Just a little more glitter, Luna thought as she levitated a small glass jar in front of her face, and tipped it on its side, gingerly sprinkling a few shiny flakes on the red, heart shaped piece of paper. The princess examined the card closely; It was a simple red heart with a pink hoof print in the center and a light layer of glitter. It was a simple card, but Luna knew he would love it.
The princess couldn’t help but smile as she returned the glitter to its place on the table; it had been so many years since she had made a Hearts and Hooves day card, the whole process was making her feel like a young schoolfilly again. Luna hummed a little tune as she placed the card in an envelope and sealed it, then she picked it up with her magic and trotted over to her bed where a light blue saddlebag rested empty and open. Luna took a quick look at the clock. Almost 10:30, she thought, I have to hurry; I don’t want to keep him waiting.
Luna grabbed a small, drawstring purse made of a dark blue silk with a silver crescent moon embroidered on it, and tossed it into one of the pockets of her bag before swinging it over her shoulders and walking out onto her balcony. She smiled as she stepped into the beautiful morning and breathed in the sweet scent of early apple blossoms carried up from the orchard on the cool spring breeze. Normally the princess of the night would be asleep at this time, but in the months since her return, Luna found that she was somewhat more awake during the day than she was a night. She was sure that things would return to normal once she got her full powers back, but until then she felt compelled to enjoy the days which her older sister brought upon Equestria.
“Luna?” A soft voice from behind the princess brought her out of her trance. “There you are little sister, I’ve been looking all over the castle for you.”
Luna turned to see the white alicorn who had silently made her way through the young princess’ chambers.
“Hello Tia,” Luna said as her older sister joined her on the balcony. She gave Celestia a very wide smile. “Did you need me for something?”
“Actually I have something that I want to give you,” Celestia said as she returned the smile. With a burst of golden light, a large rectangular package wrapped in bright red wrapping paper appeared before the princesses. “This is something that I found tucked away in a corner of the Starswirl the Bearded wing of the Canterlot Library of Magic. Consider it my Hearts and Hooves present to you.”
Luna caught the package in her front hooves and removed the wrapping paper. Inside was an old, black leather bound book. Luna stared at the blank cover.
“Oh, a book,” she finally said, trying to sound excited; Luna was never the avid reader her sister was. “Uh, thank you Tia.”
“That book is full of old spells, my sister, some of which I am sure you will find quite useful.”
Luna thought for a moment; Celestia’s motive behind giving her the book wasn’t clear, but Luna knew that her sister never gave such gifts without some sort of reason. Perhaps she would give it a read when she returned.
A bell ringing somewhere in the distance reminded Luna that she was running late.
“I’m sorry Tia,” She said as she put the book in an empty pocket of her bag. “I really must be off.”
“Are you going to see him?” Celestia asked.
“But of course; it’s Hearts and Hooves Day after all. Why wouldn't I go see my very special somepony?” Without waiting for her sister to reply, Luna jumped over the balcony railing and started beating her wings until she was flying far overhead. “I’ll be back before sun down, I promise,” she called back to her older sister.
“Remember,” Celestia called after Luna, “twelve down, five from the right.”
Celestia watched her little sister disappear into the myriad of buildings that made up the city of Canterlot.
“Happy Hearts and Hooves day Luna,” Celestia whispered as she smiled and walked back into the castle.
…
Luna flew for a few minutes before touching down on the sidewalk of one of the many streets of Canterlot; there was just one more stop she needed to make before meeting with her very special somepony. After turning a couple of corners, she came to a vender who was selling bouquets of brightly colored flowers.
“Oh, hello princess,” said the cheery pink earth pony mare who ran the flower stand. “Can I help you find anything in particular? We’re running a special Hearts and Hooves Day special on bouquets of roses.” The mare smiled, as she held up a lovely vase filled with a dozen deep red roses for Luna to see.
Luna shook her head.
“No, I do not require a full bouquet,” she said, as she smiled at the vender, “just one, please.”
“Right away Princess Luna.” The flower vender plucked a rose from the bouquet, making sure to pick the most beautiful one of the bunch; this was for royalty after all. After trimming the stem of a few leaves, she wrapped the rose in a clear plastic sheet and passed it to the princess.
Luna seized the flower with her magic and, placed it carefully in the same pocket of her bag that held the card.
“Thank you, kind flower vender. Tell me, how much do I owe you?” Luna asked as she withdrew her purse.
“Oh no princess,” the mare said, as she bowed, “please, it’s on the house.”
“Nonsense. You have provided me with a service and I wish to repay you.”
The flower vender thought for a moment.
“Hmmm, well, I suppose a single rose would cost two bits.”
