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1.
>the final trace of indigo had given way to a lightless black sky
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2.
>celestia's sun was well out of sight under the horizon, ending her royal duties with a changing of the guard
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3.
>Luna took her place on the throne in a well-oiled procedure, ready to take on the night
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4.
>now that she was settled, she closed her eyes and took a meditative deep breath to get in the zone
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5.
>as a blue glow ran up Luna's horn, all her concentration and physical energy focused right into the point of it, energy sparking abd flaring off in blue flames
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6.
>and as if it was against her bosom, straight into the heavy grey celestial body far beyond the atmosphere
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7.
>through her eyelids, she felt the moon illuminate in a pearly white glow as her magic breathed life into it
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8.
>outlining every crevice of her rocky shadow etched into the impossibly heavy mass over many nights
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9.
>a constant reminder of her millennium of isolation
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10.
>with a firm, cradling grip on the moon, Luna took a long deep breath to fill her abdomen
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11.
>tensing all of her muscles from her neck down through her calves and hooftips along the way
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12.
>at the very top, she sinched her breath down, gritted her teeth, and shoved all her strength into the moon
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13.
>very, very slowly, the moon began to break free and rise
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14.
>the scrunch in Luna's face carried through her whole body as she heaved against her planetary home, all her muscles shaking under the strain
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15.
>but the more force she put in, the easier it got
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16.
>like pushing a cart over a hill and down the other side, the moon quickly gained runaway momentum from the force
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17.
>reaching as far as she could, Luna gave one final shove, and let all the weight off her shoulders
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18.
>finally opening her eyes, she let out a hearty breath of relief, sweat starting to run down her back and sides from the effort
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19.
>an all too familiar hoist, but never any less strenuous
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20.
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21.
>taking a moment to herself, Luna basked under her star speckled night, far above the stained glass dome atop the throne room
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22.
>the moon's comforting glow worked its way through the glass as it started its arc across the sky
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23.
>it was a relatively short summer night, as evident in how much speed she sent the moon off with
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24.
>had this been the 11th, 12th, or 1st moon, she could get by with a fraction of the effort
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25.
>and with every passing summer, Luna questioned how much longer she could heave the moon this quickly
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26.
>at least Celestia had the coolness of winter and boundless, jubilant energy to help accelerate her sun for the short days
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27.
>as opposed to the sticky summer heat that lingered long after Luna's sister retired for the night
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28.
>the summer sun celebration was 2 weeks ago, so it was downhill from here
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29.
>before Luna would know it, it'd be time to dust off her hoodie closet
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30.
>and have plenty of chilly hours to cozy up and spend time on her next duty of the night
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31.
>the one that she loves the most
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32.
>the moon princess left her throne and started down the hallway, her 2 lines of guards perking up to meet her orders
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33.
>it was merely theatrics, they knew exactly what she was doing
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34.
>as Luna ducked to her right and out the wide archway, she took a well-worn pillow in her mouth off the top of a wardrobe
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35.
>then out onto a semi-circular balcony, gently laying the pillow in the center and flattening it out
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36.
>as two guards stood sleeping with their eyes open, Luna pawed her pillow as if it was a nest, then loafed her four hooves underneath, resting her body upon it
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37.
>gazing out upon the valleys and plains that gently rolled away from the sharp cliff face of Canterlot
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38.
>once again sinking into a meditative deep breath, blue magic rolled up Luna's horn
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39.
>instead of the sparking, powerful magic that rose the moon, this was a soft, humming blue glow
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40.
>the night princess pushed all of her mental and spiritual energy up through the top of her head, the rest of her body going numb in a well practiced ritual
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41.
>and in a calm, smooth buildup, all of Luna's energy squeezed against the peak of her horn, edging itself against the outside
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42.
>finally, in a satisfying release, her essence burst out into the metaphysical plane of the dream realm
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43.
>her astral projection was complete
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44.
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45.
>Luna's spirit now floated above an endless sea of snowpities, resting and dreaming under a lovely purple and blue sky
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46.
>dreams of fillies, colts, stallions, foals, and mares took the form of spherical cocoons, all pushed together to form a collage of light blue dreams
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47.
>all under the watchful eye of the moon princess, every sleeping pony in equestria laid out before her
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48.
>keeping her veteran eyes out for the occasional spark, pop, or jostle, as with a startled night terror or sudden unprompted wake up
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49.
>some dreams glowed with a vibrant blue, others loomed with a dark cobalt, and all of them appeared and disappeared as they pleased
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50.
>thousands of years and ponies in her care taught Luna well in how to manage her pupils, what demanded her attention and what would sort itself out naturally
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51.
>this phase of the night was more routine, a cursory glance to make sure nothing cataclysmic was pulling ponies from their sleep
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52.
>and like the guards, watching for that 1-in-a-million time she would have to fight something like the Tantavus or Sombra again
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53.
