren't ready to tell anypony yet. We didn't want to be judged," said Luna in protest. "Yes Luna, but she is my student and I am very protective of my students. Do you remember what happened to my last student?" asked Celestia coldly. Luna gulped and was speechless until she could find the words to say. "That was so long ago...I was a different person...I didn't mean to kill him..." stuttered Luna. "Princess, you know I would have told you right away, but I didn't want to be judged," said Twilight timidly. "Perhaps, but you should have told me anyway Twilight. I do NOT like it when my students keep secrets from me," yelled Celestia. Twilight's head fell, and she began sobbing. Celestia realized that she had gone too far. She had been caring for and mentoring Twilight ever since she was a filly and knew she was like a second mother to Twilight. Yet she had just caused her student to break into tears. Celestia sat down on the ground and pulled Twilight and Luna into a big embrace. "I am angry that you two didn't tell me, but I'm not going to hold it against you. I love you both more then anything in the world," Celestia whispered to them. They hugged for a bit longer and then Celestia let them go. "There is one thing however that I request you do. When we go downstairs I want you both to tell everyone. I don't want this to be a secret anymore to anyone," said Celestia in her usual tone of voice. Twilight and Luna looked at each other and smiled. "We were going to tell everypony at breakfast today anyway sister," explained Luna. Celestia smiled. She was glad they had planned to tell everyone. Keeping secrets is not the best way to keep your friends. ********** Everyone sat around the table eating the wonderful breakfast that the cook had prepared. Nopony said anything even though Princess Celestia had been gone for a while now. Also Twilight and Princess Luna hadn't showed up either. Just when everyone thought something was wrong Princess Celestia walked into the room followed by Luna and Twilight. They all sat down and then Celestia spoke up. "Twilight and Luna have something that they want to tell all of you," announced Celestia to all the ponies around the table. Celestia looked at Twilight and Luna and then they looked at everypony sitting around the table. Twilight and Luna looked at each other and then took a deep breath. "Everypony, I want to tell all of you that Luna and I are...well I guess... together is the best term to use," announced Twilight with no fear in her voice. They looked around at everypony. Some of them had looks of shock, others looks of confusion. But Pinkie's face was probably the most unsettling: a giant wide smile accompanied by extra wide eyes. "Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh this calls for a party!!!" she screamed. Pinkie jumped up from the table and began to bounce around faster then usual. She was also talking really fast. Rainbow Dash and Applejack jumped up and tackled her, but they couldn't stop her and instead got bounced around with Pinkie. "Who let her put too much sugar in her coffee?" yelled Applejack. "I think the better question is who let her have coffee in the first place?" said Rainbow Dash. With effort they both managed to get Pinkie to the ground, but she was still jittery and bouncy. "We'll um...take her outside for a while," said Applejack. The two ponies left with Pinkie and then all eyes were back on Luna and Twilight. Nobody said anything until Spike finally spoke up. "Well I'm glad you finally told everyone. It was getting too hard to keep the secret," said Spike. Celestia looked at Twilight and Luna. "I thought you said you didn't tell anypony?" she asked them. "We didn't. Twilight's assistant walked in on us sleeping on her couch together. We asked that he keep it a secret. And I think he deserves a reward for keeping it so long don't you Twilight?" said Luna. Twilight nodded, and Luna summoned one of the guards. "Bring the baby dragon a small goblet of rubies as a thanks for doing so well," said Luna. Spike's eyes widened at the mentioning of fine gems and he thanked Luna a millions times all while licking his lips. Twilight snickered at her assistant and then turned to her parents, her brother, and Cadance . "I'm sorry I didn't tell any of you, but I was to nervous to say anything. I didn't want to get judged either," said Twilight. "Twilight I would never judge you. You are allowed to make your own choices in life and if this makes you happy then I'm happy," said her mother. "I would never judge you sis. It's like mom just said you are old enough to make your own choices and I'm glad to see this one makes you happy," said Shining Armor. "I think it's cute," said Cadance with a giggle. Shining Armor looked at his wife and she looked at him. "Really? No words of encouragement? Just saying it's cute?" he said. "Well it is cute. They make a very cute couple," said Cadance, slightly annoyed. Twilight and Luna giggled and blushed and Shining Armor shook his head. Twilight turned to her father, who had been quiet this whole time, and didn't like was she saw. He was frowning, and his face had a looked that was a mix of anger and disgust. He got up from his seat and left the room. Her mother got up from her chair and followed and Twilight, Shining Armor, and Cadance did likewise. They all kept following him until they reached the castle entrance. "What's wrong dear?" asked her mother. "I can't accept this," said her father. Twilight stopped in her tracks. It was like she had just been pierced in the heart with a knife. "Wha...What?" she asked with a stutter. Her father turned around and faced them. "I can't accept this," he said, "It's not right and I don't want to think about it." Her mother got an angry look on her face. "You can't accept it? There is nothing wrong with it. She's our daughter and we should be able to accept the choices she makes," said her mother. "I just can't accept our daughter being in a relationship with another mare. I won't accept the fact that she's, well... that she's a fillyfooler," said her father. What her father said hit Twilight like a ton of bricks. "Daddy...you...you...why can't you accept me and Luna?" asked Twilight on the verge of tears. "Because it's not right. Two mares being together is wrong. I always hoped my daughter would settle down with a nice stallion, not another mare," said her father coldly, "If that is her choice then I don't want to have anything to do with it." Twilight's eyes began to gush tears, her father had basically just rejected her as his daughter because she loved Luna. Twilight turn around and ran upstairs to Luna's room, crying all the way and ignoring the yelling. ********** Twilight laid on Luna's bed crying her eyes out. She had lost track of how long she had been crying. Her father had just disowned her all because he couldn't accept her choice. She continued to sob when she heard the bedroom door open. Someone walked into the room and over to the bed. Whoever it was climbed in and laid down next to her. Twilight felt a wing cover her body, and she thought it was Luna, until she smelt the sweet smell of a perfume she knew quite well. "Your mother and brother are yelling at your father right now," said Cadance softly, "Celestia had to take Luna to her room because she tried to attack your father." Twilight continued to sob but she manged to get some words out. "He deserves it, he just disowned me," cried Twilight. Twilight went back to crying and Cadance gently rubbed her mane and cooed her. There was a reason Twilight had always called her the best foal-sitter in Equestria: Cadance was comforting her like she did when she was a filly. "Shh. It's okay sweetie. It's okay. Getting it all out will make you feel better," said Cadance softly. They sat there for about half and hour until Luna came into the room. Twilight wasn't crying anymore. Instead she was just sitting on the bed, staring at the wall. Cadance bent down and whispered softly in her ear. "Luna is here for you. If you need me at all you know were to find me," she said. Cadance gave Twilight a kiss on the head and then traded places with Luna. Luna climbed up on the bed and snuggled with Twilight. They were quiet for a while, and then Luna finally spoke up. "Do you want to talk about it at all?" asked Luna. Twilight shook her head. "It would just make me even more upset," she said sadly. "I'm sorry baby. That must have really hurt to hear," said Luna softly. Twilight nodded her head, and her ears fell. Luna kissed them a few times, and they perked back up. Twilight looked at Luna for the first time. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying so much. "I don't want to let this ruin the holidays...it's just I've never heard words like that from my father," said Twilight. Luna could only assume that Twilight's father wasn't normally like this, and this was just some kind of slip up of something. "Would you like to go back downstairs?" asked Luna. "Yeah... I think I'm out of tears," said Twilight with a slight chuckle. ********** It turned out that Twilight's father had left after the conclusion of the arguing with her mother and brother. His reaction really hurt Twilight emotionally, so it was very lucky that she had some of the most caring friends and family in all of Equestria. It didn't take Twilight long to push the events of the morning behind her and enjoy the holidays. Everypony, while still concerned about the episode that morning, was more interested in Luna and Twilight. They all asked questions and gave them their full support. Only one person talked to Twilight about her relationship alone besides Princess Celestia, and that was her mother. It was the day of Hearth's Warming Eve, and Twilight mother asked her to come up to her room, saying all she wanted to do was talk. Twilight was able to get up there alone and her mother was waiting for her on the bed. "So honey...I just wanted to make sure that you were okay after what your father said. Cadance said she went upstairs while we yelled at your father, and she said you were a mess," said her mother. Twilight trotted up to her mother and sat on the bed beside her. This was still a rather touchy subject; however she hadn't gotten a chance to talk to her mother yet. "Honestly, I was devastated when he said that. I've never heard Daddy talk like that before," said Twilight. "I know. I was just as shocked as you were. I never knew he had such a problem with...well... anyway... all that matters is that you are okay. I'm going to have a serious talk with him after the holidays are over. So I haven't got to ask you yet, but how did you and Princess Luna end up...well... together?" asked her mother sweetly. "Oh...well it was kind of sudden really. During Nightmare Night I taught Luna how to have fun and well...I guess act like a normal pony in today's age. She considers me her one and only friend in the world. Anyway, I'm getting off track. She asked me over to the castle for a sleepover, and we had a lot of fun. I slept in her bed with he and we ended up cuddling. I'll admit that isn't really much of a way to spark a relationship, but it did somehow. She came over the next day and explained her feelings for me and said she had been having these feeling since Nightmare Night. Well... it kind of just carried on from there," said Twilight. Her mother laughed a bit. Twilight just spoke as if she had prepared this explanation in advanced. She gave her daughter a hug and a kiss on the forehead. "Well if you are happy, then I'm not one to judge you. You're my daughter, but you are old enough to make your own decisions," said her mother. Twilight smiled and hugged her mother. "Thank you mommy," she said softly. "You're welcome sweetheart. Now let's go downstairs," said her mother. Author's Note He's another one. Much longer then what I normally do. This will probably be the last chapter for now until I can come up with some new ideas. Still unsure whether I will be putting it on hiatus or not. Also if y'all see any grammar or spelling errors my editor or I have missed please feel free to let me know so I can fix them ASAP. Enjoy
Strange OccurrencesWritten by: Mayhem Darkshadow Edited by: psychohooves ******************** Chapter 6: Strange Occurrences Celestia walked up the stairs of the east part of the castle towards Luna's room. It was already twelve in the afternoon, and her sister and Twilight had not crawled out of bed yet. They must have been up later than she had anticipated. She wanted to surprise them with a lovely breakfast, like her own belated Hearts and Hooves Day celebration with her two favorite ponies in all of Equestria; however, since they were still sleeping, she figured they must have had one crazy night. Hopefully they didn't do anything too outrageous, Celestia thought to herself as she climbed the final few stairs. The door to her sisters bedroom was shut but not locked. Celestia gave a quiet little knock and then, when nopony answered, entered the room quietly. The curtains on the windows and surrounding Luna's bed were still shut. Celestia used her magic to opened the blinds, with complete knowledge that the curtains around the bed were enchanted to block out light. When the light flooded the room she was able to get a good idea of what happened the night before. Both of their dresses were laying on the ground along with some more scandalous items. There were also multiple empty wine bottles, some of which were Celestia's favorite and exclusive vintages. There was also a certain overpowering aroma: A mixture of sweat and other things. Celestia was pretty sure she knew what had happened. Oh well it was bound to happen at some point, she sighed, The best I can do is be supportive and not scold them for raiding my wine collection. Celestia shook her head slightly and then slowly open the curtains that were around the bed. A smile grew on her face when she saw the two of them. Twilight was cuddled up tightly against her sister, and Luna had her arms and wings wrapped around her student. Aren't they just adorable? she thought with a smile. However, the both of them smelled as if they had ran a marathon last night. This only caused Celestia to snicker lightly. She moved in closely and nuzzled them both on the cheeks softly. "Wake up sleepy heads," she whispered quietly into their ears, "You're both missing out on a wonderful day." At first there was no response, but finally Luna and Twilight began to stir. The both of them slowly rose out of bed, yawning and stretching their