The morning sun reached Dust's eyes. He blinked his eyes, and got momentarily blinded by the bright light. He put his hand over his eyes to shadow them, so that he could see his surroundings. It had to have been a dream, he thought. A wonderful dream with only him and Luna entangled together, sharing kisses and making passionate love while the moon passed through the skies over their heads. A beautiful dream, truly.

But as the big, beautifully decorated windows of Luna’s bedchamber became visible to him, he slowly realized the fact that it hadn't been a dream.

It had been real. The princess really did love him.

Thinking back to their meeting that night, he remembered some of the last things he said to her. But it was strange, he remembered saying them, but it was as if his brain envisioned his words more like lines from a book. As if someone or something made him read a script, without him actually knowing it.

"Be my queen...” He said to himself. Tasted the words. It felt as if this was the first time he uttered them.

And Luna had agreed. The Lunar Republic would rise, with them together at the frontline.

Dust turned his head, expecting to see Luna in the bed next to him, but it was empty. He threw the bedcovers away, and got up. He got into his pants, but didn't care about the shirt. Even though it was winter and the wind still howled outside, no amount of snow and ice could freeze the feeling of hope he felt inside.

Him and Luna.

He found her out on the balcony. Standing with her back against him, she seemed to be admiring the view. Dust walked up to her, placing himself next to her.

"Sleep well?" Luna asked, turning to look at him with a shy smile on her lips.

"Yeah... Really well." Dust answered, and gave her a quick kiss. "But I have to admit, when I woke up, I thought it had been a dream...”

"Me too." Luna answered him. "I never thought... I never thought this loneliness I've been feeling would fade. But it is."

Dust smiled at her again, moving closer and putting his arms around her neck.

"Aren't you cold, dear-” Luna’s eyes widened and she quickly threw her mouth shut as she realized what she had called him. "Forgive me...” She added, blushing.

"You can call me whatever you want, Luna." Dust answered her, turning his head away from her.

He looked out over the balcony’s railing. From here, he could see almost all of Canterlot, and the massive fields and forest of wild country beyond its borders.

"After all, you're going to be my queen...” He added. "If you're sure you really want to, of course...”

They remained silent for a while, watching the sun rise on the horizon. Slowly, the city far beneath them came to life, ponies rushing down the streets, unaware of the couple of eyes watching them from above.

"Dust?" Luna broke the silence. "That thing you whispered in my ear when you woke me, what was it?"

"Oh, it's nothing really... Just a line from a... poem, of sorts." He answered her.

"Did you write it?"

"No, no I didn't." Dust chuckled back at her. "It was written by, uh... Edgar Allan Poe."

"Who..?" Luna asked him with raised eyebrows.

"A writer. Back in my world... Don't know why I even said that line, it just came to me, you know?"

"Well, I think it was rather... beautiful." Luna answered with a shy voice. "Is the entire poem like that..?"

"Yeah, kind of. But it really isn't a beautiful story, its more horror I'd say."

"Horror or not, it can still be beautiful." Luna answered him.

"If you want really beautiful, I could try to remember something from Romeo & Juliet." Dust said with a smile. "But I think we should go inside. You're right, I'm freezing."

Back inside, Dust went to put on his shirt, but Luna stopped him as he picked it up. He looked at her with raised eyebrows, wondering what she was doing. Her eyes looked at his chest.

"What... what is that?" She asked.

Dust didn't know what she was talking about, seeing as she saw quite a lot of his chest last night. Looking down, he realized she meant the ring hanging around his neck. He cleared his throat.

"It's uh... It's nothing. Just a ring." He said in a hurry, trying to get his shirt on.

"But...” Luna began, but Dust cut her off.

"Just leave it, all right? It's none of you concern." His voice had hardened.

"Can I touch it?" Luna asked and moved her hoof towards it at the same time, not waiting for an answer. Her eyes where fixed on the ring, spellbound by it.

"Don't touch it!" Dust yelled and pushed away her hoof a little too hard.

Luna backed away from him with a look of fear in her eyes. For a split second, something had changed in Dust's voice. And in his eyes.

"Luna, I'm sorry!" Dust quickly said with a somewhat trembling voice. "I'm sorry; I don't know why I did that...”

"It's fine." Luna answered, the fear gone from her eyes. "If I'm going to be your queen, I have to accept everything about you, right?" She gave Dust a smile.

"Is that a yes?" Dust asked as his heart skipped a beat.

Luna nodded.

A big smile grew in Dust's face, and without warning he rushed forward and embraced her hard.

"You have no idea what this means to me...” Dust whispered to her.

