Luna sat up in her bed, yawning. How are you doing this evening, Mare? Luna asked, slowly getting out of her bed. Though she received no reply, it hardly worried her. She had gotten used to Mare’s almost constant silence over the past month. Still though, she didn’t like it. Mare’s silence always worried her. Having finished her evening routines, she looked at her calendar, wondering why she had awoken so long before the sunset. Ahh, yes, it’s Nightmare Night. She remembered. I believe I have a date with Ponyville. And with that thought, Luna trotted off to breakfast.

She met her sister as usual, smiling happily to herself. “Good evening Tia. How was your day?”

“Slow and boring.” Celestia replied curtly. “Your son came in, petitioning again for some cruel change or another.” The sun princess rolled her eyes idly, and angrily munched on her salad.

Luna stared for a moment, confused. “My son? Oh, Blueblood. Right.” Luna’s face fell. She was just as annoyed by that brat of a pony as her sister. She only called him son because she had given birth to one of his great ancestors. Many ponies were able to call themselves relatives of the sisters, and yet few others did. “I’ll tell him off sister. But, it will have to wait until tomorrow night. I have plans for tonight.”

Celestia’s face perked up at the mention of Luna having plans. “Ah yes, you’re visiting Ponyville tonight for their annual Nightmare Night festival.” Luna nodded, her mouth full of corn flakes. “Remember sister, the Voice has fallen out of tradition. I never use it anymore. Don’t scare them.” Smiling happily, and with a small chuckle from Luna as she finished her bite, the sisters continued their meal in peace.

Soon it was time for Luna to leave. “Good night sister. Make sure you get some sleep.”

“I plan to.” Celestia waved her sister off, chuckling to herself. As Luna climbed into her chariot, a thought popped into her head. “And Luna?” She called out.

“Yes sister?”

“Try to have fun.” Luna nodded, smiled, and climbed into her chariot. As it sped off into the distance, Celestia quietly added to herself,  “Please, Lulu. Have fun. I miss the old you.”

=======================================================================

Luna chuckled with Twilight, following her home. “I’m glad this went as well as it did Twilight.” Luna exclaimed, a grin plastered on her face. “It had its bumps, but it worked out in the end. Your idea for me to scare them worked out in the end.” Luna’s face quickly turned puzzled. “Still not sure how...”

“Yes it did Luna, yes it did. I guess we just had to give them what they were expecting.” Twilight responded, opening her door and following Luna inside. “And Luna, don’t you have to get back to the castle? Isn’t there work waiting for you?”

Luna shook her head, her grin staying. “Not tonight Twilight. I canceled my Night Court, and Tia said she would cover any paperwork that needed doing.” Luna quickly sat down on the couch, smiling. “I have the night free to do what I want.”

Twilight smiled happily, though a hint of worry flashed across her face. Joining Luna on the couch, she remarked, “well, I had just thought you would want to be doing your work.”

“Not tonight Twilight. I’d rather spend it with you.” Luna sighed, leaning back happily. “Is that strange? Please tell me it’s not strange. I’ve been trying so hard tonight.” Luna’s face fell. “Ohh, it is strange isn’t it? Darn, and here I was- what’s so funny?” Luna demanded, a hint of panic in her voice as she wondered why Twilight had just burst into laughter.

“Nothing Luna, nothing.” Twilight managed to breath between laughs. She slowly sat up before continuing “Just, I wasn’t expecting you to worry about being strange.” Luna thought for a moment before joining Twilight in her laughter. They laughed together for quite awhile before Twilight managed to recover. “I’m glad to see you having fun Luna. It’s wonderful to hear you laugh so honestly. But I need to ask, what was with all the yelling? I thought you were past needing the Voice.”

Luna looked down, a sheepish smile on her face. “I panicked,” Luna mumbled. “I didn’t expect so many ponies to be there as I landed, so I kinda defaulted back to the Voice.” She admitted.

Twilight laughed, wrapping a hoof around her guest. “Well Luna, my guest of honor for the night, what shall we do?” She asked, grinning widely.