legs. "Good morning my dears," chimed Celestia as they began to become more aware, "Or...I guess I should be saying good afternoon." Luna and Twilight finally opened their eyes and were able to get a good look at their surroundings. After a fair amount of silence Twilight finally spoke up. "Did...did we do what I think we did last night...?" Luna took another second to look around at her room. There was absolutely nothing that didn't scream yes surrounding them. "Yes my love I think we did." Both of them immediately turned to Celestia and opened their mouths, but she stopped them before they could speak. "You both don't need to apologize for anything. I'm not even the slightest bit angry with you. I wouldn't even say I'm angry that you drank some of my vintage wines. The point I'm trying to make is that you did something that showed you two really do love each other dearly and have further cemented the bond you have together." This little speech was something Celestia had been waiting years to say to either Twilight or Luna; however, Twilight had been so shy, and Luna of course had her thousand year absence. Celestia never imagined that she would be giving the speech to them together. She was so overcome with emotions she pulled them both into a huge embrace and even shed a few tears silently. Luna and Twilight looked at each other and shrugged slightly. It was very unlike Celestia to behave in such a matter. The older princess finally let them go after making sure it didn't look like she had cried a little. "Well," she started, "You both managed to sleep through breakfast, but lunch hasn't been prepared yet. I want the both of you to take a bath and then come downstairs." Celestia turned and headed for the door. As soon as she put a hoof out the door she got it caught on a trip wire. She managed to pull her head back into the room just in time to see something impale itself in the wall at the end of the corridor. "Is something wrong sister?" Luna asked curiously. Celestia didn't move her head from where it was and tried to keep calm and collected. However, on the inside she was panicking. "Oh nothing. Just a thought crossing my mind," she replied calmly. She exited the room and shut the door. She turned and looked at the object impaled in the wall. It was one of the flag poles the guards carried. She glanced around the hallway and realized it was empty. This disturbed her quite a bit. Luna's guards were not at their posts like they were supposed to be. I must have missed that wire when I walked into the room. Something about this isn't quite right. ********** As Celestia shut the door Twilight turned to Luna. "She was acting very weird wasn't she?" asked Twilight curiously. "She was. I can't quite figure out why though," responded Luna, just as confused. Since they couldn't seem to piece anything together about what just happened they just decided to take a bath. They both walked together into the bathroom and Luna started the water. Twilight walked into the closet looking for towels when something fell from the ceiling and smacked her on the back of the head, knocking her to the floor. Luna heard the commotion and ran into the closet. Twilight was still on the floor clutching her head. She had been hit by Luna's chest plate. "Are you okay sweetheart?" asked Luna as she tried to look at Twilight's head. Twilight moved her hoof and Luna was glad to see that she wasn't bleeding. But she did have a nice welt. Luna kissed it softly and then helped Twilight up off the ground. Luna could not help but wonder though. How had Twilight managed to get hit by her chest regalia? Someone had obviously been going through her stuff and she was going to find out who. ********** After a quick bath, Luna and Twilight prepared for the day and then made their way downstairs. Twilight was still rubbing the back of her head. Luna gave it another kiss as they walked down the stairs to the main floor. "What just happened was very strange," mentioned Twilight halfway down the stairs. Luna nodded in agreement. The regalia had somehow been tied to the ceiling and fell when Twilight entered the closet. They were about halfway down the stairs when Twilight slipped on one of the steps and lost her balance. Luna managed to catch her and put her back on her feet. They looked down at the step she had slipped on. It was coated with grease. "You okay dear?" panicked Luna. "Yeah, yeah I'm okay," responded Twilight quickly. They both carefully stepped over the greased step and continued to the dining hall. They found Celestia waiting for them. "Is something wrong my little ponies?" Luna and Twilight sat down and then explained the situation to Celestia. "I think something is going on sister," said Luna after they finished. "Something is going on indeed," said Celestia, "This morning I was almost hit by a flag pole. So either the guards are playing a very very dangerous prank or something more serious is going on. Twilight and Luna looked at each other with worried faces. Considering that the guards would never play a prank on any of them, it could only mean that someone was out to get them. But who would do this? ********** (Earlier in the Week) Scarface and his gang of ponies walked into the backroom of Canterlot's seediest bar. Scarface and his gang specialized in...well the only word for it was mayhem. Lately business had been slow, but they had finally gotten a contract. When they entered the room there was a pony wearing a cloak and hood covering his face. "Thank you for coming gentlemen," said the mysterious pony. Scarface sat down while his gang stood around him. "So, you wish to contract some controlled chaos?" asked Scarface curiously. The pony remained silent. "You wish to contract controlled chaos?" repeated Scarface. "Yes, yes I do," responded the pony. Scarface smiled. "I assume you have the proper funds." The pony nodded and pushed a small bag of bits towards Scarface. "The down payment for your services. I'll give you the rest once the job is complete." Scarface's horn glowed with magic, and a knife came out from under the table. The knife sliced the bag open, and gold fell out onto the table. Scarface and his gang smiled. "What is it that we can do for you my friend?" asked Scarface politely. The pony sat forward. "I wish for you to scare Princess Luna." Some of Scarface’s cronies muttered among themselves. Scarface shushed them and then turned back to their customer. "This is a tall order sir," a stoic Scarface responded, "That will take a lot of work. Are there any specific requests?" The pony sat back in his chair and then sat forward again. "I do not want you to harm Princess Luna; just scare her enough so she'll leave her marefriend. However..." Nightlight pulled off the hood and revealed his face to the gang of criminals. "My daughter Twilight is her marefriend. I don't mind if you scare her too, but if you harm her at all I will not pay." ********** The following two weeks did not go over well for either Twilight or Luna. Weird little accidents kept happening to both of them. The most disturbing part was that they didn't happen all the time. One thing would happen only but nothing else afterwards, giving them a false sense of security, only to be caught off guard later. Luna spent a lot of time trying to figure out the meaning of these attacks. Twilight spent a lot of time cowering in the library. A lot of the "accidents" that kept happening had actually caused bodily harm to her. Both Spike and her friends had noticed this and tried to cheer her up, but it didn't work. She didn't want to leave the safety and comfort of the library, which she had kept locked 24/7 since the accidents started happening. ********** Twilight sat up in her room reading a book on transportation spells. She kept glancing around nervously. Spike was out at Rarity's because he had gotten fed up with Twilight's paranoid behavior. The whole library was quiet and for once Twilight felt slightly safe. It had been a weird two weeks but she felt that it was all behind her and Luna. Twilight let out a slightly happy sigh and then heard sounds coming from downstairs. She slammed her book shut and then jumped. Her heart began to race rapidly. Somepony was in her house. She got up cautiously from her bed and crept out of her room. Walking over to the balcony and looked downstairs. She didn't see anyone. "Hello, is somepony in here? The library is closed," called Twilight. No response. Twilight let out a sigh. She really was over reacting. Twilight laughed a little bit, and her stomach responded with a loud growl. Snack time I guess. Twilight took a step towards the stairs, and her hoof caught something. She tripped, fell down the stairs, and crashed into the wall. She closed her eyes in pain and then looked up towards the top of the stairs. She was able to catch the faint outline of a strand of wire. Twilight cried out and let some tears pour from her eyes. She crawled over to her desk and scrawled out a quick note. Luna, Another accident happened today. I'm really scared. Please come get me. Love, Twilight Twilight rolled up the letter and then sent it to Luna. The response was immediate. Luna said she was on her way and that she would bring her back to the castle. This was comforting for Twilight, but she was still freaking out. She crawled over to the couch and let some for tears fall. Something was going on and she didn't like it at all. ********** Celestia trotted through the castle towards the library. Luna had informed her that Twilight had gotten hurt from another occurrence and she was bringing her back to the castle. The occurrences were still going on at the castle too but Celestia, with the help of Shining Armor, had increased security tenfold. Luna's guards posted outside the door let her in. Twilight and Luna were sitting on the couch. Twilight was holding a cup of tea, which was shaking badly. Luna had a hoof around wrapped around Twilight. Celestia sat down and rubbed a hoof through her mane. "Are you okay my little pony?" Celestia asked her student softly. Twilight nodded and sipped her tea nervously. She was an absolute wreck. Celestia gave her a comforting kiss on the forehead and then got up from her seat. "I'm going to go increase security some more and I'll also let Twilight's family know she is here," announced Celestia, "Keep her safe Luna." Luna nodded and snuggled closer to Twilight. She nibbled on Twilight's ear, which caused Twilight to crack a smile and laugh. Celestia smiled and left them alone. It was time to get to the bottom of this. ********** Scarface walked into the back room of the same bar he met Nightlight in two weeks ago. Nightlight was there, waiting for him. "Updates?" asked Nightlight with a frown. Scarface sat down in the chair opposite Nightlight and smiled. "It's going well. Both Princess Luna and your daughter are quite spooked." Nightlight remained stoic, but inside he was quite satisfied. He hoped they would end their relationship soon. Scarface's smile stayed on his face as he reached into his bag and pulled out a tape. He put it on the table and slid it to Nightlight. "A video of what we have done so far and the reactions," explained Scarface. Nightlight took the tape. "Good. I've wanted to know how much progress was being made. Once they finally separate I will pay you the money." Scarface's smile fell. Nightlight was one of those kinds of customers. They were going to have to ramp up their activities so they could end it quickly. ********** Celestia sat in the throne room thinking about everything that had happened over the past few weeks. Other than the first time she set off a trap none of the other ones seemed to be for her. In fact they were all for Luna and Twilight. Someone really was out for them. There was a knock on the door and two of her Solar Guards entered the room. "Anything?" Celestia asked them almost impatiently. "Yes your Majesty. We managed to find over two dozen hidden cameras around the castle and Twilight Sparkle's house in Ponyville.” Celestia frowned. "Were you able to trace them to the source?" The guards shook their heads and Celestia sighed. This whole ordeal was slowly turning into a nightmare. "Please go and find out who sells these cameras. Question them and figure out who bought these. Please make haste," commanded a very serious Celestia. The guards saluted and ran out of the room. Celestia fell back into her chair and let out a grunt. What an utter mess this is becoming. I should go check on Twilight and Luna . ********** Scarface sat in the chair behind his desk counting up the gold they had been paid. It was enough for them to get by until they got the rest of the payment. There was a knock on the door and his technology expert came in. "What is it?" snapped Scarface. "Umm...the guards managed to find the cameras. They are on their way to the store we bought them from," said the pony nervously. Scarface slammed his hooves on the desk and got up. "Guess we need to go pay our security friend a visit." ********** Nightlight sat in his dark office holding the video tape the hired thugs had given him. He had some reluctance to watch it but he knew that Scarface and his gang always did what they were asked to do. "I have nothing to worry about they wouldn't step out of bounds if it meant not getting paid. Besides...I'm only doing what's best for my little girl," said Nightlight to himself. He took a deep breath, pushed the tape into the VCR, and pressed play. ********** Scarface sat on top of the pony that provided them with their surveillance equipment. He held a knife to that pony's throat while three of his men held the pony down. "Please!! You don't have to do this!" pleaded the pony, "I won't tell them who I sold the cameras to I swear. Please I have a family." Scarface was not a pony of the kind hearted nature and held a grimacing smile on his face. "Sorry, you've been a very helpful provider my friend. But we can't have any loose ends that will get us exposed." ********** Princess Celestia's Solar Guards galloped down Canterlot's main street towards Dave's In-Home Security. It was right around closing time, but they prayed the place would still be open. They traced the cameras back to this shop and were now hoping the owner could tell them who had purchased them. They galloped up to the door, which was still unlocked, and went inside. The lights were still on but the whole building was dead quiet. "Something isn't right," mentioned one of the guards to the other. They walked through the main building