Dust had his arms around Luna’s neck, and she couldn't move her legs to return the embrace. So instead, she wrapped her wings around him, laying her head down over his shoulder.

After a few more seconds, they broke the embrace, and gave each other another kiss.

"You should probably leave...” Luna said with a tone of sadness. "If Tia finds you...”

"She'll kill me." Dust finished the sentence. "And if she found out what we did tonight...”

"She would probably kill me as well...” Luna whispered.

"No, she won't. I won't let her harm you." Dust answered as he put his coat on.

As he turned around to seemingly look for something in the bed, Luna could see two long holes in the back of the coat. Perfectly aligned with his shoulder blades with small strings hanging from the edges.

"That cloak makes you look so handsome." She said to Dust as he turned back to look at her.

"Handsome enough for one last kiss?" He said with a smile as he pulled the hood over his head.

"Always." Luna smiled back.

Dust reached out his arms to hold her again, but stopped dead in his tracks as a loud knock on the door could be heard. Followed by a voice they both knew all too well. A voice that made them freeze.

"Luna, dear? Are you still sleeping?"

"My sister!" Luna wheezed. "You have to go, now!"

Dust nodded quickly, then turned around and hurried to the balcony door without making a sound. Luna followed him halfway through the room. As he opened the door, he stopped. Then, he turned around, gave her a kiss, whispering "Love you." and then stepped out on the balcony.

Luna stared at him as he reached out his arms into the air.

"Please Luna, turn around. Let your sister in, hurry!"

Luna didn't answer, only did what Dust said. As she hurried back to her chamber doors, she heard a loud sound from the balcony, like a whirlwind.

"Come in, Tia." She said, leaning her head close to the door in order for Celestia to hear her.

The doors opened, and her older sister walked in slowly. She gave Luna a suspicious look as she passed her.

"Sure took your time to open, dear." She said as she made her way to the open balcony doors.

Luna’s heart almost stopped as she realized she'd forgot to close them.

"Yes, I was... Out on the balcony." Luna answered, without lying. "I felt like watching the sunrise for once."

"I did a good job with it today, didn't I?" Celestia asked, looking out at the sun.

"Of course. You always do, sis."

Celestia turned her head around to look at her with angry eyes.

"It's called sister, Luna. Sister. Not sis.

Luna didn't answer. Celestia tried her best to mock her and correct her "wrongs" whenever she could. At first, Luna had argued against her, but after all this time she'd learned it was best to either agree with her sister, or just keep her mouth shut. This time, she chose the latter.

Celestia turned from the balcony, and instead directed her attention to Luna’s bed.

"Dear... Have you been having nightmares?" She said, almost mockingly. "It looks like you've been kicking around the bed like crazy...”

"Yes, I've... been having dreams about that incident with the human earlier." Luna did her best to sound as if she were disgusted by the mere thought.

"I don't blame you." Celestia muttered. "I have been thinking about that... creature almost all my time this last week. Such filth has no place in my perfect kingdom."

"Of course, sister. Disgusting filth." Luna answered with a cold voice.

"When we find him I will...” Celestias facial expression changed in an instant as she approached the bed, but Luna couldn't read what it meant.

"What's that..?" Celestia said with a low voice. "That smell..." Celestia frowned, something in her eyes changing.

Luna was about to panic.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about.." She began.

"Luna!" Celestia yelled, and ran up to her, staring straight into her eyes. She looked as if she was on the verge of insanity, one of her eyes twitching.

"Dust has been here, hasn't he?!" She screamed in Luna’s face.

"No, I would never go close to him...” Luna said in a meager voice.

Celestia made a noise that sounded like a mix between a sigh and a snort. She tore her face away from Luna, and walked back to the bed.

"I know this smell...” She said in a cold voice. "It's the smell of a human... In your bed."

This wasn't good. Luna couldn't hide it anymore, Celestia already understood. She had won. But Luna wasn't about to let her sister enjoy this victory. She would hold her head high. Doing just that, she steeled herself and looked at her sister with fire in her eyes. She still had her honor.

"You win, sister." She began with a steady voice. "Dust has been here."

Celestia didn't answer right away. She only looked at Luna with an odd facial expression. It took Luna a few seconds to recognize that what she saw in her sister’s face was sadness. Disappointment.

"You... dare... betray me?!" She yelled at Luna with an extremely high-pitched voice. "My own SISTER, with a human?! What happened?!"

Luna was sure her sister had lost it. Something inside her had flipped around when she got hit by this fact, this betrayal. But she wouldn't falter, wouldn't give in. There was no point in lying.

"I love him." She said to Celestia. "I love him, and I'm going to be his queen."

