They had bid their farewells, thanked Matte and Nickle, and began the walk back. Twilight thought she would have felt worse than she did the time that Dash tried to make her exercise... With a professional sports routine. Her legs and flank had been sore for a week after that. But right now? She just felt drained, and not necessarily in a bad way. It had been a terrifying and exhausting hour, but... it had been worth it. She was surprised to hear herself say it, but it had absolutely been worth it. She had not been with Celestia casually in so long, and even if it was strange, it was also... fun, in a way. And they had gotten smoothies afterwards, happily sipping away at their drinks as they returned to her old home.

When the door opened, she leaned in and shouted for her assistant to come down.
"Spiiike! Come on down here and... bring... Oh. Right. Wrong house."

Celestia laughed, thinking that she was making another joke, but... She really had forgotten for a moment. Forgotten about her move out to Ponyville, gotten distracted, nostalgic... She had thought it was the old days. But it was easy to remember all of her friends, their adventures, her new life... And now, she had the best of both worlds, because Celestia was setting up the books again, preparing for another marathon reading session. When she saw the gigantic pile of tomes they had to work through, Twilight got an idea.
"Actually, Celestia, I had a suggestion for the rest of our study session."

It seemed like she piqued Celestia's interest, because she had the alicorn's full attention as she moved to the bookstand and set up two tomes. A moment later, she settled into her meditative posture and re-activated the spell she last used in The Red Room. The books opened beneath her influence, lifted in her telekinetic aura, and the pages began to turn. Slowly at first, then faster, the books began to stream information directly into her mind, being “read” in only the loosest sense. She heard Celestia gasp, and then... laugh?

Pause the spell. Turn. Look. Beside her...

Beside her, Celestia hoisted a half-dozen books in her own magical aura, needing no book-stand, the telltale swirls of the very same spell roiling in her mane and across her coat. Twilight couldn't help but gape to see her mentor wring so much power out of what she had thought was a long-lost spell. It had taken her two months of research to resurrect it from the bare dregs she found in the history books... Books Celestia predated, come to think of it. Her teacher paused the spell and turned to face her with a half-smile.
"And where precisely, my favorite student, did you learn that one?"

"I, uh... Remade it. I read about it in a book on obscure Unicorn history, and I had the weirdest thought."

"Hmm?"

Twilight blushed, thinking back on that day.
"It felt... Wrong. For a spell like that to be lost. Just because nopony with the right talent was around in time to receive it, something so unique was gone for good? So I decided to right that wrong, I guess. Sounds... kinda silly, in retrospect."

Celestia shook her head and smiled.
"Not at all. It sounds like you precisely, and that is one of the highest compliments I know. I will caution you, however, as it can put a fair bit of strain on the user."

"Ehehe... Which would explain why I fainted the other day."

"Ohho! Taking a chance to study while you were at the castle? Well... Seeing as you did not get to truly view my Rising then, would you like to see it again?"

She gulped nervously before replying, making sure not to show any untoward response.
"Absolutely. But... Don't we have studying to do first?"

Celestia laughed again, and turned back to her half-dozen tomes.
"That we do. So let me show you a trick."

Golden light leaked out of Celestia’s spell towards her lectern, grasping the pair of books she had been using. All eight rose into a configuration, Twilight's own spell dim behind Celestia's power... But still present. She got the gist of what Celestia was trying, re-igniting the spell and spreading her own telekinetic power to cover all the books. And when she turned the spell back on, the eight books blurred, moving faster than her eyes could see, knowledge unfettered being withdrawn by two spells at once now. Only seconds later, one of the books was completed, shelved, and replaced. Twilight barely noticed, her eyes beginning to glaze white, her magic mingling with her teacher's.

The library was filled with lights and a cacophony of rippling pages long through the afternoon and deep into the night.

--------

Somehow, during the initial bout of passionate kisses, Fluttershy ended up pinned to the couch, her wings spread full and her muzzle thoroughly occupied. Everything was spinning, and Luna was leaning down into her, pressed against her. The way their coats slipped together, their lips locked, Luna's hooves embracing her... She shivered, shook, and sang. She would have tried, at least, if her muzzle wasn't occupied, as previously mentioned. She made do with fighting back, kiss for kiss, trying to meet the ancient alicorn's prowess. It was possible, but just barely, to get enough of a surprised reaction to lift herself from the couch. She wrapped her forelegs around Luna's neck and pulled her back down, giggling.

Rather than start another series of kisses, however, Luna looked at her, eyes half-lidded and a faint smile on her face.
"Dear..."
She didn't finish with words. Instead, Fluttershy felt a hoof roaming down the side of her body, tickling at her ribs and teasing a path to her flank. She blushed, apple-red, but the Princess did not stop until she reached her target. It was hard holding back the gasp, but she managed... until the hoof actually pressed down on one cutie mark, the pressure sending a dizzying wave of heat through her. She moaned at that, completely abandoning her shame, and Luna just laughed, nuzzling her neck.
"If thou hast no objections..."