looking for any signs of life. Nopony seemed to be there. Then they came across the door to the office and noticed it was slightly ajar. They opened it and were appalled by what they found. "One of us needs to run back to the castle and report to the Princess immediately. This situation just got a hell of a lot more complicated." Lying on the ground was the owner of the store. He had a huge gash right across his throat and blood was still seeping out of it. The most troubling part about this was what was most noticeable. The gash was still fresh. ********** Nightlight sat quietly in his study watching the video tape. Tears were pouring down his face and onto the floor. This video was the most heart breaking thing he had ever watched in his life. Twilight sat cuddled up next to Luna crying her eyes out. Luna was doing her best to comfort her saddened lover. "Shh its okay Twilight it’s okay. Nopony is going to hurt you or me. We are safe here at the castle." The words didn't help at all, and Twilight continued to bawl. Luna rubbed a hoof through her mane and kissed away some of the tears. "I'm so scared right now Luna. It's obvious whoever is doing this is out to get us. But why would anybody ever do something so cruel?" Luna did not answer but instead began to cry a bit herself. "I don't know sweetheart I don't know. I'm worried too. I haven't been able to sleep for days now." The two of them put their heads together and continued to cry their eyes out. Nightlight shut off the video and put his face into his hooves. His heart was aching right now. What he hoped would have been a way to help those two only turned out to be a means of bringing fear and pain. How could I have done this to Luna and Twilight? How could I have been so blinded by rage and wrongdoing that I would stoop so low and cause this? My blindness and inability to understand has cost me my family life. Nightlight sniffed and wiped some tears from his eyes. He would never be able to forgive himself for what he had caused. He then went into his desk and pulled out a quill and parchment. I need to make this right. Author's Note So sorry if you maybe saw this earlier. I had to delete it and re-post it because of some technical difficulties (a follower said he received no notification that a new chapter had been posted). Anyway I know this one is a bit different than normal but trust new it leads into what is coming. As usual if you see a notable mistake let me know. Enjoy. Update 4/9/2013- Okay guys I've been giving this a lot of thought ever since I posted this chapter. I realize I could have done a much better job then I actually did. Therefore my plan in the future (just don't have the time right now) is to revise this and try and break it up into two parts. I plan to leave the original up and add the other two after it. When I wrote this I was under a lot of stress and that may have affected my writing. I'll post a blog about it later. Update 5/16/2013- So I'm still giving thought as to how to go about fixing this. The plan is still to break this into multiple parts but I may just change how this all goes about so as to maybe kill off potential confusion. Anyway rewriting this chapter is very low on my list of things to do.
The ApologyWritten by: Mayhem Darkshadow Edited by: psychohooves and Avatar of Shadow Chapter 7: The Apology Nightlight approached the front gates of the castle casually; a few beads of sweat were running down his face. He was extremely nervous about what he was about to do, due to the possibility of two dramatically different outcomes. He could either fix what he had caused or could face even greater problems than before. He walked up slowly to the front gate and Princess Celestia's Solar Guards. "You are not allowed on castle grounds Nightlight Sparkle," explained one of the guards as he approached them. Nightlight frowned. "On whose orders?" The guards both returned the frown. "By order of your son, Captain Shining Armor," stated one of the guards. Nightlight figured his son would have taken action after the damage he caused to Twilight. He let out a huge sigh and pulled a letter out of his saddle bag. "That's understandable so I won't argue, but since I can't do it in person, will you please give this letter to my daughter, Twilight Sparkle?" The two guards looked at each other and then nodded. "We can do that I suppose," they responded. Nightlight thanked them and left. His hopes were high now, and he prayed for a good outcome as he made his way home. ********** There was a knock on the library door, causing Luna and Twilight to look up from the book they were reading. There hadn't been any "accidents" in a few days, so they were both starting to relax a bit. "Enter!" shouted Luna at the door. One of Celestia's guards entered the room carrying a scroll in his mouth. He walked over to the couch and gave Twilight the letter. "A message," explained the guard when he saw Twilight's confused look. "From who?" asked Twilight curiously. "Your father.” The guard left the room leaving Twilight and Luna alone again. Twilight had a look of utter confusion on her face, while Luna had a look of absolute disgust. Twilight broke the seal and opened the letter. Luna gave her a look. "You aren't actually going to read that, are you love?" she asked Twilight. Twilight looked up at her. "I think I should, and you should too. It's addressed to both of us." Luna grimaced and moved closer to Twilight so she could read along. Dear Twilight and Luna, I do hope that this letter does reach the both of you and is not rejected. I have been giving a lot of thought to the mistakes I made when I first learned about your relationship. How I reacted was inexcusable to say the least. I want to apologize for that and more. However, I won’t give out a list of what I’m sorry for. Instead I have a request for both of you. Could you both, or just Twilight if Luna doesn't want to come, meet me in the Canterlot park around twelve so that I can apologize in person. If you do not wish to come by I understand, and it will be the last you hear from me. If you do come by it would make me very happy. Sincerely, Nightlight Sparkle Twilight and Luna read the letter twice before rolling it up. Twilight could tell her father really meant what he had written; unfortunately, Luna didn't seem to be convinced. "You're not thinking of going are you sweetheart?" questioned Luna. Twilight nodded her head. "Of course I am." Luna looked at Twilight with a very serious face. "But think of all he did. Think of all the pain he caused you and, to an extent, us." Twilight's face fell. Luna had a good point. But she also knew that they couldn’t just ignore her father’s wishes. After all, he was her father. "Luna, I can tell when my father is being sincere. If you look closely at the letter there are tear stains on it. I think his heart may finally be in the right place.” Twilight put her hoof on Luna's cheek. She curled her lower lip and gave Luna her best puppy dog eyes. "Pwease come with me Woona?" pleaded Twilight in her best baby voice. Luna smiled and gave Twilight a kiss. "Oh you know I can't say no to you my sweet little filly.” ********** Nightlight sat on a bench in Canterlot Park. He pulled out his pocket watch. It was two minutes to twelve. I suppose they aren't showing up. I guess I'll make my leave. Nightlight got up from his seat when he saw two ponies walking his way. He sat back down and took a deep breath. This was going to be one of the hardest things he'd ever done in his life. Twilight and Luna sat down on the bench across from Nightlight's. Twilight's face showed little emotion, and Luna's showed unhappiness. "Thank you for coming," said Nightlight quietly. "We were surprised to get your letter father. We were both surprised to hear that you wanted to apologize," said Twilight. Nightlight took a huge breath and looked Twilight and Luna in the eyes. "Yes I do. I've had a lot of time to think about what I did. I realized that I've hurt both of you. I shouldn't have reacted how I did. I should have supported the both of you from the start. I will understand if you don't want to forgive me but I am praying that you will." Twilight turned to Luna. Neither of them said anything. They just looked in each other’s eyes. Luna knew that Twilight wanted to forgive him but that's because he was her father. Luna wasn't sure how she felt about the matter. She could tell without a doubt he was being sincere. She also didn't have to probe his mind with magic to know that he really wanted their forgiveness. Still everything he did outweighed the current situation. Luna shook her head and Twilight glared at her. "Give us a second to talk about this," Twilight told her father. Luna and Twilight got from their seat and walked away from Nightlight. When they felt they were far enough away from him they began to argue. "Why can't we forgive him Luna?" asked Twilight coldly. "Think of everything he did Twilight. Forget for a moment that he's your father and think about it. I watched you cry for two weeks straight. He's playing the father card with hopes that you'll bend to that and forgive him. He doesn't deserve forgiveness. At least he doesn't right now," snapped Luna in a serious tone. Twilight was taken aback. Luna had never snapped at her. Some tears started to fall from Twilight's eyes and she turned away from Luna. "I just want what's best for us Twilight," explained Luna sweetly, "If that means maybe not having your father around then it is what it is." Twilight sniffed and wiped some tears from her eyes. She knew Luna was right, but she couldn't imagine a life without her father. After not saying anything for a few seconds Twilight turned around. "You're right. He doesn't deserve it right now. Maybe after he has had some more time to think about everything," she told Luna quietly. Luna wrapped a hoof around Twilight and nuzzled her cheek. "Be strong. I'll do the talking if you'd like." Twilight nodded and they walked back over to Nightlight. "Mr. Sparkle," Luna started, "You are being sincere and your heart has finally moved to the right place. However, in light of everything that you did we cannot forgive you. Not right now at least. Maybe some time in the future, but not now." Nightlight felt the vein in his forehead pulse. "Are you just saying that Luna, or are you both being serious?" Twilight wiped some more tears from her eyes and spoke up in Luna's defense. "That is from both of us Daddy. While I may have not felt like that at the beginning of this apology I realized that Luna was right. We can't just forgive you after everything you did. Just know that you are still my father, and I will love you no matter what," sobbed Twilight. Twilight couldn’t take anymore, got up from her seat, and teleported. She didn't want a whole park full of ponies see her break down. Luna, after giving Nightlight a nod out of politeness, trotted off to where she figured Twilight disappeared to, the Castle. Nightlight just sat there. He was trying to figure out where he may have gone wrong. He figured Twilight would have been the most likely of everypony to forgive him right away. Giving a small sigh he got up from his seat and exited the park. His plan was not going how he had hoped. ********** Nightlight walked up the steps of his son and daughter in-laws house. He knew that both Cadance and Shining Armor were home. While he hadn't really hurt them as much as Twilight and Luna he still was seeking their forgiveness for how he acted. Nightlight knocked on the door and waited. Cadance answered it. When she saw who it was Cadance’s smile fell to a frown. Nightlight had never seen Cadance frown once. "Would you like something before I shut the door on you," snarled Cadance. Nightlight cleared his throat. "I came to apologize to you and Shining." Cadance's expression didn't change. She wasn't sure if she wanted to believe her father in-law or not. "I suppose you can come in if you want," said Cadance rudely. Nightlight followed his daughter in-law inside. Cadance didn't say a word and left him in the living room while she went into the kitchen. She came back with Shining Armor. Shining looked like he was ready to throw his father out even though he hadn't said anything yet. "What do you want before I toss you out of my house?" growled Shining Armor. "I came here to apologize to both of you for what I've done," explained Nightlight sincerely. Shining Armor continued to frown. Cadance's frown disappeared, but she remained stoic. "I think you should be apologizing to Twilight and Luna, not Cadance and I," said Shining Armor. "I already did. They did not forgive me but they at least considered it could possibly be done in the future," shot back Nightlight. Shining Armor's frown fell even further. Cadance remained as she was. "After all you did to them I'm not surprised in the least to hear they didn't forgive you. The fact that they are considering it is shocking," snarled Shining Armor. Nightlight didn't say a word. This apology was starting to head south. "So you’re asking for our forgiveness then?" questioned Shining Armor. Nightlight nodded. "Why in the name of the coldest circle of hell should we do that? Look what you've done to this family Dad. You managed to ruin it out of plain stupidity! Forgiveness is the last thing you deserve! I'm glad to see that you at least feel bad about it all but you should have realized this the moment you disowned Twilight, not almost three months later! Be happy that Twilight and Luna are at least considering forgiving because as far as I'm concerned you are no longer a father to me!" Shining Armor got up from his seat and stormed off to his office. Cadance let out a sigh and addressed Nightlight. "I think you should go," she told him. Nightlight, shocked from what his son had just said, got up and left the house. He didn't feel like trying to do anymore. Right now all he wanted to do was crawl in bed. ******** The last portion of Nightlight's steadily failing plan was to ask Velvet for forgiveness. Although he knew she wouldn't forgive him either, he at least wanted to try. He was hoping that getting forgiveness from Twilight and Luna as well as Shining and Cadance would act as leverage when convincing her. He didn't have that leverage, and that made things much more difficult. Still he had planned to butter her up with lunch at her favorite restaurant before even asking the question. In order to actually get her to show up he wrote her a fake letter. He made it look as if a close family friend