Luna didn't know what to think.

Even after Nightmare Night, when she thought she had proven she had changed, that she was no longer a pony to be hated, she was still greeted with wariness and distrust. Every time she would fly into a town, no matter which one it was, no matter what the situation, she could still see fear in the ponies' eyes as they gazed upon the Princess of the Night. At first, she thought they were just nervous to be around royalty. Yet, when they saw her sister, their dear Princess Celestia, there was no fear. Anxiety, maybe. But no fear. Luna would never admit it, but this hurt. She thought everpony now knew that she was no threat. She thought that now they could be friends.

She wouldn't dare allow Nightmare Moon to return. Everything was under control. Neither jealousy nor sadness would ever get the best of her. Not again. But still, she longed for companionship, for everypony to forget her past. And so it seemed, one did. One pony, in all of Equestria, wanted to be around her.

Twilight Sparkle seemed to be utterly fascinated by her. She wanted to know everything. She wanted to know how the princess made the moon change shape every night. She wanted to know how the stars and constellations got their names. Everything about the night that she couldn't learn from her busy mentor. Not only did she want to learn, but she wanted to simply be around Luna. Whenever the unicorn visited Canterlot, the two would stay up until dawn discussing books or having heated games of chess or practicing their magic skills on the plants in the garden. It all made Luna simply happy. And the best part of it all?

There was no fear. No discomfort. No fake smiles. Only pure, honest joy.

And as Luna and Twilight laid together, side beside in the trimmed grass of the garden, the two ponies laughing as they exchanged stories of their foalhoods, the princess began to realize.

Delight shone in the unicorn's bright, inquisitive violet eyes. Her mane, once finely groomed, had become disheveled from rolling on the ground in laughter. Twilight's hooves waved through the air, attempting to better describe the events that had taken place in her story. And a wide grin was spread over her face. Twilight was talented, smart, and indeed beautiful. And Luna realized that she was in love with her.

Twilight finished her story with a laugh and a sigh, then stared up into the sky, smiling contentedly. Luna watched as the unicorn examined the constellations, Ursa Major and Minor, Aries, Taurus, so on and so forth, and she could feel a tingling sensation in her stomach, and a warmth rising to her cheeks. To be honest, she was scared of falling in love. Being as feared as she was, she didn't want to fall for anypony, only to have her heart broken as they turned her down, too disgusted by her dark past. She'd change everything if she could. She really would. If only to be accepted by her beloved kingdom. But at the same time, she felt like as long as Twilight accepted her for who she was, she didn't really care what anypony else thought.

And she wanted her to know this. She wanted her to know that she was grateful for Twilight's attention and friendship. She wanted her to know that she cared about her. But she was scared. She was nervous. What would Twilight say?

The tingling numbed, though the warmth grew hotter, the crimson blush becoming even more noticeable. And then, something took over Luna. A feeling, really. Her vision blurred ever so slightly, and a cloud of thoughtlessness engulfed her mind as she reached for the lavender unicorn's hoof, wrapping her's around it. The unicorn's ears flicked, and she looked up to Luna with confusion. Their eyes locked. The princess bit her lip, and ever so slowly inched closer to the purple mare. As the cloud cleared from her mind, a flood of thoughts and worries came flooding in.

'She'll hate you.'

'She'll think there's something wrong with you.'

'She doesn't like you that way.'

'She will never speak to you again.'

Luna ignored these thoughts, and though the mare next to her was tense and confused, she still lifted her free hoof to her cheek and brought her closer, touching her lips to her's. For a moment, Twilight's eyes widened in shock. The princess could already feel an aching in her chest, sure that she was about to get rejected, but she herself was surprised to find the mare relaxing. Her eyes closed and her two hooves rested around the princess' neck, pulling her closer. All worries disappeared from Luna's head.