“The night is still young Twilight. And much of my magical strength comes from the moon. And so I return your question in kind. Is there anything you wish to learn from me?” Luna answered, somewhat cryptically, somewhat playfully. She knew Twilight loved to learn, and wouldn’t be able to pass up a chance to learn even a small piece of knowledge, especially one forgotten to time. While she just wanted to be with Twilight, she more wanted to make sure Twilight enjoyed herself. That was why she was there after all.

Twilight stared on for a moment, her mind reeling. She hadn’t expected Luna to willingly open herself up to questions. Eventually she decided, giving Luna a small, nervous smile. “I know I’ve seen your, well, other form.” Twilight began, trying not to upset her guest. “But why do you have it? And, other than your appearance, what is so different about it? And can you show it to me again?”

Luna was taken aback. Nopony had willingly wanted to meet her other side. Luna herself was still scared of the reaction it brought out in others, and didn’t want to drive Twilight away. “I, I can explain it, but I don’t know if I can show you...” Luna trailed off, somewhat scared. “And I’ll have to ask Mare. It is her body after all. I feel horrible about using it without asking her earlier.”

Twilight nodded, understanding. “Take your time Luna. And you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“Alright. Well I’ll try to answer your questions first.” Luna began, curling up, leaning lightly against Twilight. “I first gained that other form when I first moved the moon. It moved under my control, and I got my cutie mark. As I turned to Tia though, I noticed I was much taller, and Tia seemed somewhat scared. I asked her what was wrong, and she just led me to a pool of water. I stared at my reflection for a long time. Eventually I managed to shift back to this side of me.”

Twilight stared. She didn’t know what to say, and so let Luna continue. “Tia and I came to call the larger forms we had our goddess form. While we are not true goddesses, many ponies back then called us that. We were still young, and we believed them. We were barely over a few thousand years old when we took over the sun and moon. After that, Celestia stayed in her goddess form, almost constantly. I can hardly remember what she looks like without it. She had a pink mane though, I remember that. On the other hoof, I almost never used mine. I didn’t want to scare my subjects.” Luna shivered. “And I guess you know enough of the rest to figure it out from there.”

Twilight slowly nodded, understanding just a little more of the mare next to her. “So, why do you two have them? What’s so good about them?”

Chuckling lightly, Luna answered. “Power. In our goddess form, we are much more powerful. They are the physical representation of our alicorn magic. We have our unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony magic, but there is also the alicorn magic. In that form, rather than our extra reserve of magic being used to heal our bodies, keep us alive indefinitely, it is used however we wish. As I said before, it affects how our bodies appear. And I can only guess that it affected how our goddess forms turned out. I was full of fear when I went to move the moon. I was terrified I would fail. So my goddess form was built upon fear. Not just my fear, but creating fear in others.” Luna closed her eyes, a few tears slowly escaping them. “I can only assume Celestia was full of confidence when she first moved the sun.”

Twilight smiled, amazed at how much she had learned from such a small question. “Thank you Luna. It means so much to me to learn all this from you.” The young unicorn wrapped a hoof around her friend, smiling as she pulled her into a close hug. “And, I know you may not want to, and you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I’d like to get a good chance to see your other form still.” She quietly added. “Your goddess form seems so elegant to me.”

Luna nodded in return, sitting back. “Alright Twilight. I will ask Mare. And, thank you. Nopony has ever said that about it before.” With a smile she closed her eyes, working her way into her mind. After a minute of struggling, her eyes snapped open, revealing Twilight’s living room around her. She stared puzzled at first, wondering why the space in her mind had changed so drastically. “Mare?” she called out, very confused.

“No, Twilight.” Twilight responded, confused. “Why are you asking for Mare? You’re still here with me.”

Luna’s expression changed from one of confusion to one of sheer panic. “I can’t get in Twilight. What’s going on?”

Twilight expression dropped in kind, her body tensing. Though, while Luna’s expression was of fear, Twilight’s was of sorrow. “Luna, could it be because there isn’t anywhere to go to?” She asked, trying to slowly get at the truth she was starting to believe.

“Why would there be no space? Mare has to have a place to exist in my mind when I’m in control, doesn’t she?” Luna retorted, confused as to where Twilight was going.

“Well yes, but, what if, and this is just hypothetically, Mare was gone?” Twilight tenderly asked, trying to prevent Luna from freaking out.