was going to be in Canterlot for the day and wanted to know if Velvet would like to grab some lunch and catch up. Nightlight already reserved a table under the false name and made sure it was not in a position where Velvet would be able to see him from the front door. His plans were all set up, yet the possibility of failure was close to one-hundred percent. ********** Nightlight sat inside Daisy and Rose's Cafe waiting for Velvet to show up. He had gotten a table that was near the back and obscured by booths. Much to his luck it was also a very busy day. It felt like ponies were going in and out every minute. He pulled out his watch. She should be here any minute, he thought. Sure enough as soon as he put his watch away Velvet walked around the corner. As soon as she saw him her face turned red and her smile fell to a frown. Luckily for Nightlight she didn't make a scene. In fact she walked over and sat down at the table. He could tell she was about ready to burst and made sure he crafted his speech the right way. "Is this some kind of joke Nightlight?" snarled Velvet, "I thought I was meeting Pantheon here for lunch." Nightlight took a deep breath and went into explanation. "I had to lure you here under false pretenses. If you had known it was me asking you to come here you would have ignored that letter." Velvet furrowed her brow. Why did Nightlight have to be such a crafty pony? "So why did you want to see me?" asked Velvet coldly. Nightlight looked Velvet in the eyes. She was growing more agitated, so he had to be very careful with his choice of words. "I wanted to apologize. No. I wanted to beg for your forgiveness Velvet. I've had a lot of time to think about what I have done to our family. I was wrong in every single way. I shouldn't have lashed out like I did," said Nightlight quietly and carefully. Velvet opened her mouth and looked as if she was going to blow her top. Luckily for Nightlight the waitress brought his order to them and just in time. Velvet shut her mouth and looked at the plate that had been put in front of her. Placed on the plate was a dandelion and spinach sandwich and a small cup of celery and carrot soup. It was her favorite meal in all of Equestria. Her frown disappeared, and she looked at Nightlight. "You really are trying to work this in your favor aren't you?" she asked him. Nightlight's only response was that he hadn't forgotten about his family. He said that they would at least eat and then Velvet could decide what she wanted to do. Velvet thought this was actually kind of sweet for him to say, though she refused to show it. Nightlight worried about whether or not his plan was working as the two ponies ate silently. Velvet's mood had changed since her arrival; however, that didn't signify anything in his mind. Velvet could be happy on the outside and still furious on the inside. Once they finished eating they continued to talk. Nightlight started. "Before you decide anything I just want to say something. I know you are furious at me for how I acted. I would be too. Whether you forgive me or not, I want you to move back into the house. I'll let you decide whether you want me to stay or not." Velvet looked at him. She was starting to wonder if he really had changed. "There is one thing I don't understand. Why did you act like that in the first place? All this wouldn't have happened if you would have just given Twilight your support!" Night knew she was going to ask this. He himself had given that question a lot of thought. "I have thought about this a lot. I think it is simply due to how I was taught ever since I was a young colt," responded Nightlight. Velvet looked at him, unconvinced with his response. "Explain," she said. Nightlight leaned back in his chair. "Just think about my upbringing. You've met my parents. They are some of the most conservative ponies in all of Equestria. I'm sure if they ever found out about Twilight and Luna, they would freak out. They raised me to believe in conservative ways. Just think about the first time they met you. You made my mother pass out." Velvet remembered that day well. Nightlight's parents reactions were quiet scary. There was a lot of yelling and fighting. She remembered that they didn't speak for months. "But I still don't understand. You defended me in that situation but you didn't defend your own daughter and give her your support? That doesn't make any sense," Velvet told him. Nightlight sighed. "I know it doesn't, but trust me. From the moment I was born my parents raised me under their conservative ideas. I guess some of them must have stuck. I realize now that they are all wrong." He really is manning up for his mistakes, Velvet thought to herself. "Have you apologized to anybody else?" Nightlight nodded his head. "I have already apologized to Twilight and Luna as well as Shining and Cadance. Twilight and Luna said they wouldn't forgive me now but maybe in the future. Cadance never really gave me an answer but I'll assume it's a no. As for Shining...well let's just say I don't think I'm a father to him anymore." Velvet wasn't in the least bit shocked that nopony forgave him. She was glad nopony did because he didn't deserve it at all. "Nightlight Sparkle, you really hurt me and your family with how you reacted. You on your own managed to ruin our bonds and maybe even our marriage. But you are being very brave by apologizing to me in person as well as the rest of your family. That being put aside I will say that you will not be getting my forgiveness, nor do I accept your apology. You need to learn that what you did was wrong and you need to learn it the hard way. I was going to tell you this later but now seems to be the best time. I have been seeing a lawyer for the past month. We have been working on some documents together. We've been working on divorce papers for you and me." Nightlight felt his whole world crash around him. This whole plan had just taken a turn for the worse. "Velvet...you...you can't be serious," stammered Nightlight. Velvet nodded her head. Her eyes were sparkling with tears. "I'm sorry Nightlight but it is what it is. You don't deserve to be a member of this family after what you did. I'm making sure that. The restraining orders are being signed by a judge next week. The divorce papers are still being worked on. I will call you when they are done." Velvet got up from the table. It was all too much for her. She turned around and began to leave. Before going though she made two more statements. "Please be out of the house by Monday," she told him, "Also don't think that I'm doing this because I hate you. I don't hate you one bit. That doesn't mean I still love you. You ruined that after what you said to your daughter. Just know that I'm proud of you for apologizing to all of us. That at least shows you feel remorse for your sins. Maybe in time this will all correct itself but things will never be the same and you know that." Velvet trotted off and Nightlight could see stains on the floor from her tears. There was nothing else he could do. Everything he had hoped would have happened disappeared in that instant. Wiping away a few tears he paid for the meal and left the cafe. His plan was a bust and he was unsure what he was going to do now. Still it had one more part and he figured this one would at least go over without problems. That of course was pay Scarface for his services. Author's Note Sorry this took so long everyone. I had this done back at the beginning of April but I rewrote it because I felt I did a really bad job. Anyway this one should be much better I put a lot of effort into making this chapter stand out from previous ones. If you see any mistakes that were missed let me know so I can fix them. Hope everyone enjoyed Nightlight getting what he deserved. Update 5/28/13: Okay guys Nightlight is not going to commit suicide. While I hate spoilers I should explain he is talking about clearing up everything with Scarface and his gang. Update: Okay guys I fixed the ending so hopefully it doesn't sound like Nightlight is going to commit suicide.
BackfireWritten by: Mayhem Darkshadow Edited by: psychohooves and Avatar of Shadow *****Fair Warning, Trouble Ahead***** Chapter 8: Backfire Nightlight's plans had very unexpected results. Instead of mending the problems with his family, he only made them worse. The only task he completed successfully was managing to stop Scarface and his gang from terrorizing Twilight and Luna. He paid them in full and even gave them a bit extra. Scarface questioned his motives; however, Nightlight stood firm. If he ever wanted to have any chance fixing anything he needed to start over fresh. Unfortunately for Nightlight, Scarface and his gang had one rule: to never stop until the job was complete. ********** Twilight and Luna sat upstairs in Luna's room, sprawled out on the bed engaged in a very competitive session of video games. Twilight appeared to be performing better than normal, tied with Luna for wins. "I hope you aren't mad at me for everything Twilight. I just felt it was something that had to be done," Luna mentioned as she pummeled Twilight's chosen character in Super Pony Fighter IV. Twilight nodded her head. "I don't blame you for anything. I feel better honestly, but I'm still a bit depressed." Luna leaned over and gave Twilight a nuzzle and a kiss. Tonight was Twilight's last night in Canterlot. Twilight finally felt her sense of security had returned and was ready to return to Ponyville, though Luna was sad to see her go. After their lips broke apart Twilight got up off the bed. "I'll be right back. I need to use the bathroom. Don't cheat while I'm away." Luna gave Twilight an evil smile but assured Twilight she wouldn’t cheat. Twilight shook her head and trotted to the bathroom. Luna rested her head and enjoyed the silence, only for it to be broken by a blood curdling scream. Luna bolted from the bed and ran to the bathroom. Twilight was on the floor clutching one of her hooves with another. There was blood dripping onto the ground. Twilight didn't say a word and showed Luna her hoof. Luna's eyes widened in both shock and horror. "Is...is that...how?" Embedded in Twilight's hoof was a small dragon scale. The scale didn’t appear to be lodged too deeply; however, she was bleeding rather profusely. "I reached to flush the toilet, and it popped out of nowhere," Twilight cried in distraught. Luna was really worried. Twilight need to get to a doctor and quickly. However Luna noticed a piece of paper sitting on floor. She picked it up and read its contents. It read “You didn't heed the warnings”. Luna panicked, levitated Twilight onto her back, and galloped out of the room, praying that the palace infirmary hadn’t closed yet. ********** Princess Celestia galloped trough the castle towards the palace infirmary after being informed that Twilight had been seriously injured. Celestia slowed to a trot as she got to the door. She looked in and saw Twilight was sitting on one of the bed and being attended to. Luna and Shining Armor were also there. Celestia quietly knocked on the door and entered. "So what did I miss?" she asked them. Luna levitated a small silver dish over to her sister. Celestia was taken aback when she saw what was in it. "Is that a dragon scale?" she sputtered. Luna and Shining Armor nodded. Celestia picked up the scale and examined it. Half of it was covered in blood. She could only imagine the pain Twilight was in. Celestia put the scale down and Luna set the dish aside. "I don't think it's safe for Twilight to go home tonight," she said. Luna and Shining Armor nodded in agreement. Celestia then turned and addressed Shining Armor. "Shining Armor, do you have anypony looking into this?" Shining Armor nodded. "Yes Princess Celestia. My guards are combing the castle as we speak." Celestia nodded her head in approval. She then turned back to Luna. "We need to talk in private." Luna raised an eyebrow and followed Celestia out of the infirmary. When they were allow Luna addressed Celestia. "Sister. What is it?" Celestia let out a sigh. "I’m about to tell you something you don’t want to hear. Luna...you need to take the night watch tonight." Luna was flabbergasted. "Sister! This is Twilight's last night." Celestia put a hoof on Luna shoulder. "I know Luna, but I've been covering for you since Twilight arrived. I'm exhausted." Luna took a second to look at Celestia. Her eyes were bloodshot, and the area around them was dark. "I suppose you do need some sleep sister," Luna grumbled, "But what about Twilight?" Celestia patted Luna playfully on the head. "She can sleep with me in my room, which is going to be heavily guarded." Luna rolled her eyes. "I suppose so sister." Celestia pulled Luna into a hug. "Thank you for understanding Luna. Have I ever told you how much I love you?" "Every day Tia, but it never hurts to hear." Celestia and Luna laughed a little and then went back in the infirmary to accompany Twilight. Tonight was going to be a crazy night. ********** "Ready for bed yet my faithful student?" Celestia called from her bed. "Almost Princess," Twilight responded from Celestia's bathroom, "I'm just re-bandaging my wound." Celestia smiled and went back to her book. Typical Twilight... Always being overly thorough. She thought to herself. Twilight always made Celestia feel young at heart. Twilight came out of the bathroom and carefully walked over to the bed. The palace doctor had told her to be careful with her wound. Fortunately for her, it was not deep enough that it needed stitches. However, there was still the possibility of an infection, and being cautious never hurt anypony. As Twilight climbed into bed, Celestia put her book away and snuggled underneath the covers. "I can't think of the last time you slept with me, Twilight," Celestia mentioned as they got comfortable. Twilight smiled and got a bit closer to her mentor. "Not since I was a filly, I think." Celestia thought about it and realized that Twilight was right and that they haven’t had any bonding time for quite a while. "I feel like we haven't really had that much alone time together, Twilight," Celestia said. Twilight nodded. "Well Luna has been hogging me quite a bit for the last few months." Celestia and Twilight burst into a fit of giggles. "So Twilight I need to ask," Celestia started, "How does Luna treat you?" "Like a princess," Twilight responded , "I...I love her." Twilight's cheeks lit up, causing her to look away from Celestia. "I know you do Twilight. She loves you too," Celestia told the flustered