Luna lays awake in bed, like she does every night, unwilling to be put at the mercy of her subconscious dreams.
Every night, she dreams of a different memory she shares with Celestia.
She is laying on her back with her head against a pillow. She sighs quietly, deciding that she needs some sleep tonight if she is to continue searching for a solution tomorrow evening. She relaxes, finally letting sleep come over her.
She begins to dream.
"Just hold on, not much further!"
"Are you sure this is safe..?"
"I promise I won't drop you, Luna."
Luna seemed to relax, but just a little. Her wings hadn't yet fully developed, so she was currently being carried by Celestia, out of their cloud home and down to the surface. Technically, they weren't allowed to go to the surface without company, but they also weren't supposed to be dating either, as they had been for nearly a year now. Celestia saw no harm in bending the rules a little more.
Their relationship has been amazing so far, the best days of both of their lives. Unfortunately, it also had to be kept secret from their parents, as neither filly believed the adults would take it well. The only soul who knew about it was Discord, and he promised to keep it secret. They had been on several pseudo-dates, but always around the eyes and ears of others, even in their own homes.
But today, their very first Hearts and Hooves day together, Celestia had offered to take Luna to the surface, for their very first time of being truly alone. Luna watched as the landscape moved below her, a flowered meadow disappearing into a thick, luscious forest. It was there that Celestia started to descend, gently depositing Luna into a small clearing with a shining creek running through it. Many different kinds of wildflowers dotted the area, some of them, Luna thought, planted by someone else. Probably Celestia. There were too many different kinds, some of them in beautiful, intricate patterns.
The candy-colored alicorn lands next to Luna, folding her wings. She turns to just watch her counterpart for a short time with wide, happy eyes. Luna blushes a little under her gaze, but she keeps eye contact with the same wide eyes. Celestia sighs happily and leans forward, kissing Luna's cheek and then nuzzling it very slowly and gently. She speaks quietly and sincerely.
"Luna.. You've made me happier than I've ever been." She takes a deep, nervous breath. "I really don't know what I would do without you, now. I... I'll let this explain it..." Her horn glows faintly, and her mane parts itself down the middle, revealing a small stuffed doll in Celestia's likeness, and a beautifully decorated card attached to it. It lazily floats over to Luna, and she takes it from the air. She gives Celestia a nervous, but sincere smile before opening it up.
Luna wasn't quite sure what to expect before she opened it, but it certainly wasn't this. It projected an image into the air in front of Luna, a large, and very heavily detailed image. The left half of it was a night sky, but one more beautiful than Luna had ever seen. Millions of stars twinkled through that side. Colorful, patterned nebulae and spinning galaxies, all set behind a large, full moon.
The right side was a yellow and pink dawn, with a massive sun set in front of anything, as the moon was on the left side, and exactly the same size. Clouds cover the right side, with a drizzle and silent lightning. The colors of the dawn streak across the clouds to create patterns, and a wide arced rainbow appears in the rain.
Luna's jaw actually drops a little, and it takes her a long time before she can tear herself away from the magical display. Celestia waits next to her, her tail swishing slowly while she watches Luna's reaction. "It... Took me a long time, I almost didn't finish it in time..."
Luna slowly turns her head to look at Celestia, "It's.. I don't even know how to say this.. I love it, I've never seen anything more.. More amazing... Thank you..!"
Celestia nervously rubs one of her legs with the other, smiling. "An-anything for you.. There are.. Words, too... On the actual card."
Luna turns her head down to the card again. Somehow, she can see the words perfectly, despite the projected landscape in front of her. She silently mouths the words as she reads them.
"In the days when We were lonely,
In the days when Our heart was wanting for love,
In the days when the sun, rather than pleased us, burnt Our joy,
In the days when the wind blew Our hope gone,
In the days when the rain washed away Our desire for love.
In those days, Our existance was barren, lonely, and of an unsure future.
Those days are gone, replaced by thy presence in Our life.
Now, thee, Luna, hath conquered Our body and soul.
Now Our days are little more than waiting to see thee,
Now Our heart only beats for thee,
Now the sun brings us wondrous joy at the thought of another chance to see thee,
Now the wind blows Us toward thee,
Now the rain drives Us into thy arms.
Our time together may hath been relatively brief thus far,
Our relationship may be forbidden by those who understand not,
We may be challenged in the future by those who would not approve,
The feelings that We feel for thee might not even be wholly mutual,
But We hath never been more sure of anything else in Our life.
Luna, thou art beautiful.
Kind.
Caring.
Intelligent.
. . . We could write on this paper in that manner forever, but We art running out of space.
Luna. We art soul mates. We know it in Our heart.
We love thee.
~Celestia"
Once again, it takes Luna a short time for her to look away after she finishes. When she does, she slowly looks up at Celestia again, her eyes shining. She steps forward to hug Celestia very tightly, a few tears slowly rolling down her cheeks "T-..Tia..."
Celestia closes her eyes and hugs her back, just as tightly. She slowly sways on the spot, clinging onto Luna for support. She nuzzles the younger alicorn slowly, and the two stay in this position for a very long time.
Finally, Luna musters up enough courage to speak. "You.. You love me...?"
Celestia only manages to say, "I do..."
Another silence, though this one shorter than the last before Luna breaks it again, a wide smile spreading on her lips "...I love you, too."
Luna awakens, barely forty minutes after falling asleep. She rolls over onto her belly, putting her hooves over her eyes, strongly resisting the urge to start sobbing.
She rarely cries at all, and she has hardly cried at any point in her life.. but this... this is a burden she can hardly bear.
Luna forces herself to calm down, standing up on the bed. She spreads her wings, looking at her windows. She opens them with magic, bravely hopping up and flying out. She soars down toward the library in Canterlot Castle in order to continue her work, still trembling a little.