“Then I guess there would be no need for the space.” Luna answered slowly with a shrug. “Why do you ask Twilight?”

“Well, and this is all hypothetical of course, what if during this past evening, with everything that happened at the celebration, Mare faded away?” Twilight asked tactfully, treading the fine line between honest questions and Luna’s mental breakdown.

“Well, I suppose that is possible, but I don’t think that’s what happened.” Luna calmly retorted, not willing to believe what Twilight was implying. “Sure, she has been very quiet recently, and she hasn’t said anything today at all, and the games... were..... fun..........” Luna’s eyes widened in horror as the realization finally struck her. “Twilight. Cast that spell. Now! Please!” She exclaimed, turning to face her friend with tears in her eyes.

Twilight nodded sadly, having already begun the preparations. With a small smile she let the spell loose, directing it all at Luna. Luna slumped over into Twilight’s lap, who began slowly stroking her mane, whispering soothing words to her unconscious friend, a few tears slowly dropping off her muzzle and into Luna’s mane.

=======================================================================

Luna’s eyes flashed open, her mind reeling with renewed panic. She jumped up, looking around, expecting the claustrophobic whiteness, and for Mare to be laying, sleeping, nearby. Instead, she was greeted with seemingly organized chaos, which she quickly recognized as a dream. I’m dreaming. Why am I dreaming? She thought, walking around the constantly shifting landscape. Where is Mare?

Luna continued walking for a bit, not sure of her destination. Eventually getting tired of the shifting world around her she sat down on a couch floating by, focusing her mind on her room. Slowly the world around her settled, falling into place, becoming the room she loved dearly. She smiled, glad to see she was still in control. She turned to climb onto her bed to think, stopping as she noticed the slowly rising and falling of the lump that was present. Somewhat confused, wondering how something she hadn’t planned into her room had appeared, she willed the blankets to pull back, and gasped as they revealed Mare, laying in her bed.

Mare slowly sat up, turning to face her waker groggily. “Ah, hello Luna.” She replied slowly, motioning for Luna to join her.

Luna hesitated for a moment, then leapt up, tackling Mare, pulling her into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re not gone Mare!” She exclaimed, tears streaming down her face. “I was so worried. Twilight was suggesting that because of what happened this evening that you had faded. I didn’t want to believe her, and I’m sorry I started to.” Luna let go, staying next to Mare as she continued rambling. “I’m not ready for you to go yet, there’s still so much for me to learn and-”

Mare gently shook her head, pushing Luna away. Luna blinked, confused. “I’m sorry Luna. I’m not Mare.” Luna stared, confused. “I’m just a part of your subconscious. Just a part of this dream you’re having. I’m just here to deliver the message.”

Luna face fell as the truth sank in. “So Mare really is-?” She asked, her voice cracking.

The phantom nodded. “Yes, I’m afraid Mare is gone. I’m sorry. I know no more than you do as to why, or where, she went.” The figment wrapped her hooves around Luna, holding her close as the princess lay down in her lap, sobbing. “The best you can do is remember her. Let her memory live on in you.”

Luna nodded, staring up at her ethereal visitor. “But, I’m not ready. I still don’t know what to do. I just followed Twilight’s lead today, did what she told me to do.” Luna’s head turned, the princess of the night unable to face the phantom whom looked like her lost friend, her eyes filling up with yet more tears.

“Silly Luna.” Twilight’s voice drifted from above Luna. Her head snapped around, staring at where Mare was sitting. But instead of Mare, she found Twilight sitting there, slowly stroking her mane. “All you need to do is follow me. No matter what happens. I promised to always be there for you, didn’t I?” Luna slowly nodded, her eyes now full of tears of joy. “Now, Luna, I think it’s time for you to wake up.”

Luna stared up at Twilight, wondering what she meant. She blinked once, confused, and the world around her started to shimmer. She bolted up, sitting next to Twilight. The world she had built around her bed had started to fade. Luna blinked again, sure her eyes were tricking her, and the world crumbled further, leaving just her, the bed, and Twilight. The unicorn chuckled softly, reaching up to stroke Luna’s mane again. “Don’t worry. As I said, you need to wake up.” Luna turned around, to respond, but felt herself overcome with sleepiness. The world started to shimmer again as she fell over, her head softly landing in Twilight’s lap. As the world faded around her, everything turning black, only Twilight remained, softly humming as she stoked Luna’s mane. And slowly, Luna closed her eyes, not knowing, and not caring, what waking would bring. After all, she was laying in Twilight’s lap. What more could she want?