pony, "My sister was not very happy that she had to take the night watch tonight." Twilight giggled nervously, and Celestia let out a yawn. "Well Twilight, I'm pretty tired. I haven't had a decent night of sleep in a few weeks. Feel free to go to bed whenever you feel like it." Celestia shut off the light on her bedside table and laid her head to rest. Celestia began to close her eyes but was cut short as Twilight began to cuddle up next to her. Celestia nuzzled her student and covered Twilight with one her wings. It had been quite the couple of weeks for those in the palace, and she could only imagine the stress that Twilight was probably feeling. As Celestia closed her eyes she heard Twilight whisper something. "I love you Princess." Celestia leaned forward and gave Twilight a kiss on the top of the head. "I love you too Twilight. Sweet dreams." ********** Luna sat on the throne nodding off as she listened to the night court. Her mind was only on one thing. It was on Twilight. She hated being away from her little bookworm. It was comforting at least to know that Twilight was safe with her sister. Maybe if she could get away for a second she could sneak off. "Princess Luna." Luna's eyes snapped open. The court was staring at her. "Are we boring you Princess?" one of the nobles asked rudely. Luna rubbed her eyes and let out a small yawn. "I'm sorry... I'm just a bit tired. Do continue." The nobles looked at each other and kept talking. Luna immediately zoned out again. It was going to be a long night. ********** Twilight woke up in a cold sweat. She just had one of the worst nightmares of her life. She had dreamed that her father was the one behind all the accidents and one of them resulted in Luna's death. Twilight knew it was only a dream but she almost felt like it was foreshadowing something. After wiping the sweat from her brow Twilight but her head back down next to her mentor but was interrupted by a growl from her stomach. I guess I didn't eat enough for dinner. Twilight carefully got out of bed and went to the door. She opened it carefully and peered out. The guards were wide awake. As Twilight began to trot out, the guards turned and stared at her. "Do you need something Ms. Sparkle?" one of them asked. Twilight was so tired that she had a hard time stringing together her thoughts. "Umm...I'm hungry. I'll just go down to the kitchens and get a snack." As she took a step forward, they stopped her. "Sorry Ms. Sparkle but Princess Luna ordered that you be escorted anywhere you needed to go," they explained. Twilight let out disgruntled sigh. "Okay, well can one of come with me then?" The guards looked at each other silently until one of them stepped forward. "I'll accompany you Ms. Sparkle,” the guard said. Twilight rolled her eyes in annoyance and trotted down to the kitchens, following closely behind by her guard. The walk gave Twilight time to think about her nightmare. What did it mean? What she really wanted to do, besides get a snack, was go talk to her father; unfortunately, that would be impossible with the guards following her around. Twilight figured if she took her time getting a snack she might be able come up with a plan to get away. When they arrived at the kitchens the guards stood in the doorway and let Twilight go about her business. Twilight slowly walked around and collected everything she needed to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. As she made her snack Twilight kept taking glances at the guard. He hadn't moved from his position. In fact, Twilight was convinced that he didn’t even blink. How am I going to get away from him? Then an idea popped into Twilight's head. "Umm...I hate to ask, but I need a favor," Twilight mentioned to the guard. The guard looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. He couldn't believe he was being paid to foalsit a grown mare. "What is it that you require Ms. Sparkle?" Twilight continued to play the part and rubbed her hooves together nervously. "Well...umm...could you go into the cold storage and get me some fresh milk please." The guard frowned. "Could you not get it yourself?" Twilight put on her best puppy dog eyes. "I'm scared." The guard stared at Twilight and let out a sigh. "Sure I'll get the little foal her milk," he said sarcastically. The guard went over to the door to cold storage and opened the door. Twilight frowned, feeling bad for what she was about to do. Without a second thought, Twilight ran forward and slammed the door shut. Before running off, she cast a spell on the door so that it would open in a few minutes. Once she was satisfied Twilight ran out the back exit of the kitchen. It wasn't too late, and Twilight hoped her father was still awake. Little did Twilight know that things were about to take a turn for the worse. ********** Nightlight woke up from a very deep sleep. Though he didn’t wish to answer, he crawled out of bed and made his way downstairs. When Nightlight opened the door, he was surprised to see Scarface and his gang. "Gentlemen," Nightlight started after a big yawn, "What are you doing here?" Scarface frowned at Nightlight. "Why don't you step outside Nightlight?" ********** Twilight trotted down the street of Canterlot towards her old house. She was very eager to talk to her father due to the dream she just had. As Twilight turned the corner, she saw a bunch of ponies, including her father, standing outside the house. Twilight stood around the corner and tried to listen in on what they were saying. "I don't understand," Nightlight stammered. "I paid you in full and even included some extra." "Times are tough now Nightlight and we are changing our rates," Scarface explained. Nightlight stood his ground. "I paid you already I'm not giving you anymore money." Twilight was confused. Money? Rates? What the heck is going on? "I think you will," Scarface said. "You see we have quite a bit of incriminating evidence against you. All the accidents you had us cause were recorded. We also recorded the times we met in that bar. It would be a shame if perhaps the Royal Guard were to anonymously receive said evidence." Nightlight didn't know what to say. They essentially had him backed into a corner. "How...how much do you want?" "Everything you have," Scarface responded immediately. Twilight knew that her father was in trouble. These ponies were blackmailing him. However, she was taken aback. Her dream was true. Her father was behind all the incidents. How could he do this? Still, Twilight knew that he needed help. Twilight was about to run off when her father’s eyes met hers. "Twilight?" he called in fear. Scarface and his gang turned around and spotted Twilight. Before Twilight could run away, the ponies chased her down and restrained her. Scarface turned back to Nightlight and smiled. "Is this your daughter?" he asked Nightlight. Nightlight fell to his knees and began pleading. "She is. Please don't do anything to her." Scarface turned to his gang and nodded. The ponies threw Twilight on the ground and began beating her viciously. Twilight could do nothing but cry in pain and try and cover her vital areas. "No! Please don't hurt her," Nightlight cried. He rushed forward to stop them but two of the gang members held him back. Eventually the ponies stopped beating Twilight and Nightlight got a good look at her, not that he wished to. Twilight was brutally hurt. One of her eyes was swollen shut and the other was bleeding. Her nose was crushed and a waterfall of blood was pouring out of it. There were also dark red marks all over her body from all the kicks. Twilight moaned quietly and tried to get up but was cut short by Scarface yanking her by her mane, causing her to scream in agony. A knife slid out of his pocket and he held it to Twilight's throat. "Now that we have your attention, you are going to do as we asked," Scareface said roughly, "You are going to give us all the money you have. If you don't, you are going to watch me slit your daughter's pretty little throat and continue to watch as she bleeds and dies." Nightlight was sobbing quietly. He sniffed and hung his head. "I'll give you whatever you want. Please don't kill my Twilight." Scarface smiled and laughed menacingly. His gang followed in suite. However, the laughing stopped almost as fast as it started. Nightlight looked up at the sky to see that the weather had changed dramatically. The whole sky had filled with clouds and lightning began flashing. Then, all of a sudden, a powerful voice boomed from the sky. "GET AWAY FROM MY TWILIGHT!!!" A bolt of lightning struck right in front of Scarface, and Princess Luna stood before him. Her eyes were glowing white wearing an expression that could have stuck anypony dead with just a look. "NOBODY TOUCHES MY TWILIGHT!!!" Luna screamed in the Royal Canterlot Voice. Luna's horn erupted with magic and blasted Scarface with a bolt of magic. Scarface turned white and then, after a small flash of light, was gone. Realizing their leader was gone, Scarface's cronies ran for their lives. However, nopony could escape the enraged Princess of the Night. With each magic blast, Luna sent the ponies that hurt her marefriend to oblivion. When they were all gone Luna's anger subsided and she fell onto the ground and held Twilight in her hooves. Luna feared the worse but was glad to find Twilight was still breathing. "Twilight!" Luna flipped her head around and saw Nightlight coming forward. "Get away from her," Luna growled. Nightlight stopped. "Please Princess Luna she's my daughter." Nightlight was about to take a step forward when there was a blinding flash of light, so bright he had to cover his eyes. When he opened them back up Twilight and Luna were gone. ********** Five ponies stood around a hospital bed at the Canterlot General Hospital. Twilight was lying in the bed asleep. Luna had rushed her to the emergency room for fear of her condition. Luckily, after some tests and examinations, the doctors concluded that Twilight was not in critical condition. They moved her to a private room, and she was currently in a medically induced sleep. Each of her hooves was currently being held, one by Luna and one by Velvet. Luna was crying quietly while Velvet just sat there, staring at her daughter's bruised and broken body. Standing right beside Luna was Celestia, who was slowly stroking her sisters mane. Shining Armor and Cadance were standing next to Velvet, neither of them saying a word. As soon as they had arrived, Luna had explained what happened. She also explained what she had heard. Luna hadn't told Twilight but she had magically formed a connection between their minds. She heard every word that Nightlight and the thug ponies had uttered. All the ponies in the room didn't know what to think about this shocking discovery. "Let me inside. I want to see my daughter." Everyone in the room was immediately alert and awake. "I'm sorry Mr. Nightlight but by order of Princess Luna you are not allowed inside," explained one of the Night Guards. There was a commotion outside the door and it burst open. Nightlight was trying to fight his way inside the room. "Get him out of here," cried Luna in anger. Nightlight continued to struggle. "I just want to see my daughter." Despite how much effort he put into it Night could not best the two Royal Guards. Eventually they had him in a strangle hold. "This is unjust," exclaimed Nightlight in anger. Nopony said anything. Then, all of a sudden Velvet jumped up from her chair, ran over to Nightlight, and started smacking his face." "How...could...you...do this?!?" she screamed. Shining Armor rushed forward and pulled Velvet away from Nightlight. Velvet burst into tears and cried into her son’s shoulder. Before anymore tension broke in the room, Princess Celestia stepped forward. "Nightlight Sparkle. My sister has informed me of everything that you have done and how you paid that gang of ponies to separate Twilight and Luna by means of psychological distress. Is this true?" Nightlight looked up at the Princess of the Day. He knew that lying would solve nothing. "Yes," Nightlight whispered as he hung his head. Celestia shook her head in disgust. "Nightlight Sparkle. For conspiring against a Princess of Equestria as well as causing extensive injuries to my Faithful Student I am placing you under arrest." Nightlight looked up. "That is not grounds for arrest Princess." It had been a long time since Princess Celestia had exercised absolute power, but seeing the state of her student had awaken the anger inside her. "That may or may not be true. We will let trial by your peers decide that. Until then we can at least keep you away from your family. Guard please take Mr. Sparkle to the Royal Dungeons." Luna looked up from Twilight. The Royal Dungeons? Those haven't been used in centuries. Tia must mean business. As the Guards pulled Nightlight away he struggled and fought against them. "Twilight!" he called out. There was a rustling and Twilight slowly woke up. "Daddy?" Twilight moaned. Everypony rushed to Twilight's side. "Sweetheart you're awake," Luna said. Twilight wasn't listening. She was looking around with her one non-swollen eyes for her father. "I heard my Dad. Where is he," she asked. "I sent him away Twilight," Celestia explained, "He won't be able to hurt you anymore." Twilight opened her mouth to speak but her mother cut her off. "You need more sleep sweetheart. Princess would you please." Luna's horn lit up and she touched it to Twilight's temple. Twilight immediately felt her eyes get heavy and she slowly fell back to sleep. Before she was completely out, she managed to mutter one more phrase. "Daddy...come back."