Her voice almost didn't come out, but she said it, just barely:
"...please."

Her lover heard, and responded- Nuzzling turned into short nips and licks, kisses against her throat. If she could do the same in return she would, but the feelings left her paralyzed. So she leaned back, cooing and groaning as Luna pushed and stroked against her flank, always skating just around the edge of her cutie mark. One attempt to buck her hips and get Luna to touch the mark directly again got her a playful swat on the behind, so she just relaxed and gave in again. And now Luna bit, applying hard pressure that made her whole back seize. Immediately after, however, she felt muscles loosen- It was like a massage point, she realized, it was the same kind of thing she did for work-weary animals. But the way Luna did it turned a normal therapeutic act into something erotically-charged and unspeakably arousing.

More bites, pressure and location varying from the lightest nibble at a point below her ear all the way to a particularly harsh strike directly on her collarbone. She responded where she could, getting up the will and volition to kiss Luna's cheek or brow when they came into view. At one point, her lips strayed to Luna's horn, and this caused the other mare’s hoof to careen right back onto Fluttershy's cutie mark. They both moaned, and then the kisses started again, Fluttershy feeling impossibly small beneath Luna- She certainly was the smaller of them, but it felt like a hundred-fold difference, instead of the mere doubling in reality. She was beneath the infinite night sky, and it was caressing her, wrapping her in heat and softness. All she could do was make little forays into reciprocation, and deepen the kiss. Tongues flicked against each other, they both shuddered. Hooves ran through manes and down sides, both of them shaking. Finally, one soft pad of a hoof met her cutie mark again, and she broke from the kiss to lick, in one long drag, up Luna's horn. There was blue light, and her mind went white, and the two of them collapsed.

Luna was curled up beside her, and she was stretched as far as she could, making plenty of contact between their coats. They were both breathing heavily, coming back down, peppered with the occasional soft giggle or murmured word. When she finally regained enough concentration to lean up, Luna was curled even more tightly around her, and both of their wings had folded back into place. She kissed Luna's cheek, and looked at her again. Afterwards, she somehow managed to be even more beautiful- Something about the knowledge that Fluttershy, silly shy old Fluttershy, had brought the Princess of the Moon to such a state. It was... invigorating, and relaxing, and she wanted to feel it again. Luna looked down at her, and she blushed.

"Dear-"

"Um. Luna, may I ask a favor?"

"Absolutely."

"It is lovely and all, and it makes me feel really happy, but... It must be a bother to always call me 'Dear Fluttershy'. If it's easier for you, you don't always have to say the whole thing like that."

Luna looked at her quizzically, and seemed to be thinking back.
"...We suppose We have actually been saying it every time, have We not?"
Her embarrassment at this fact apparently made her slip partway back into the Royal Speech.

"Yes. But it really is nice, and I... I like hearing it."

"Hmm, well. If that is the case, I think I could reserve the title for special occasions. If you insist.'

"I'm... not really the insisting type."

Luna tweaked her muzzle with a hoof, laughing as she rose from the couch to stand again.
"'Twas a joke, Dear Fluttershy."

"Mmmh. Are you leaving?"

"Of course not! Our party has only just begun. I merely felt the bed may be of more comfort."

Her eyes went wide as she realized the implication.
"Oh my."

--------

Over forty books had been comprehensively drained, ranging from the very thin first tome to the rather bulky final. Replaced on the shelves, both Princess and Element relaxed on the floor, the knowledge stirring in their brains- It was dormant and inaccessible for now, but would slowly leech into their thoughts over the next day or two. The spell allowed you to garner knowledge very quickly, but absorb it only at a speed you could handle: An elegant solution, Twilight felt. Celestia turned towards her and spoke, slow and relaxed, like somepony just waking.
"Would you like to hear about the first time I saw the spell being used?"

"Absolutely! I've really had an interest in it, and spells like it, since I found the book, but... The historical account only said it was used sometime around the time of The Last Long Night."

"Yes, well... One of Luna's personal guard at the time had been a rather unique stallion- A saboteur and spy for Canterlot's police forces."

"Oh. Oh my! So this was..."

"Yes- A spell for stealing information. Break into the lairs of criminal groups, read everything in minutes, and escape to share it all. The enemy would find nothing physically missing, and the intruder was not there long enough to read much of their documents... or so they thought."

"Then how did you learn it?"

Celestia winced.
"Well, he... He distrusted me, and even after the battle and Luna's banishment, he felt I had somehow spurred her transformation. So he was in my study, using it on my private journals."

"Um... I seem to remember those journals being really well-guarded, magically speaking."

They both paused for a moment, thinking back to her foalish efforts to read a lesson plan ahead of time. It had ended in tears, hugs, and a lesson learned the hard way.