"I should kill you for this...” Celestia answered, her eyes narrowed and her voice shaking.

"Go ahead. I'm right here." Luna countered back. "At least I would die feeling true love. Something you will never experience, sis'."

Celestia walked back to the chamber doors.

"No." She said. "I won't kill you. But if you meet Dust one more time, I will. Do you understand? I'm giving you one more chance, dear sister."

And with that, she disappeared through the doors, closing them behind her as she left. Finally, Luna relaxed. She let out a deep sigh, feeling her body soften again, after the tension. She went for the balcony, to see if there were any traces left of Dust. But she found nothing. The balcony floor was empty, not even any footprints in the light layer of snow. Nothing. Except a black feather close to the doors. She didn't pay it any attention. Probably belonged to a bird.

She looked up into the skies.

"Dust... Please. Don't leave me. Come back."

She knew nopony would answer. No one could hear her. Yet, she still hoped the winds would carry her words to Dust, somehow.

"I never left you." A voice said behind her.

Luna’s body trembled as if she had been struck by lightning, and her skin crawled. She turned around.

"Did I scare you?" Dust asked.

He was sitting on the railing, hunkered down with his coat hanging on the outside of the railing. He looked a lot like a crow, perching.

"How long have you been here?!" Luna asked in a low voice, but she smiled at him none the less.

"I heard everything." He answered. He hopped down from the railing without making a sound, and walked over to her. "Are you afraid?"

"I... I don't know." Luna admitted. "She is my sister after all, but... I don't know." Luna shook her head slowly, as if she was trying to get her thoughts right.

"Believe me; she wouldn't hesitate to kill you." Dust said in a sad voice. "I know that all too well."

Luna didn't answer. She didn't know what to say. But slowly, she came to realize that Dust was right.

"I think...” Dust began. "It’s best if we both get out of here. You've got wings, that's good. Hopefully you'll be able to keep up with me."

"What do you mean?" Luna asked.

"It's better if I show you." Dust answered.

He gave Luna a sign with his hand, telling her to back off a bit. She did, and observed him in astonished silence as he arched his back and clenched his fingers. Now she understood what those holes in the back of his cloak were supposed to be. A pair of black wings sprouted out from them. Luna’s jaw dropped as they rose to the skies.

Dust looked back at her and grinned.

"Try to keep up, princess."

And before Luna had time to answer, he flapped his wings with a deafening sound, and took to the skies. For a split second, Luna hesitated; afraid to be left alone, but then she spread out her own wings and set off after him into the clouds. A short moment she was afraid that she wouldn't find him. That he was already gone, disappearing in the endless blue above her.

But after a few seconds, she saw his figure high up in the sky. She flapped her wings harder, setting her course straight towards him. As she approached him, she could see a big smile on his face. He let out a warm laugh as she watched his wings in total confusion.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Dust yelled out to her, in order to be heard over the strong winds blowing all around them. "Come on, follow me!"

Once again, he flapped his mighty wings, flying off. When he did, the clouds around him blew away by the strong currents from his wings. Luna wasted no time in following him, even though she had no idea where they were going. But she trusted Dust, and would follow him anywhere.

After flying through the clouds for a while, Dust finally started to descend. Slowly, Luna followed. They came out beneath the clouds, and Luna saw nothing on the ground expect endless fields of green.

"Where are we going?!" She yelled at Dust.

"Down there, see the tree line breaking?!" He yelled back, but none of them stopped their descent.

And after scanning the trees for a few seconds, she saw what he was referring to. What looked to be a big open field in the middle of the forest, littered with odd dots and shapes... And in the middle, a large tree. She felt uneasy as she saw it.

Half a minute later, they both touched ground next to the big oak in the cemetery.

"What is this place..?" Luna asked Dust. But he didn't answer.

Looking over towards him, she saw he was on his knees in the snow, shaking. Quickly, she ran over to help him. He groaned in pain as she came closer.

"It's... fine...” He said to her between his groans. "This... always... happens...”

And with a final, higher groan, the wings disappeared into his back again. Dust exhaled in pain, and fell backwards in the snow. He panted heavily, as Luna did her best to try and ease his pain. But she had no idea how. All she could do was lay down next to him, giving him a few more kisses.

Eventually, Dust had regained enough strength to return her kisses. He wrapped his arms around her neck and held her down.

"Sorry...” He said when he broke the kiss. "Flying always get me... worked up, you know? That feeling of freedom...”

They shared one last kiss before they both got up. Dust wiped the snow from his coat, and then told Luna to follow him again.

"We need to get inside before somepony sees us." He said. "I wouldn't be surprised if Celestias guards are hiding up in the clouds right this moment...”