Trial and ForgivenessWritten by: Mayhem Darkshadow Edited by: Avatar of Shadow and TimeLord_Whooves Chapter 9: Trial and Forgiveness A little mood music "Please Princess," Twilight cried, "Please can I just see him." It had been a few days since the whole Night Light ordeal and Twilight's father still remained incarcerated in the Castle dungeons. Those hadn't been used in centuries so everpony knew something was up when Celestia commanded Night Light remain there until a trial. Twilight had been pleading with Celestia, first to have Night Light released because he was innocent, but then to just see him. Princess Celestia's response every time had been no and this time was no different. "For the last time Twilight, I said no," Celestia snapped. As much as she loved her student, she was starting to get annoyed with the constant begging. Twilight's eyes filled with tears and she sobbed. "Why are you doing this?" she questioned, "I've never seen you like this before. You're always so kind and caring, but now...you aren't the same pony." Princess Celestia sighed, put her work down, and looked at her student. "I know my dear, but I'm doing this for your own good. Your father hurt you and Luna physically and mentally. He nearly caused your death. He was even involved indirectly in the murder of an innocent pony. He doesn't deserve to be a part of your life and that's why I want to make sure he can't be. I'm doing this for your own good my faithful student." Twilight hit her breaking point and just bawled her eyes out. Celestia tried to comfort her but Twilight shoved her away and ran off. "I hate you!" was all she shouted before disappearing. Luna, who had just entered the throne room, saw that Twilight was running away. She tried to stop her but got shoved aside. Luna, slightly hurt, asked Celestia what happened. "Did she ask again if she could see him?" Celestia nodded. "Yes and once again I had to shut her down. It hurts me every time." "I heard her say she hated you." Luna looked a bit closer at her sister and saw she was crying. Never in her many years had Celestia heard those words come out of the mouth of her student. "Maybe you should reconsider Night Light's situation Tia," Luna started, "Do you not think you're being a bit harsh." As soon as Luna spoke those words, Celestia regained her composure. "No Luna, that pony is a danger to the citizens. I don't plan to do anything drastic but you and I both know he doesn't deserve any chances." Luna sort of had to agree with what Twilight said. She had never seen her sister act like this. "I know he doesn't Tia, but Twilight is completely distraught." "I know she is, but in time she'll get over it and realize that I just want what's best," Celestia replied. Luna sighed and decided that she didn't want to talk to her sister anymore. Right now she wanted to make sure Twilight was okay. ********** Luna spent the next hour trying to find Twilight. She went to her room, the library, the kitchen, and all the other places she would have expected Twilight to be. Twilight, however, was not to be found. Luna was going to give up when she finally found her lover. Twilight had locked herself up in the astronomy tower. She had her eye slammed into the telescope and seemed to be, rather angrily, looking for constellations. "Twilight," Luna said quietly. No response. Luna got a little closer but Twilight wouldn't acknowledge her presence. "Come on you stupid bucking telescope, focus in. Who the hay messed with the calibrations," Twilight growled. Luna got a bit closer and put her hooves on Twilight's shoulders. Twilight immediately flipped around and pushed Luna off her. "Get away from me," she snapped, "I don't want to see you right now." Luna was speechless. Twilight was really furious and she hesitated to even speak. "I just want to make sure you're okay." "I don't want your comfort right now Luna," Twilight spat, "You don't want to help me at all." Luna gulped and decided she should just leave Twilight alone. Before leaving though, she left Twilight with some words. "I know you're angry sweetheart. I wish I could convince my sister to change her judgment but she won't budge. I agree with her somewhat in that something needs to be done about your father. That aside, I also understand why you are distraught right now. Just know that whatever happens I still love you and will always love you." Luna left the room and Twilight lost all focus of what she was doing. She wanted nothing more than to chase after the Night Princess but decided maybe that wasn't best. In the end she decided she would do what she always did when she was angry. Go to the library. ********** Going to the library didn't help in the slightest. Twilight had calmed down a bit but was still rather furious. After trying to read, she gave up and went to get dinner. This did not go any better. Luna and Celestia were there, enjoying a meal. Before they could even ask her to sit and have dinner with them, Twilight ran off in a storm. Despite the fact that she was starving, Twilight did not want to be with either of the princesses right now. Lost as to what to do, she found an unused guest room and decided to get some sleep. This didn't happen, at least not right away. She spent a few hours crying and then about an hour sniffing and grumbling. Eventually, though, she did fall asleep but it was only for a few hours. When Twilight woke up, she was not in the same room. She was in Luna's room, tucked into the bed. Sitting on the bedside table was a tray with food on it and a note. Twilight, I know you didn't get any dinner so I brought some for you. I know you are angry sweetie and I understand completely. I'm going to be at the Night Court for a while. When I get back, I would like it if we could talk. Luna Twilight wanted to crumple the letter up, but she just set it aside and dove into her dinner. It was a bit cold but a simple spell took care of that. She ate slowly, enjoying every wonderful bite. With each bite she slowly felt better. By the time she was done, Twilight wasn't even angry anymore. She really didn't know what to feel. Right know there was just too much on her mind. "Oh good, you're awake." Twilight turned to the door and saw Luna standing in it. The Princess of the Night closed the door and walked over to the bed. She sat down but neither of them said anything. Luna assumed the silence meant Twilight didn't want to speak. "I guess I'll just leave," she whispered softly. Luna got up to leave but felt a hoof grab her own. Twilight pulled Luna back onto the bed and pulled her into a hug. She rested her head on Luna's shoulder but didn't cry. Luna wrapped her own hooves around Twilight and held her close. Neither of them said anything but their emotions did enough. Using extreme care, Luna lowered them onto the bed and pulled a blanket across their bodies. The whole room was dead quiet, so quiet you could have probably heard an atom shift. It was soon broken by quiet sobbing. The tears, surprisingly, were coming from Luna. "Twilight, I'm so sorry for all this. I have tried talking to my sister but she won't budge. I wish there was something that I could do," Luna sobbed. Twilight couldn't hold her own emotions in and added to the tears in the room. Together they cried and cried until all the bad feelings were gone. "I know you've done what you can Luna. I guess I just need to accept this all and move on," Twilight said quietly into Luna's ear. Luna grabbed Twilight's mane in her hoof and stroked it. She wished she had an answer to all this. She wished nothing more than to see Twilight happy again. Luna knew though, that if Night Light was convicted, and he would be, that her little sparkle would never be the same again. ********** The rest of the week leading up to the trial was not any better. Twilight was no longer angry at Luna, but was still rather furious at Celestia. This was mostly because of how stubborn the Solar Princess was being. She refused to listen to Twilight and even Luna's pleas. Twilight's family life was not any better. Her mother, her brother, and even Cadence did everything in their power to try and convince Twilight to forget about Night Light. She tried her best to convince them otherwise but they wouldn't budge, especially Shining Armor. Twilight eventually gave up when she realized her Luna was the only sane pony left in the world. The two of them spent all their time together up to the day, Twilight even attended the Night Court with Luna, though she spent a lot of the time asleep on Luna's shoulder. The night before Night Light's trial, Luna called off the Court so she could be with Twilight. Unfortunately for both of them, they both had to be involved in the trial since it was about them. Celestia would also be with them, Luna had promised to sit between her and Twilight, and they would both be required to give a testimony on the stand. "Are you ready for tomorrow?" Luna asked as she tenderly brushed Twilight's mane. Twilight, careful not to mess up Luna's work, shook her head. Luna understood completely. They knew that the outcome was going to be against Night Light and had already decided that after the trial they were going to leave Canterlot for awhile. Twilight wanted to get away from it all and Luna only wanted to be with Twilight. They had already packed their bags and acquired their train tickets. They would depart right after the trial. "Where did all the happiness go Luna?" Twilight asked as Luna finished up. Luna wasn't sure how to answer the question. The one and only answer was before Night Light had found out about them. She did not want to say this though. "It's still here Twilight. I guess it’s just hiding. Once we leave, I'm sure it will come back." Twilight didn't have a response to this. She knew that nothing was ever going to be the same. Her family was broken, her teacher was doing nothing but hurting her, and her father was suffering with every passing second. As far as Twilight was concerned, Luna was the only thing left in her life that was still intact. Sure, time would pass but she knew that these events would never be forgotten. ********** The day had arrived, Night Light's trial. Luna and Twilight neglected to ride with Celestia, despite the fact she had requested they do so. Twilight hadn't even spoken to Celestia in over a week. This hurt Celestia very much but she didn't show it, especially not today. Deep down, the older princess knew this was the right thing to do, even if it would cost her two ponies she loved deeply. The whole courtroom was packed with what could possibly have been every pony in Canterlot and the surrounding towns. Some ponies Twilight recognized, others she had no idea who they were. Twilight also saw her family. They all gave her smiles but she didn't acknowledge them. Why would she? They were only here to celebrate Night Light's fall. Luna and Twilight took their seats at the Prosecutor's table. Celestia was already there but she didn't say a word to them, which she knew was probably a good idea. The jury entered the room and then the judge entered soon after. Everypony stood up. "Please be seated," he said to everpony in the room. They all did so and then the trial began. "Bring the Defendant in." A door to the right of the room opened up and Night Light was escorted in by a pair of Royal Guards. He was placed in his seat and then the trial continued to proceed. The prosecution gave their opening statement, followed by the defense. Then the testimonies began. The prosecutor started with Luna. After Luna gave her sworn truth oath, the questioning began. "Princess Luna, how well do you know the Defendant?" the prosecutor asked. "Well, not that well. I have only been together with Twilight for five months," Luna replied. "Would you have guessed that he was able to do the deeds that he has done?" "Well no because, as I said, I haven't known him for that long." "You where one of the few ponies to witness what happened to Twilight Sparkle, yes?" "Yes I was. The rest of the witnesses are... well, no longer with us." "You were also able to hear Night Light's confession of his deeds?" "Well yes, I was but..." "So you would agree then, that Night Light Sparkle is guilty of causing both psychical and mental damage to both yourself and Twilight Sparkle as well as indirectly causing the near death of Twilight Sparkle and the murder of an innocent bystander?" "Well yes, but the first crime is hardly punishable by law. As for the murder, I know nothing about it. Nothing about that was spoken on that night." "That may be Princess, but what is your answer to the previous question?" "My answer is, yes to the first part and no to second but..." "No further questions your honor." Luna snorted. She wanted nothing more than to pummel the prosecutor. She probably could have gotten away with it to, but she decided not to. The defense went about questioning a handful of ponies, including Night Light, but to be honest, it really didn't help the case. The final questioning was from the prosecution, and the pony being questioned was Twilight herself. "Ms. Sparkle you are the only other pony beside Princess Luna that heard your father's confession of his crimes, yes?" "Yes I was." "So everything that your father has done is in fact true?" "Yes it is but..." "So would you say he is the direct cause of the pain and suffering you have endured including your near death beating?" "No he did not. He tried to save me!" Twilight shouted. The whole courtroom went silent. "He tried to save me from that gang of ponies. The only reason he couldn't was because he was being restrained by two ponies that were twice his size. He pleaded for them to stop what they were doing to me. My father, in no way caused anything those ponies did to me that night." Twilight turned to the judge and, despite how hard she tried, broke down. "Please... please don't take my Daddy away from me. I know he did some bad things but he only thought he was looking out for my best interests. He then knew he was wrong and apologized not only to me, but to my entire family. We didn't forgive him but we’re glad to see that he was at least trying to make up for what he has done. Please... I love him and I don't want to see him go." Twilight said no more and just bawled. Luna shot straight up to the stand and pulled Twilight down from it. The judge called a recess so the jury could discuss their verdict. Luna initially brought Twilight back to the table but, because she couldn't get Twilight to calm down, left the room and found a private area. Luna let Twilight cry into her shoulder for the entire recess. By the time they had returned, Twilight was down to just sniffing quietly. They took their seats and then jury came back in. "Has the jury reached a verdict?" the Judge asked. The foreman stood up from his seat and nodded. "We have, your honor. We find the defendant guilty of all charges against him." The silence in the room was eerie. The only real sound was Twilight's renewed blubbering. Night Light remained emotionless, probably because not one emotion could describe what had happened. "Night Light Sparkle," the Judge started, "For the crimes that you have committed. The psychical and mental torment of Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle, as well as being indirectly involved in the murder of an innocent pony, I am sentencing you to eighty years in prison with no chance of release on good