Luna nodded as she undid the drawstring to her purse and withdrew two small gold coins, which she placed gently on the single empty spot on the otherwise cluttered counter of the flower stand.
“I must take my leave now,” Luna said, as she replaced her purse, “there is somepony whom I mustn’t keep waiting.” Luna spread her wings and quickly took to the sky once again.
“Thank you princess,” the vender said as she waved to Luna. “And happy Hearts and Hooves day.”
…
Luna scanned the ground below as she started backtracking towards the castle grounds, only looking up when she passed by the Canterlot clock tower. When she saw the time, Luna started beating her wings faster, frantically trying to pick up speed to keep herself from being late. Finally she saw it; coming into view was a large courtyard speckled with rows upon rows of gray stones, and surrounded by a low picket fence: the Royal Canterlot Cemetery, final resting place for members of the royal family and other important figures such as Cantorlot officials and high ranking guardsponies.
Luna flew low and started counting the graves; twelve stones from the top, and five from the right.
There you are, Luna thought, as she landed on the ground in front of a very old gravestone. The writing that had been carved into the stone so long ago had almost worn away entirely, but there was just enough left for Luna to be able to make out the name; it was definitely him.
“Hello Jetfire,” Luna said in a low voice, as she took a seat in front of the stone. “I’m sorry I haven’t stopped by before now; everything’s just been so hectic since I got home. I've been having a really hard time getting used to it all, but I think I’m finally starting to adjust to all the changes. It’s all thanks to Tia really; without her help, I don’t think I’d ever fully understand the world today. I mean so much has changed in a thousand years; it’s not like when you and I were foals. Oh, that reminds me.” Luna set her bag on the ground, pulled out the rose and envelope from their pocket, and placed them on the ground in front of the grave. “Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Jetfire. I hope you’ll be my very special somepony again this year.”
Luna beamed happily at the grave of the only pony she ever truly loved as much as she loved her sister, but the smile was a lie; inside the princess’ chest, her heart was aching. Of everything and everyone she missed from the time before her exile, Jetfire was the one she missed the most. It wouldn’t be long before the pain made its way to the surface.
“Oh Jetfire,” she said after a long moment of silence, “look at your headstone, it’s all worn down. Here, let me help you with that.” Luna bowed her head, and in a burst of light, the grave was returned to its former glory. “There, that’s better.” Along with the inscription that included his name, birth and death dates, there was an image of the royal seal topped with a crescent moon; the symbol reserved for the Captain of the Night Guard.
“Ahhh, my dear Jetfire, I’m pleased to see that you retained your status after…after…” Luna couldn’t hold back any longer. She collapsed on the ground in front of Jetfire’s grave, tears streaming down her face, mating the fur on her cheeks.
“Jetfire, I’m so, so sorry,” Luna choked through her sobs. “What I did a thousand years ago was horrible. I never wanted to fall prey to the darkness, but I couldn’t fight it; I was just so scared back then. I thought everything would be ok so long as you were with me, but I couldn’t control myself. I drove you away; I hurt you. I did so many terrible things during my time as Nightmare Moon, and I wish I could take them all back.”
Luna dragged herself over to the grave and curled up against it, the cool surface of the stone sent shivers throughout her body as she closed her eyes and rested her head on her hooves.
“I miss you so much, Jetfire,” Luna said without moving. “But I guess it’s part of the curse of immortality though: living forever and watching loved ones as they pass from this world, knowing that there isn’t anything I can do about it.”
Luna opened her eyes again, just barely able to make out the blurry outline of her saddlebag on the ground in front of her. She wiped the tears away with her hoof and she was able to see the book her sister had given her sticking out from its pocket. She levitated the book over to where she was resting and turned it around in the air to examine it. The outside of the book had no distinguishing marks other than a small star imprinted in the bottom left corner of the leather cover. She flipped through the pages, catching glimpses of different spells and pictures that illustrated certain stances or objects some of the spells required in order to be affective.
The princess tossed the book aside; what was I even looking for, Luna thought as she set her head back down, there's no spell that can turn back time, or bring back the dead. Then she saw it; sticking out from between the pages of the book was a small, tattered, silk bookmark. It was so small, so easy to miss. Luna could feel her heart beating rather quickly, as she opened the book to the marked page.
Luna was surprised by what she saw; there was no name, no special illustration, just a simple three-line phrase. She read the spell over and over again in her mind, trying to understand what it was supposed to do. After a while, she thought she had an idea, but the solution, if she was correct, was far too simple. No, Luna thought, it’s worth a shot, even if it seems too good to be true.