"Yes, well... They were, even then. And so when I came in and saw him using the spell, I explained everything. I showed him my real journals, the ones full of my fears about Luna's increasing bitterness over the supposed negligence of her nights. And later, when he found out just how much banishing Luna hurt me, emotionally... I offered him a promotion, to the keeper of the Royal Libraries, if he would teach me the spell."

"And?"

"And so the first Keeper of Tomes was given his position and title, and his name affixed to the main wing of Canterlot's Royal Library-- Where it remains."

Twilight gasped.
"So wait. You've been talking about Silver Gaze? The Keeper? The very first one?"

"Yes, Twilight. He felt, in the end, that Luna in her right mind would have wanted knowledge kept safe and spread under a watchful eye... Like his. Unfortunately, he never had an apprentice, nor did he keep tomes of his own. So until just recently, I was the only pony left in Equestria who knew that particular spell- Then Luna returned. And now, it seems, there is a third."

"Oh Princess, I... I didn't realize. If you want me to stop using it, I will-"

Her voice was suddenly strict and measured as she replied.
"Absolutely not. You... you were right to think that its loss was wrong. Righting those wrongs is a noble task, and I would never imagine to limit your actions, unless it was an issue of safety."

Twilight nodded, and Celestia relaxed. They both remained in their places on the main library floor, Celestia mulling over something inscrutable and Twilight trying to imagine Silver Gaze, hero to librarians and unicorns with a love of information all across Equestria, in such dangerous situations as field police-work. How different, she wondered, was the history of Equestria told first-hoof? Celestia knows so much, has known so many... has lost so many. A sobering thought. Her contemplation was broken when Celestia stood. The alicorn turned towards her, making a slight bow as she spoke.
"Well Twilight, I do believe I should head to the Castle- You'll need some sleep if you wish to be up in time for the Rising."

Before she could turn to go, Twilight remembered Luna's request from the waystation and sprung up, trotting ahead of her teacher.
"Celestia, I-"

"Hmm?"

"I. That is, I was wondering... Celestia, would you stay? Stay the night?"

She knew she was blushing beyond belief, and Celestia seemed honestly shocked.
"What brought about this question?"

Twilight scrambled for a reason.
"Well, in Ponyville, I... I had my first slumber party. And I realized, the way I had been studying without end or interruption in Canterlot, I never had one here. It would be terrible to deny such a nice home the chance to host something like that, right?"

The Princess chuckled and took a step backwards, away from the door.
"I suppose that's reason enough for me. Certainly, Twilight- Let's go get some rest."

On the inside, she sighed with relief. She could fulfill her obligation now... And having a chance to sleep beside Celestia certainly did not hurt. Preparations were made quickly, the bed- which had always been pointlessly large when she lived here alone with Spike- rearranged for two. They bedded down swiftly, and after her exertion in combined spellcraft earlier, and the stress of the shop trip, Twilight fell asleep almost instantly.

--------

They had gotten into the bed, sitting up across from each other. There was a brief moment of silence- Not awkward, but comfortable. She spoke first, taking the initiative for what felt like the first time.
"Luna, s-since you, um, did so much for me, I want to..."

Luna smiled and replied- Not by speaking, but by leaning down, lying prone on the bed, letting her wings relax and her head fall onto the pillow. Nervously, Fluttershy began to rub her hooves across Luna's back, feeling the tight coil of muscle under her coat, relishing the heat and...

And then her clock went off, sounding five times sharply. They both groaned, and then laughed- They could always get back to business after the little interruption. It's not like they had anywhere to...

"Fluttershy?"

"Eep! I mean, um, yes?"

"It seems to have utterly slipped my mind, and thine, but would it not be best to visit Rarity's shop before closing, to see the progress of her work?"

They both looked at the clock, and then looked back to each other. The new couple shared a wicked grin, and Fluttershy put her hooves back down on each side of Luna’s spine. A kiss, and then separation.
"Tomorrow?"

Luna nodded.
"Tomorrow."

--------

Look at that...
Would you look at that?
We're throwing off sparks...

----

Hours had passed, and beside her in the bed, her student rested. She could not follow suit, her body restless and perfected: sleep was a formality, and one that said body rarely allowed her. But next to her, right beside her hooves, a mare slept. Her coat shone in the light, her horn launching off the occasional errant spark-- Dreams of magic, it seemed. She hadn't seen such a sight in a long time, and it stirred feelings... Feelings which her body gladly allowed her, but her station, or more accurately, her station and her past forbid her. So instead of attempting sleep, or giving in to her impulses, she just lay next to Twilight Sparkle, her most favored of students, and rested. Her neck stretched across the younger mare's, and they nuzzled together- One asleep, one very much not.

She only wished it could be this way more often.

----

What will I do,
when I don't have you,
to hold onto in the dark?