behavior." Commotion erupted in courtroom as everypony started discussing the trial and the verdict. Twilight had given up completely and buried her face into Luna’s chest. Luna looked up at Celestia but spoke no words. The Jugdge banged his gavel and tried to call order but this didn't work. However, a few spoken lines made the whole room silent. "Drop all the charges." Princess Celestia was up from her seat and looking at the Judge. "Princess?" he gaped, completely baffled. "Drop all charges against Night Light Sparkle. I can no longer stand to see my student in the condition that she is in. Drop all charges and release Night Light Sparkle." The Judge opened his mouth to speak, but when he saw the face Celestia was giving him, he shut it. "All charges dropped," he said rather quietly. The noise that filled the court room was deafening. Celestia turned around and was toppled over by an incoming pony. Twilight wrapped her hooves around her mentor and cried her eyes out in joy. Luna quickly joined her and Celestia wrapped her wings around the two of them. Everything had seemed utterly and completely lost, but Celestia, who had finally come to her senses, came forth and saved the day. Twilight and Luna could not have been filled with anymore joy than what they were experiencing. As Celestia held them, she heard her student quietly whisper that she loved the older alicorn. This brought tears to Celestia’s eyes. She, herself was glad that it was all over, mostly anyway. Despite the fact that Night Light was a free stallion, he still had to be led out by the guards. As he passed by, Celestia spoke softly to him. "Be wise with the second chance you have been given, Night Light. In no possible way do you actually deserve it. I only gave it to you because I could no longer stand to see Twilight as she was. Use this opportunity to fix what you've broken." Celestia finished with a nod and went back to comforting her sister and her student. Underneath Celestia's wings, Twilight and Luna were holding hooves. The world which they thought was crashing around them had recovered. It wasn't perfect, but it was a start. ********** Five Months Later Twilight and Luna sat a table at Symphonious, waiting for two particular ponies. Twilight was especially impatient. Luna found it rather cute and funny. "Twilight calm down, they just entered the restaurant," Luna giggled. Twilight remained unsettled until the two ponies they had been waiting for walked up. "Sorry we're late," Night Light said politely. The other pony that was with him was Velvet. The past five months had been rather event filled. After Night Light was cleared of all charges, he received the wrath of many ponies, including the rest of the family. For a solid week, he couldn't even leave the house without being tormented or assaulted, physically or verbally. Once some time had passed, he was able to work hard to try and fix what he had shattered, his family. Initial attempts had not been very successful. One incident between him and Velvet ended with Night Light having to go to the hospital and get stitches. Twilight was rather destroyed by the rest of her family’s lack of forgiveness, even after a lot of time had passed. When some members of the family saw this, they loosened up a bit. There was also a lot of convincing and arguing, both from Twilight and Luna. Velvet and Night Light were now living together again. Velvet had stopped divorce proceedings, but their relationship was still iffy. Night Light and Twilight had spoken on this, sometimes with Luna, and he figured they probably would never get back together completely. Twilight was still hoping that, in time they would. Cadence had also given in to the pleading. Night Light was still probably her least favorite pony in all of Equestria, but she would at least acknowledge his presence and even speak to him sometimes. The only pony that refused to take him back was Shining Armor. As far as he was concerned, Night Light was dead to him. He wouldn't acknowledge his father or speak to him. Twilight did her best with her brother, but there was no budging with him. She wanted the whole family to be back together but was happy that at least part of it was. "It's alright Daddy," Twilight said with a smile. Night Light and Velvet sat down and they engaged in some small talk. "So what makes you think you are good enough to date my daughter?" Night Light asked with a chuckle. Luna quickly burst into laughter and tried not to choke on the drink in her mouth. Twilight gave her father a look but knew he was just messing with the princess. Even Velvet joined in on the playful giggles. Luna decided to play along. "Well, I would say that is because I'm a Princess of Equestria and am charged with the raising and lowering of the moon as well as leading an entire country of ponies. Does that make me qualified sir?" Night Light gave Luna a wink and a smile. Luna went back to laughing and, despite her best attempts, could not suppress them. Twilight could tell that this night was going to be an eventful one but a fun one none the less. ********** Luna and Twilight walked through the door to Luna's bedroom. The night had been fun and dinner had been exquisite. The both of them wished it wouldn't end but sleep was necessary. As the two of them were getting ready for bed, they chatted about the night. "It seems like your parents were actually rather happy tonight sweetheart," Luna mentioned from the bathroom. Twilight couldn't help but agree with the statement. "Yeah, I noticed. I'm kind of hoping that means they've worked more of their problems out," Twilight replied. Luna came out of the bathroom with a smile on her face and crawled into bed with the lavender unicorn she loved more than any other pony in the world. "Me too Twilight, me too," Luna said as she gave Twilight a soft kiss. The two of them cuddled up under the sheets and Luna turned the lights off with magic. Next month would be the one year anniversary of when the two of them started dating. So much had happened in that time. There had been lots of joy as well as lots of pain. The future was bright though and as each of them slowly drifted off into slumber, they could not wait for what it held. Author's Note Here is the url to Rated PonyStars AU sequel http://www.fimfiction.net/story/134044/night-of-redemption ********** And thus the turbulent tale of Twilight and Luna's love for each other ends. I'm sure many of you will be sad to see it end but hey all good stories must eventually come to a close. Just a few things before I announce something that will make you all go nuts. Firstly I want to give a big shout out to TimeLord_Whooves. My usual editor psychohooves is unable to help me with edits at the time. I asked TimeLord if he would be willing to help. He said yes and did a great job. Next I just want to say I hope all of you listened to the mood music and enjoyed it. Awhile back I did a thing where I took questions from people and one was if you could pick a theme song for all your stories what would it be. I thought Victim by Avenged Sevenfold was a good fit and then thought yesterday that it might make good mood music for the last chapter. Lastly I just want to say something that I know might make some of you sad. I will not be writing a sequel to this story. I never thought that To Love a Mare was going to have a sequel in the first place and also I just don't really see what I would write about. I know a few people have asked but I just wanted to let all the readers know that a sequel will not be happening. Now on to a very important announcement. While I did just say that I won't be writing a sequel To Love a Mare isn't exactly over. About a month ago I was contacted by Rated PonyStar (I'm sure most of you have heard of him. If you haven't look him up because he's an amazing author). Anyway he is actually a fan of To Love a Mare (as well as Guardian Angel) and asked me if he could write a sort of Alternate Ending fic for To Love a Mare. Of course I said yes why would I say otherwise. I don't want to release any details but let's just say the idea he has is a good one and I can't wait to read it myself. He has no clue when it will get released but I just thought I'd let all of you know that it's not over yet. Now you all can feel free to squeal like fan girls.
First Heart's and Hooves DayWritten by: Mayhem Darkshadow Edited by: psychohooves ******************** Chapter 5: First Heart's and Hooves Day Luna and Twilight were glad that they had finally told their friends and family about their relationship. It was like they had just pushed a very large boulder off their chests. Before they knew it, though, a lot of other ponies knew about them as well. They figured it wouldn't take too long anyway. Nopony really bothered them about it in Canterlot, but Ponyville was a different story. A few ponies in Ponyville thought that Twilight was invading on the Royal family, and they started calling her rude names. To make things worse the Ponyville Enquirer wrote a very slanderous and horrible story about Twilight which had caused her to lock herself in the library and cry her eyes out. When Luna read this story she threatened to shut down the news paper if they ever printed something like that again. No other stories were printed, and they even sent out an apology. None of these things compared to what was happening in Twilight's family life. Her father refused to speak with any of them. Her father's behavior made her mother so angry that she packed up all her things and was living with Cadance and Shining Armor. Twilight and Luna tried to go and talk to him, but he shut the door on their faces right after he had opened it, causing Twilight to cry for the next few hours despite Luna's attempts to cheer her up. Twilight gave up trying to talk to him after that incident. ********** Before Luna and Twilight knew it, Heart's and Hooves Day was upon them. It was the first time that either of them had a special somepony to spend the day with. After a week of planning, they had the whole day mapped out. Luna would come to Ponyville, and they would go to Sugarcube Corner for breakfast. After that, they would take a lovely walk through the park and then would leave for Canterlot and have lunch on the train provided by the Royal cooks. Once in Cantlerlot, they were going to make a brief stop to see Twilight's mother before going back to the Castle to have tea with Celestia. Then they would get ready for dinner, which Luna had arranged to be at the best resturant in Equestria: Symphonia. After dinner, they would go back to the castle, and Twilight would stay for the night. Luna said she had a little surprise planned for Twilight. ********** Twilight sat on a chair in her bedroom. It was Heart's and Hooves Day, and Luna would be over any minute to begin their plans. Twilight wanted to spice herself up a bit, so she had asked Rarity to come over and help her out. She showed up at six in the morning and it was now eight. The only reason it was taking so long was because Rarity kept changing her mind about how to style Twilight's mane, and it was getting annoying. "No, no, no, that simply won't do!" cried Rarity out loud. "Rarity, Luna is going to be hear any minute now," said Twilight with a slightly annoyed tone, "Could you please hurry up?!" "Why Twilight, darling, style takes time," said Rarity with a gasp. "You cannot rush perfection." They heard a knock on the front door followed by Spike's greeting of Princess Luna. It was then that Rarity realized she may have to bend the rules of style just this once. In no time at all she finished and let Twilight have a look. She had done a stellar job. Twilight didn't know much about mane styles; however, she knew that this was a simple plaited hairstyle. "You look lovely dear. Now don't keep the Princess waiting," said Rarity. Twilight thanked her and then made her way downstairs. She found Spike and Luna engrossed in friendly chatter that appeared to be about her. Moving very quietly Twilight sneaked up on Luna and then squeezed her sides playfully. Luna squealed and jumped a little. "Happy Heart's and Hooves Day my very special somepony," said Twilight sweetly. Luna turned around and faced Twilight and then gave her a quick kiss. "You're looking especially beautiful today. I love what you have done with your mane," said Luna with a smile. Twilight blushed a little. "My friend Rarity did it for me," she said quietly. "And it was no problem at all dear," said Rarity as she descended the stairs. "Thanks again Rarity. Now you don't mind taking care of Spike for me right?" asked Twilight. "Of course not. I'm taking Sweetie Belle and Spikey Wikey to brunch later to celebrate the day. But don't worry about me you two, just be sure to have a wonderful day," said Rarity. Twilight thanked Rarity one more time as Rarity pushed them out the door. ********** The bell on the door of Sugarcube Corner rang as Twilight and Luna walked into the bakery. Plenty of couples were already there enjoying breakfast with their significant other. Some of them glanced at the two, but most of them didn't. Twilight walked up to the counter, which was being manned by Mrs. Cake. She was not looking at them, but Pinkie Pie saw them. "Oh Twilight you're here!" shouted Pinkie in joy, "I already have a table reserved for you." "Now Pinkie we don't reserve tables. You should know that by now," snapped Mrs. Cake in slight frustration. Luna looked at Twilight with her "I'm going to have some fun face." "Do you think you could make an exception, just this once maybe?" she said while trying not to laugh. Mrs. Cake, while still turned around, got slightly annoyed with them. "The only way we'd reserve a table for you is if you were a princess," she yelled with an annoyed tone. Mrs. Cake spun around, and her jaw dropped when she saw who was standing at the counter. "P..P...Prin...Princess Luna?!" she stuttered. Mrs. Cake immediately disappeared into the kitchen shouting to Mr. Cake that Princess Luna was here all while yelling at Pinkie Pie to find them a table. "That was kind of mean of you Luna," said Twilight as they sat down. Luna, however, didn't respond. She was too busy laughing with Pinkie Pie, so hard they could not speak. "Oh Princess, that was so funny," said Pinkie Pie as she wiped some tears from her eyes. Their laughter slowed to a chuckle and then Pinkie Pie left them to tend to other customers. Luna reached across the table and grabbed Twilight's hooves in her's. "Happy Heart's and Hooves Day sweetheart," said