"Ah, finally. Hey, Twilight! I finished cleaning the kitchen!" Spike yelled as he stepped out into the living room. He saw a book on her desk, but not her, "hmm…Twilight?" He climbed up the stairs and asked Luna, "Hey Princess, is Twilight up here?"
Luna turned her attention to the dragon, "No, I believe she is downstairs doing research, is she not?"
"No. She's not there," Spike stroked his chin in thought, "Hm…she may have gone into the back room to get one of the older books. Should we go check?"
"Yes," Luna closed the book and left it on the bed before following Spike downstairs.
Once they were downstairs, Spike led Luna to the door of the back room, "Yeah, she's in there. I see light coming from under the door," He knocked first, "Hey Twilight, you in there?"
There was no answer, so Luna tried the knob, "It's locked. How strange. May I use an unlocking spell?"
"Of course," Spike stepped aside.
The door was enveloped by Luna's teal aura until there was a clicking sound. Luna let Spike go in first.
They saw that the room was a mess. Spiked looked around at the jumble of books, "Twilight, are you okay? What ha-" Spike looked up. He dropped to his knees and his jaw hung open.
Luna stepped inside, "Spike? Is Twilight down there? Are you hurt?" Luna looked curiously at the shocked creature. She looked at where he was staring and her stomach turned, "No."
Spike blinked as a tear slowly ran down his face, "Twilight…"
Luna turned to the little dragon, with a tear of her own escaping her eye. It was unhealthy for him to be in the room. He was just a kid after all. Luna needed something to distract him, "Spike, why don't we fly a little bit to clear our heads? Let's go," Luna carried him with her magic and let him rest on her back.
Luna ran upstairs to the balcony. Just when Ponyville seemed peaceful, the worst happens. Luna spread her wings and launched herself into the night. She could feel Spike clutching her withers and sobbing. Luna was trying to be strong, but she couldn't help the whines and hiccups that escaped her throat, much less the tears being carried from her face by the wind. Luna flew gently as she hummed a lullaby that Celestia used to sing to her when she was upset. The tune seemed to have calmed him a little bit. Even though Celestia caused this whole mess, Luna still found the melody comforting.
After an hour, Luna turned on one wing and headed back to the library. She closed the balcony door and let Spike climb off of her back. By now, it was pretty late. Spike knew he would have trouble sleeping so he went downstairs for some chamomile tea to lull him a little. Luna joined him in the kitchen he had finished cleaning earlier.
She was hesitant to speak. She knew what it was like to lose someone your life depends on. Even now, she feels pain from when her parents died. Still, she knew any sort of comfort served well, "Spike, I…I am so deeply sorry for your loss. I wish there was something I could have done."
Spike sniffled, his eyes red from crying, "It wasn't your fault, Luna. You were trying to patch up Celestia's mistake. If only it would have worked," Spike looked down at his tea, finding interest in the ripples caused by his breathing and slight shaking of fear and shock.
"You can come live in the castle with me if you would like. Know that you are always welcome there," Luna offered.
"I'm still thinking about where I should stay. Thanks anyway," Spike sighed as he finished his tea.
"May I ask where else you were planning on staying?" Luna asked curiously.
"I have plenty of options;" Spike said as he rinsed his cup and put it up, "I can stay with Rarity, Fluttershy, Shining Armour and Cadence, and a few other ponies. I'm also considering staying here to live by myself with Owlowicious. This place is special to me. Sure, we've been here for only a few years, but this is where Twilight met all her friends. This is where she found joy outside of books. It's also where she rescued you from Nightmare Moon, you know. I'm sorry to bring it up, but that's when she actually found her dignity. That's when she found that she was meant to be a hero. I've been with her my whole life, and maybe that's why I want to stay here, where she last was when she was…" Spike trailed off as a sob threatened to escape his throat.
Luna noticed the sorrow and despondency within his voice. Spike's words were striking Luna's heart enough to release a fresh tear from her right eye and form another in her left, "Oh Spike," Luna rushed up to hug the little dragon. Spike responded by returning the embrace and weeping. Luna was crying along with him, "Like you, I owe my life to her. She-she saved me from Nightmare Moon. A-and she helped me meet new fr-friends at Nightmare Night. If it were not for her, everypony would be sca-scared of m-me."
Spike had buried his head into Luna's chest, making his voice sound muffled, "She was one of the smartest ponies I kn-knew. She was so kind a-and she was my best friend-no, my only friend growing up. I wish that before she had died, I could have told her one more time how much she meant t-to me. I should have told her that sh-she was the best friend a dragon could ask for. I wish I could have been a better assist-assistant!"
Luna held him a bit tighter, "Spike, you're a marvellous assistant. It-it's not your fault," Luna said, seeming slightly calmer.
"Then why?" Spike looked up at her with watery eyes, "Why would she just-just…" he buried his head back into Luna's chest to avoid finishing his statement.
Luna wished she could answer his question, but she couldn't. Nopony could. Yes, Celestia had been a pain, but how could Twilight just lose hope like that? The night princess embraced the little dragon tighter as if it were the answer, but neither of them knew for certain.
Once they had calmed down, Luna and Spike went upstairs. They didn't know whether they would be blessed with the gift of respite or if they would stay awake, lying in agony and tears. Still, they turned off the lights. Luna got into her bed next to Twilight's, and Spike in his crib. Neither of them felt very comfortable during the night with voices in their heads suggesting it was their fault and asking them why Twilight did what she did. All night, twisting, turning, and muttering could be heard from the library.