Standing at her fullest height, Luna turned to face the grave and bowed her head until the tip of her horn was touching the cool stone. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to picture the stallion buried beneath. When the image was finally in her mind, she began speaking the spell:
“True lovers never part;
For you are always with me,
Forever in my heart.”
Luna waited with her head bent and her eyes closed, but nothing happened.
“I knew it,” Luna said with a laugh, “it really was too good to be tr-”
“Luna?” A familiar voice called from somewhere behind her; it a strong voice, filled with a warmth that melted the aching in Luna’s heart. Then, silence.
Had she really heard it? There was only one way to find out.
Without opening her eyes, Luna turned around to face the direction she thought the voice had come from. Very slowly, she lifted her head and opened her eyes, a new wave of tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. Standing before her was the most magnificent pegasus stallion she had ever seen. A bright orange coat was tightly stretched over his muscular form, and his fiery red mane was messy with a few loose strands falling in his face. Luna's knees buckled under her and she fell to the ground; he looked just as she remembered.
“Jetfire,” Luna said. “Is it really you?”
The orange stallion smiled as he trotted over to Luna.
“Who else would I be?” Jetfire gave a little chuckle as he reached a hoof out to Luna who was still lying on the ground. “Here, let me help you up.”
Luna cautiously reached for the outstretched hoof, afraid that it would vanish under her touch. But it didn’t; Jetfire’s hoof was solid, and very firm. With the stallion's help, Luna got back up, and, still holding onto his hoof, pulled Jetfire into a strong embrace.
“Oh my stars,” Luna said, her face buried in his long red mane, “I thought I’d never see you again.”
Jetfire wrapped his forelegs around the mare.
“It’s good to see you again princess,” he said as he ran a hoof through Luna’s short blue mane. “Though I must say, you look different than you did the last time I saw you. What happened?”
Luna removed herself from Jetfire’s mane and looked him in the eyes. “After my sister’s student and her friends defeated Nightmare Moon, I had all of my powers drained and reverted back to my normal form.”
“So everything’s ok then? No more darkness?”
“Yes, as soon as my powers return I will once again rule along side Celestia.”
Jetfire smiled.
“Good, I’m glad everything’s fine now.”
Luna pulled Jetfire closer to her, enjoying the warmth of his body pressed up against her own. It reminded her of the days before the darkness, before she was the undisputed princess of the night and he was a Captain of the Night Guard, when they were still just a filly and a colt, young and in love. All was silent in the cemetery, save for the beating of the two ponies’ hearts. And something else; the stallion who had never been one to cry was sobbing like a newborn colt.
“Jetfire wha-”
“I’m sorry Luna,” Jetfire said in between sobs. “I missed you all those years you were gone.” Jetfire released the embrace and turned away from Luna; he didn’t want her to see him crying.
“After you left, I didn’t know what to do. I just couldn’t think of life without you, so I met with princess Celestia and begged her to bring you back, but she said that she couldn’t; sending you to the moon had been an accident, and as much as she wanted to, she had no idea how to bring you back.
“After months of trying to fight through the pain, I abandoned my post and locked myself away in my house. Needless to say your sister found me a few days later passed out on the floor of my bedroom, surrounded by empty hard cider bottles. When I finally came to, I found myself in my bed with your sister looking after me. I thought she was going to be furious with me, maybe even give me a dishonorable discharge, but she didn’t. She just smiled and told me that she understood how I was feeling, and how she missed you. I guess she had spent almost all of her free time looking for a way to bring you back, but, even with the Elements of Harmony she still no idea how to end your exile, but that wasn’t gonna stop her from trying.
Before she left, Celestia asked me if I would return to my post, telling me that it would have killed you to see me like this, and, if anything, you would have wanted me to carry on with my life. In the end I agreed to come back and lead the Night Guard again, but I told her that I would never move on with my life, not while there was still a chance that you might return." Jetfire smiled at Luna. "And I’m so happy that you did come back; I just wish that it had been during my lifetime.”
“Wait, in all that time you never moved on?” Luna asked as she met Jetfire's gaze. “So that means you never…”
“No. In all my years I was never with anypony else. Ever since that day, back when we were foals learning how to fly in the park, I knew that you were the only pony I wanted to spend my life with.”
Luna laughed as she wiped away the tears that had once again welling in her eyes.
“Our first Hearts and Hooves Day.”
Feeling that the moment was just right, Luna levitated the card from the gravestone to where they were standing.
“Happy Hearts and Hooves Day Jetfire.” Luna said as she removed the heart shaped card from its envelope and gave it to the stallion. “Will you be my very special somepony?”
Jetfire smiled as he took the card in his hooves.