Luna sweetly. Twilight giggled and blushed. "Happy Heart's and Hooves Day to you too," said Twilight. They looked into each other's eyes until a loud bang made them both jump. In fact they weren't the only ponies that had jumped. Some had even fallen out of their seats. The bang had come from the kitchen door being slammed open as the Cake's rushed out carrying lots of baked goods and other assorted things. They put them all on the table and then stood back smiling. "I...I hope everything is to your liking Princess Luna," said Mr. Cake with a slight stutter. "Yes...had...had we known you were coming we would have made preparations ahead of time," said Mrs. Cake nervously. Luna laughed slightly. "Oh it is quite all right Twilight and I didn't want to make a big deal out of this," said Luna with a snicker. Mr. and Mrs. Cake looked at each other, then at Twilight and Luna. They both had very confused looks on their faces, like they were trying to process and comprehend something. "Are...are you...both...together?" asked Mr. Cake nervously. Twilight and Luna nodded. "We...we hadn't...hadn't realized that the rumors were true," said Mrs. Cake quietly to them. Twilight and Luna looked at each other. Twilight gave Luna the I'll explain in a second look. "Well...con...congrats to the both of you," said Mr. Cake. "If...if...if you need anything just...just let Pinkie Pie or us know," said Mrs. Cake. They bowed and then went back to the kitchen, whispering to each other as they walked. When they were gone Twilight started to laugh. This time Luna did not understand what was so funny. After Twilight's laughing finally subsided, she explained. "Wow. They are acting exactly like they did when Princess Celestia was here," said Twilight with a giggle. Luna just had a confused look on her face. She waited for Twilight to explain, but Twilight continued laughing, so she just decided to trying some of the delectable sweets that had been brought to them. When Twilight finally stopped laughing, she went into explanation. "I'm sorry. You really had to be at that brunch to understand why I find it funny. The Cakes were nervous when your sister was here for a special brunch and...well I guess they aren't use to catering to royalty," said Twilight calmly. Luna still didn't understand so she just kept on eating and shaking her head at Twilight while she continued to snicker here and there. "There is one other thing I don't understand," Luna stated after she swallowed a mouth full of coffee, "How have they not heard about us?" Twilight put down the cupcake she was about to bite into and answered Luna's question. "Well the Cakes run this whole business by themselves, and they also have two little foals that they have to take care of. They very rarely leave Sugarcube Corner, so it doesn't shock me that they didn't know about us," said Twilight. Luna nodded her head in understanding. Caring for foals was hard work, as Celestia constantly told her when she was young. Luna couldn't imagine what it would be like with two foals. She felt bad now for playing a prank on the two bakers. She told herself that she needed to apologize but only after she finished eating all this delicious food. ********** After breakfast, and Luna's sincere apology to the Cake's for causing them stress, they headed to Ponyville park for a nice quiet walk through the park. It turned out they weren't the only ones that had though of this, for there were quite a few couples besides themselves walking through and relaxing in the park. Also, unlike Sugarcube Corner, all the other couples were looking at them. It looked like ponies in Ponyville had yet to get over the fact that Twilight was with a member of the Royal family. Twilight started feel tension and moved a bit closer to Luna. "It's okay. I'm right here," Luna whispered in Twilight's ear. They continued to walk. Nopony said anything to them but simply stared at them. Twilight had thought she had gotten over being uncomfortable, but apparently she hadn't. "Maybe... maybe we should stop and take a break..." said Twilight timidly. Luna, while really enjoying the scenery, didn't like seeing Twilight uncomfortable, so she agreed. They stopped at a shady area underneath a large oak tree and sat down. Fewer ponies were staring at them now that they weren't moving. "Still uncomfortable Twi?" asked Luna sweetly. "Mhmm..." whimpered Twilight, "I thought I had gotten use to it... but a lot of ponies were staring at us and that hasn't happened in a while..." Luna gave Twilight a soft kiss and then nibbled on her ear affectionately. "It's alright I'm here for you," said Luna quietly. Twilight felt better, but she still couldn't believe that she was nervous about them. She had really hoped that by now the citizens of Ponyville would have forgotten their relationship or gotten over it, but this didn't seem to be the case. She wondered how same sex couples like Lyra and Bon Bon managed things like this. "Okay, I think they've stopped staring," Luna whispered in Twilight's ear, "But walk close to me if you still feel nervous." "Okay..." said Twilight quietly, "We should probably make our way to the train station anyway." ********** The train ride up to Canterlot was pretty uneventful. They were met by a small group of Luna's personal guards, who said that they would be patrolling the train as they went along. Luna had arranged for them to have their own private car so that they could have lunch together followed by an uninterrupted nap. A few of the Royal Chefs had prepared them an amazing lunch of portabella steaks in a light cream reduction and a exquisite dandelion salad. Luna and Twilight were so full by the end of it that they passed out together on the large couch and didn't wake up until the arrived in Canterlot. Luna dismissed her guards after they exited the train. She told Twilight that they had not been her idea, but in fact her sisters. Twilight said that she didn't really care that much. After the guards left they walked through Canterlot towards Shining Armor and Cadance's house. Twilight noticed that, unlike in Ponyville, very few ponies were even looking at them. "They are all still scared about how I reacted after the newspaper printed that awful story about you," Luna said to her. "But that was a Ponyville news paper," said a confused Twilight, "Why are people in Canterlot scared about that?" "Well I guess that little Ponyville newspaper started selling in Canterlot. My guards spent three days running around the city destroying all the papers. I told them I didn't care if they broke into ponies homes if it meant destroying those papers," said Luna seriously. "Luna that's unjust!!" cried Twilight, "Breaking into ponies homes over a paper!" Luna's ears fell and she looked away from Twilight. "We...I'm sorry... I didn't like seeing you sad..." she said timidly. Twilight gently rested a hoof on Luna's back. "It's okay Luna. It's behind us anyway," Twilight told her lover. Luna perked back up, and just in time. They walked up the steps of Twilight's brother's house. Twilight knocked on the door and it was answered by Cadance. "Happy Heart's and Hooves Day!" screamed Luna and Twilight as they pulled Cadance into a big hug. "Eeep!" squeaked Cadance. Twilight and Luna had manged catch her off guard, just as they had planned to. "Twili...Auntie Luna...too tight...can't...air," stammered Cadance as she tried to break free of the vice grip of a hug. Luna and Twilight giggled and let her go. It took Cadance a couple of seconds to catch her breath and then she started laughing. "You two are a couple of silly little fillies," Cadance laughed. They walked inside, still laughing. They sat down in the living room and chatted. Cadance wanted to hear about what they had done so far. "Well we had a wonderful breakfast at Sugarcube Corner," Twilight told her sister, "Followed a by a walk in the park." "Where Twilight clung to me like a little baby filly," laughed Luna. Twilight's cheeks turned bright red. "I...I did not," she said bashfully. Luna snickered a bit. "You did sweetie, but it was cute and under the circumstances completely okay," said Luna comfortingly. "What happened?" asked Cadance curiously. "The ponies of Ponyville are still bugging Twilight. They were all staring at up as we walked through the park," Luna told her niece. "Well that's not fair to either of you," said Shining Armor as he came down the stairs. He looked a little flustered. "What's wrong Shining?" asked Twilight and Cadance and the same time. Shining Armor slumped down into a chair and groaned slightly. "It's mom..." he groaned loudly. Twilight still didn't understand what was wrong. "Should I go talk to her? She's not upset is she?" asked a still confused Twilight. Shining Armor looked at his sister. "Go talk to her if you want to..." he said with yet another groan. Twilight, still confused, walked upstairs to the guest room and knocked on the door. "Come in," said Twilight Velvet. Twilight opened the door and found her mother sitting at her dresser, doing her make up. "Hi sweetheart," said Twilight Velvet to her daughter. Twilight walked over to her mother and wrapped her hooves around her. "What are you doing?" Twilight asked her softly. "Getting ready for a date," said Twilight Velvet quietly. Twilight perked up a bit. "With daddy?" she asked curiously. Her mother patted her hooves softly. "No sweetheart. Do you remember Mr. Nighthooves, our old neighbor?" asked Twilight Velvet. "I do," Twilight told her "Do you remember how his wife passed away a few years ago?" asked Velvet. "How could I forget? I spent that whole day crying," said Twilight. "Well he's in town for the weekend and heard about what happened with me and your father and asked if i wanted to go to dinner tonight. And just as friends may I add," said Velvet when she saw the look on Twilight's face. "So...does that mean that you and dad are...you know...getting a divorce?" asked Twilight. "If he keeps up how he's acting, maybe. For now, I'm going to let him figure this out and maybe man up a bit," said Velvet with a snide tone. Twilight watched as her mother finished getting ready. She couldn't believe that her family was falling apart because of her. Her mother noticed that she appeared distraught and tried to cheer her up. "So do you have anything special planned for Luna?" she asked. "Yeah we are going to have a nice dinner and then spend the rest of the night at the castle," Twilight told her. "Sounds like fun," said Velvet. "Just be careful with whatever you do tonight." When her mother was finally done they went back downstairs. Luna was sitting on the couch talking with Cadance. They didn't see where Shining Armor was. Luna got up from the couch and walked over to say hello to Velvet, but was surprised when she was pulled into a big hug. "It's...good to see you Mrs. Sparkle," said Luna awkwardly. "Oh don't sound so confused dear. You're part of the family now, and family members get hugs," Velvet told her. Luna was still in a bit of shock but awkwardly hugged Velvet back. Velvet let go of Luna and then grabbed her coat from the closet. "Well I need to go so I'm not late. All four of you have fun tonight and don't do anything crazy." Velvet left and then everyone let out a huge sigh. "Well...that was not how I was expecting to see her..." said Twilight with relief, "I was worried that she would be moping." "I'm glad that your mother is happy Twilight. Anyway we should get up to the castle so we can get ready for dinner," said Luna. Twilight and Luna said goodbye to Shining Armor and Cadance and then headed for the castle. ********** Dinner was great, and Luna had used it to give Twilight her surprise. Well it was more like a surprise package. First was a beautiful amethyst and sapphire necklace. Twilight joked and said that she would have to keep it away from Spike or he'd eat it. The second part of the surprise was...something Twilight didn't expect at all. Luna sang to her and not simply singing a melody to Twilight. Luna got up on the band stand, played the piano, and full on serenaded Twilight. Twilight was blown away and completely speechless. She had to resist the urge to jump up on stage and kiss Luna all over. Before they created a scene at one of the most prestigious eateries in Canterlot they paid for their meal and went back to the castle. Twilight was still waiting to give Luna her surprise. Twilight had spent a month planning it and waited until they were in Luna's room. "Sweetheart, before we do anything I need to freshen up a bit," said Twilight carefully trying not to give herself away. Luna looked at her and wasn't fooled, so she played coy with her. "Okay then. I'll get out this dress and get more comfortable," snickered Luna. Twilight, oblivious to the fact that Luna had caught on, disappeared into the bathroom. Luna did what she said she was going to do and got out of her dress. She climbed in bed and got comfortable while she waited for Twilight. A few minutes passed by and no Twilight. Five minutes passed by and still no Twilight. Finally, after quite a bit of time, Twilight came out of the bathroom, wearing some very scandalous lingerie. "Oh my," giggled Luna, "Don't we look sexy?" Twilight smiled and climbed into the bed. She got on top of Luna and began kissing her passionately all over. Luna let her keep going but she was also laughing. Twilight stopped after Luna spent a straight minute giggling and laughing. "Why are you laughing?" asked Twilight slightly annoyed, "Aren't you aroused?" Luna stopped laughing and smiled at Twilight. "I mean I am sweetie, and I'm not," said Luna with a smile. Twilight got off of Luna and hung her head. Luna felt bad for laughing and gave Twilight a hug from behind. "You've never done this before have you?" she asked. "No..." said Twilight quietly, "I read a book... but I guess not well enough..." Luna chuckled. "This isn't something you can learn from a book sweetheart. This is something you learn by practicing." Luna then flipped Twilight around and got on top of her. "Here love. I'll show you," she said quietly. Author's Note Okay so I know I kind of ended on a cliff hanger at the end there and I'm sure I'll get some shtick for it. Don't worry next chapter will pick up more or less right in that spot I just thought a little added suspense would be great. Aren't I just the worst? Anyway as per usual if you see any small mistakes my editor or I missed let me know and I'll fix them. The plan is 3 or 4 more chapters and then the fic will be concluded. Enjoy