Eventually, Spike was getting tired of the insomniac and decided to get help, "Luna, are you still awake?" he whispered even though he knew the answer.
"Yes. Are you, as well, having trouble sleeping?" Luna whispered back.
"Yeah. I was wondering if you could…um, never mind," Spike decided against his desires.
"What is it, Spike?" Luna asked half concerned, half curious.
"Well…you know that song you were humming earlier?" He imagined Luna had nodded as he paused, "I was wondering…does it have any lyrics?" Spike said hesitantly.
"Yes, it does."
"Could you…could you please sing it?"
Luna was surprised. Not many ponies asked her to sing for them. Nevertheless, she said, "of course."
Luna walked over to Spike's crib and began to sing,
"Mistakes have been made
But our love never fades
I know the times you've cried
Because I wasn't by your side
But since we are friends
We'll be together in the end
So please wait for me
Tears come to my eyes as the angel flies to her heaven
The agony trapped inside of me and my tears are dripping
The moon and the sun will bring us fun after tomorrow
Then we can play every night and day. No more sorrow
But for now I have to leave
I was once alone
All on my own
But one day you came
You delivered me from my pain
I look up at the moon
And hope I'll see you soon
Someday we will fly free
Tears come to my eyes as the angel flies to her heaven
The agony trapped inside of me and my tears are dripping
The moon and the sun will bring us fun after tomorrow
Then we can play every night and day. No more sorrow
The stars they clear the scars of my mistake
How could I mistreat you and how could I just leave you for my own sake
Please forgive me and come with me to the sky
I am now here with you and we can go to where no one must cry
If we believe"
The lullaby had successfully put Spike to sleep. For Luna, she had only felt slightly tired, but the lullaby had brought tears to her eyes. The lullaby was one that Celestia sang to her once she had returned from the moon. Luna remembered exactly what had happened…
How could I have been so cruel to everypony? Luna thought as she lay on her bed, her pillow soaked with tears, All I wanted was for them to see that my night can be beautiful like my sister's day. Instead I just hurt everypony, including Celestia! She probably hates me. What reason do I have to live?
Luna heard her door creek open, letting in light from the corridor. Luna tried to fight her hiccups and even out her breaths to make herself seem as if she were sleeping. She hoped the pony would go away.
Unfortunately for her, the pony came closer and sat on her bed. The pony began to stroke her mane. She whispered, "You aren't fooling anypony, Luna."
"I'm sorry," Luna's voice was thick enough for Celestia to tell that she was crying.
Celestia stopped caressing Luna's hair and asked with concern, "Luna, what's wrong? Aren't you glad to be back?"
"I do not think I deserve to feel gladness, sister, especially not after how cruel I was to everypony," Luna answered as she turned her head to the elder sister.
"Luna! You mustn't speak like that! The Nightmare overshadowed you and made you do all of that. It wasn't your fault!"
"But I still did it! I should have tried to stop it, but I just let it come over me out of jealousy. Now, everypony hates me. I know you must hate me the most," Luna said as a tear rolled down her face.
"Luna, nopony hates you, especially not me. I love you," Celestia said as she wiped away the tear.
"If they don't hate me, then why are they so afraid of me?" Luna asked in a bitter tone as she looked down to her bed sheets.
"I promise the other ponies will come around. Good friends always come around," Celestia smiled.
"D-do you promise that if the other ponies despise me, you will always love me?" Luna asked with a bit of hesitation.
"Of course I promise. I will always be by your side, Luna," Celestia kissed her little sister on her forehead, right below the horn, "Always."
The sun princess got off of Luna's bed and started heading out the door, but stopped as she heard Luna, "Wait, sister," Luna said as she sat up.
"Yes, Luna?" the elder sister asked as she walked back to Luna's bed.
"I seem to be finding it difficult to sleep. Will you please…will you please sing me your lullaby? I know I sound like a foal, but…" Luna blushed with shame and embarrassment. She had always tried to show Celestia how strong she was, and here she is asking for a lullaby!
"It's okay, Luna. I'll sing," Celestia cleared her throat," Fate has been cruel and order unkind. How can I-"
"No, not that one. Last time you sang that to me, we were both crying in the end, remember?" Luna and Celestia gave a light chuckle at the memory, "I want you to sing the one you sang to me when I was on the moon…the one you had been working on since Mother and Father…died."
Celestia nodded and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and began to sing once more…
Luna got into her bed, and tried her best to sleep. Spike, since he was a child, was having absolutely no problems sleeping. Luna, on the other hoof, simply lay in her bed restless. She didn't even feel tired. She was too scared to go to sleep. She felt that if she slept, she would be leaving Twilight alone. She was still hanging on the noose, but Luna just couldn't take her down right then. She just wanted her time that night to be one of peace. With all of her thoughts, though, there was no peace. There might never again be peace. Not until Luna had closure.
Author's note: Just a disclaimer, I do NOT own the lullaby that Celestia was singing at first (the one that goes: Fate has been cruel and order unkind. How can I- and gets cut off by Luna). That is an actual brony song. It is Lullaby for a Princess by Ponyphonic. At first, I wanted to use it as the lullaby that Luna sings to Spike, but I didn't want it to seem like I was advertising the song. No one asked me to mention Lullaby for a Princess. I did it at my own will because I like the song. Also: Thanks to everyone who is reading. Don't worry, I won't leave the story to just have a really dark ending. I'm going to add a bit of comfort. (small spoiler. I apologise. Just thought you should know so you don't think that I would leave it like this.)