=======================================================================

Luna’s eyes slowly opened, taking a moment to adjust to the brightness around her. The first thing she noted, after her eyes snapped back into focus, was that she was laying down. In somepony’s lap. And that somepony happened to have a violet, or perhaps purple, coat. The next thing she noticed was that whomever owned the lap she was in, was also stroking her mane, slowly and gently. Luna turned slowly, looking up at her caretaker. Twilight was staring off, a few tears in her eyes, and many more having matted the fur on her cheeks, humming a small tune to herself.

The unicorn noticed as Luna turned however, slowly stopping her tune, turning to face the mare in her lap. She gave a small smile, not fully registering that Luna was awake. As the information finally processed in her mind though, she jumped up, pushing Luna into a sitting position as she scooted away. “I’m so sorry Luna.” She cried out, embarrassed. “You fell over, right into my lap, and I just-”

Luna held up a hoof, pulling Twilight back next to her before laying back down in her lap. “Please, continue. It was very nice.” Luna whispered. “If you don’t mind that is.” Twilight quickly returned to stroking Luna’s mane, smiling sheepishly. The two mares stayed like that for awhile, Twilight slowly stroking Luna’s mane, Luna resting comfortably. Eventually, Luna spoke up. “She’s gone Twilight. Mare is gone.”

Twilight nodded solemnly, understanding. “I figured as much. I’m so sorry Luna,” she whispered, a few more tears dropping off her muzzle and into Luna’s mane. Neither mare cared though, both content to stay as they were.

“Twilight, there is something I must do. Come with me.” Luna whispered, slowly rising from Twilight’s lap.

“What is it Luna?” The purple unicorn asked, standing next to her friend.

“Something I think you’ll enjoy” Luna responded cryptically, her head hanging as she exited Twilight’s house. Quickly following, Twilight trailed Luna to the hill where she had last watched the stars with her. Her horn aglow, the princess of the night calmly sat down. “Watch the skies Twilight.” Luna whispered, a few tears slowly escaping her eyes.

Twilight did as asked, slightly confused. A bright twinkle caught her eyes, causing her to turn to the east. There, a new constellation was forming, stars gently realigning themselves. Twilight stared transfixed as the constellation slowly became the outline that had been upon the moon until a year ago. A few tears dropped out of Twilight’s eyes, joining Luna’s on the grass beneath them. While many would think it was Luna’s way of signing her masterpiece, her greatest work of art, Twilight knew what it really meant. It was Luna’s way of immortalizing the memory of her closest friend.

As the glow around Luna’s horn slowly dimmed, she wrapped a wing around Twilight. “Twilight,” Luna whispered. “I wasn’t ready for this.”

Twilight looked down from the skies, turning to Luna, a small, sad smile on her face. “I know. And I’m so sorry it happened so suddenly. Is there anything I can do?”

Luna gave a small, knowing smile. “Well, you promised that you’d stay with me, right?”

“As long as you feel you need me to Luna. I’m here for you.” Twilight responded happily. Luna let out a small sigh as she realized Twilight hadn’t quite gotten her point.

I love her. Luna had realized. She’s done so much for me. She led the charge to free me from myself. She’s been by my side whenever I needed her. She’s the first pony I’ve known who has actually loved my night sky. Luna looked down at the mare she had fallen for, smiling. I’m happy when I’m with her. And over the past two months, she’s helped me deal with all the changes I’ve felt as Mare started to fade. Tonight, she stuck with me while everypony else was terrified of me. She’s seen my other form, and not only wasn’t scared, but found it elegant. And even though Mare is gone, and her work is technically done, she is still staying by my side. How could I not love this amazing, beautiful mare? “Thank you Twilight.” Luna replied, wrapping her hooves around Twilight, pulling the mare she loved tight against her barrel before adding, quietly enough that Twilight couldn’t hear, “thank you my love.” Next Chapter: Epilogue Estimated time remaining: 16 Minutes