"How are we supposed to get inside anything in this place?" Luna asked him as they walked through the cemetery next to each other.

"There are a few... buildings further down this path." He answered. "They’re not that great, but at least it will hide us, and we can keep warm in there."

And indeed, they were safe inside the small building Dust led them to. Even though it wasn't a building. It was a crypt. Dark, cold and unpleasant. But Dust assured her that she had nothing to be afraid of. It turned out he had been here several times before. There were a couple of makeshift beds on each side of the small room, both made up from hay and blankets.

Although, upon arriving they had pushed these two "beds" together into one instead. A better way to keep warm if they stayed here. Dust had even made a small fire going, and lit several candles that he placed in the corners. And now they were sitting in silence. Dust seemed to be asleep, and Luna was staring at the fire.

Somehow, Dust had made it without anything at all, and it burned brightly by itself, without any wood to consume. A naked, endless flame, it seemed. And it didn't produce ant smoke at all. Luna was most grateful for that, if it did they would probably suffocate from it.

She had no idea how much time had passed since they left the castle. An hour? Two? Either way, Celestia had probably already found out that she was gone, and they were looking for her. She never thought she would go from princess to fugitive in just one day. And she never believed she would find love. Even though they were being hunted, and her sister most likely wanted to kill her for this, she still had someone to love. Someone to share her life with.

She never had to be lonely anymore.

Luna looked at Dust through the light of the flames. He still had his hood on, and sitting with his back against the wall, he looked as if he was sleeping. One leg stretched out on the floor in front of him, the other tucked in with his right lower arm resting on the knee, and his head resting on his chest. He was sitting close to the door, behind it so that he could ambush anyone that came inside.

"Dust?" She whispered. The walls around them enclosed the sound, eliminating all echoes or disturbances. "I love you."

"I love you too." He whispered back.

"Why don't you come and join me? It's cold." Luna said from her place in the makeshift bed.

Of course it was cold. Despite the fire and blankets, it was still winter outside, and they were inside a stone box. The walls felt like ice, as well as the floor.

"In a while, Luna. I just want to be sure... that nopony gets in here."

Luna sighed and laid her head down on of the pillows. It was just another blanket, rolled up into a pillow-like shape, but it was still better than nothing. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep. But it was impossible. So many thoughts rushed through her mind, and she had trouble laying still, constantly shifting her legs under the covers.

"Has your sister always been like this?" Dust said after a few minutes of silence.

Luna couldn't see him since she had her head turned the other way, but she heard him move and get up. Heard his feet moving across the floor towards her. She turned her head in time to see him crawl down next to her. He tucked the blankets up over them, and carefully scooted closer to her.

"Like what?" She said back.

Dust sighed.

"Bitter. Spiteful. Paranoid, her general hate for humans." He said, adding a yawn.

"She wasn't always like that." Luna answered, and then yawned herself as well. "She used to be a completely different pony... Kind, loving, caring, graceful. Always doing everything she could to make other ponies happy. But that changed a few years ago...” Luna’s voice died down.

"What happened?" Dust pushed on.

"I... I really don't want to talk about it." She said. "It was a painful time for us both...” She tucked her legs close to her, trying to stay warm.

Dust, feeling her attempts to keep warm, put his arm around her and pressed himself against her, resting his head on her neck.

"You can tell me." He whispered into her ear.

"Have you heard of the Crystal Empire?" Luna said after a few moments of silence. "Our sister, Cadence, ruled there with her husband, Shining Armor."

"So you are three sisters? I've never heard of her before."

"No. It's just me and Tia now. Cadence, she...” Luna felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"It’s okay, love. You don't need to say any more, I understand...”

"She was sick." Luna said anyway. "A strange sickness that made her wither away. Shining Armor did everything he could to stop her, to heal her, but nothing worked. Not even our magic could cure her. And then one day she was just... gone."

"I'm so sorry, Luna...” Dust whispered, gently stroking one of her legs to comfort her.

"It affected my and Tia both, but I think she took it the hardest. Since that day, something has changed in her."

They were silent for a while. The only sounds where the howling wind outside, and both of their breathing. Dust broke the silence.

"You know, for you to become queen, your sister needs to be removed. Exiled, maybe."

"I know...” Luna answered. "And if she refuses... Do we kill her..?"

"I'll let you decide, if it should come to that. But I hope it doesn't."

Luna turned around to her other side, facing Dust. She looked into his eyes, still partly hidden behind his hood.

"If it comes to that, I'll do it" She said.

She moved closer, laying her face down right in front of his.

"If that's the price I'll have to pay to be with you, I'll do it."