“You don’t have to ask, Luna, I’ll always be your very special somepony.”
Luna wept as she wrapped her forelegs around Jetfire’s neck and drew him in, closing the distance between their lips. The princess' heart raced as the ponies’ tongues danced together in their mouths, the subtle flavor of cinnamon tickling Luna's taste buds.
After what seemed like an eternity later, Luna and Jetfire reluctantly released each other, gasping for breath. Jetfire trotted over to a tree that was growing not far from his grave, and motioned to Luna to join him as he lay down in the shade. The princess nestled down in the crook of the stallion’s large, muscular frame so that her back was pressed up against his stomach and smiled as he draped an orange wing over her tiny body. The wing wasn’t as big nor as soft as her sister’s, but it was warmer and more comfortable because it belonged to the stallion she loved.
“Hey Luna,” Jetfire said, afraid to ask the question burning in his mind. “How, uh, how long do I have left?”
“I don’t know; the book didn’t say.” Luna turned around and buried her face in Jetfire’s chest. “But you’ll stay with me till the end, won’t you?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Jetfire looked down at the mare, “and even when my body is no longer here with you, I’ll still be in your heart.” He lightly tapped his hoof on Luna’s chest.
Luna smiled and wrapped her forelegs around Jetfire’s body.
“I love you Jetfire.” She said, dampening his chest in her tears
“I love you too, Luna.” Jetfire could feel his own tears welling up again, but he did nothing to hide them; he didn’t care if anypony saw him crying, he was just happy to finally get to see his very special somepony one last time.
…
It was well after midnight when Luna finally stirred from the spot under the tree where she had fallen asleep wrapped in Jetfire’s wing. Although she still felt the warmth of his body, the stallion was nowhere to be seen. At some point in the night the spell had worn off and Jetfire had vanished, leaving the sleeping princess under the tree. But as she became more aware of her surroundings, Luna found that she wasn’t alone in the cemetery; somewhere not far from where Luna lay, came the sound of hoof steps approaching her special somepony’s grave.
“Hello Luna,” Celestia said as she came into view carrying Luna’s empty saddlebag and book. “Did you have a good Hearts and Hooves Day?”
Luna wiped her face; she had been crying in her sleep. But not the same painful tears she had shed earlier.
“Yes Tia, it was wonderful.” She smiled at Celestia as the white alicorn took a seat next to her. “I never thought I would get to see Jetfire again.”
“Well, I thought that since it was your first Hearts and Hooves day since you came home you deserved a most memorable present. When I found that spell, I knew it would put a smile on your face, but I never expected it would be this affective.”
“What do you mean Tia?”
“See for yourself.” Celestia said as she conjured up a full-length mirror. Luna stood up and walked in front of the mirror and jumped back in shock. Looking back at her was the reflection of a tall, dark blue alicorn mare with a long flowing blue mane that filled with hundreds of tiny shining stars topped with a little black crown.
“I...I don’t understand,” Luna said, as she continued to examine her reflection “What happened?”
“I am not entirely sure, but I bet it has something to do with Jetfire’s undying love for you. What I think happened is that when you reconnected with Jetfire, it cleared away any remnants of darkness that had remained hidden within your heart, making way for your powers to return to what they were before you became Nightmare Moon. You could say that it was his last gift to you.”
Luna put a hoof to her heart where Jetfire had touched just hours before; it was warm with a light glow.
“No,” Luna said as she beamed at her reflection. “He gave me more than that. Jetfire helped me remember that even though he’s passed from this world, he will always be with me in my heart. His love and memory are the best gifts that I could have ever received.”
The two sisters sat in silence, taking in the cool night air until Celestia finally yawned.
“I suppose I’ll be heading back to the castle now, I have to get up early tomorrow to raise the sun.” Celestia stood up and stretched her wings. “Will you be joining me, my sister?”
“In a moment, I’d just like to say good bye first.”
Celestia smiled as she turned to leave.
“Very well, just don’t take too long.”
“Of course; I’ll just be a moment. Oh and Tia,” Luna called as Celestia started flying away. “If it’s alright with you, I think I’ll be raising the moon from now one; I think I’m finally ready to take over my duties again.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way little sister.” With that, Celestia flew off back to the castle.
Luna walked over to Jetfire’s grave and gave the smooth stone a light kiss.
“Goodnight, Jetfire,” she said, her head still bowed. “I love you more than the moon and the stars in the sky. Please, rest peacefully; I promise I’ll stop by and visit you as often as I can.”
Luna felt lighter than before, the weight on her heart gone. With one last look at the grave behind her, the princess of the night spread her wings and followed her sister back to the castle.
Author's Note
Might still need some work.