>luckily, this wasn't one of those nights
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54.
>and that ultimately gave her the unspoken cue to move on to the royal duty she loves the most
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55.
>you see, even in the peaceful collage of dreams, there were still empty, pitch black, blocks of space that angrily stuck out like sharp rocks in a river
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56.
>of course not going unnoticed by Luna
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57.
>for these were the ones who wanted to sleep peacefully, but couldn't
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58.
>whether by insomnia, fear, or a heavy conscience, these were the ponies that lived for the night
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59.
>it was never the monsters, the introversion, or the moodiness that led Luna to find her home in the darkness
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60.
>she wanted to be the voice, the comfort, and companion for the misunderstood
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61.
>and on this auspicious summer night, Luna was gonna go dream surfing
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62.
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63.
>Luna took to the spiritual skies and flew above the sea of dreams, focused in on one of the voids
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64.
>stopping the sharp edge, she sparked her horn, and focused her magic to investigate
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65.
>all of the other dreams faded away momentarily as Luna zeroed in on this dream in particular
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66.
>at first, she was presented with a fuzzy, third person image of the sleeping pony in the real world, focusing in and out with her magic to glean as much background information as she could:
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67.
>dark body, green mane, pegasus, young mare, had to be mid 20s
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68.
>seems to live alone, resting on a nondescript bed in a lived-in bedroom
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69.
>sprawled out half on her belly, half on her side and her knee propped on a spare pillow
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70.
>front hooves tucked tightly around her head, but Luna couldn't make out what she was holding
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71.
>she could feel the lactic acid in the mare's haunches, this was a well earned sleep
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72.
>stepping back with her focus, it made sense right away
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73.
>Luna's subject was buried in her covers and a thick hoodie that covered her mane and face, holding a worn stuffed animal in her hooves that had followed her for ages
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74.
>Luna knew what she was dealing with, so she dove into the dream portal and was met with a spacious, spherical and pastel colored headspace
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75.
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76.
>dreams floated around Luna in thin, light bubbles, each holding a glossy preview of what was happening inside
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77.
>long-gone memories, snapshots of the day's activities, and strong feelings took shape into events and stories that would play out in this young pony's mind for split seconds at a time
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78.
>one in particular started to grow as it stuck to the edge of the room, all other bubbles disappearing to make space
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79.
>its power was clear, and the size of the dream told Luna this pony was feeling every part of it through her 5 senses
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80.
>after some nonsensical dialogue with her grey and rainbow maned friend, the jet black Pegasus said something about taking a nap, then jumped up onto a kitchen counter and rolled over on her back
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81.
>and immediately, a new dream bubble started to grow inside of it, freezing the initial dream and forming a brand new setting
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82.
>one not unlike the real life setting of this pony's repose
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83.
>even though she was no stranger to layered dreams, the sight was always one for Luna to behold
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84.
>but she was about to see something even rarer
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85.
>as the internal bubble continued to float around, it found itself right up against the edge of its host, the scene being an innocuous sequence between two lovers
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86.
>from what Luna could make out, it was a cozy afternoon chitchat between the black and green and a white and purple pegasus
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87.
>but then suddenly, the bubbles stuck together and phased through, the edge of the inner breaching through its host
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88.
>Luna perked up and flared her wings, the time to strike was now
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89.
>in the liminal space between the two bubbles, a staticky realm had opened itself up
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90.
>this was a natural lucid dream.
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91.
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92.
>Green FN moved her eyes around, sensory control rushing into the tips of her hooves
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93.
>the fuzzy scene around her froze to a standstill, she had to make a move
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94.
>Green turned and galloped for the bedroom door, swinging it open and diving through a gelatinous membrane into the next scene
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95.
>everything suddenly became HDR crystal clear, Green was fully cogent, and had spawned in her signature hat and hoodie
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96.
>'i am awake' ran across her brain effortlessly
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97.
>the walls of her living room were exactly as she knew them, now with an iridescent glow of the early afternoon
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98.
>and to her right, her dearest love and marefriend Morning Glory, just standing there begging for affection
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99.
>the black mare made a run for it, the force of the concrete pounding through her legs
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100.
>Green dove into Morning's outstretched hooves and flowing chest floof, feeling one for one like it did almost a year ago
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101.
>her A/C blew crisp, piney mountain air into both of their nostrils
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102.
>"I love you so much Green FN." morning cooed into her marefriend's ear
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103.
>"I love you too" Green FN creaked back
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104.
>"I'm so happy I moved here with you" another reassurance as Green basked in the hug
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105.
>it was so viscerally real, green having complete and total control and using it to be nowhere else but here
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106.
>in the middle of it though, something tugged on a string on her brain
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107.
>a hard heat wave hit the exposed side of Green's body, like somepony just opened the oven
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108.
>the dream remained intact, only with morning glory frozen in place like a statue
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109.
>Green turned nervously around to see what had interrupted her fantasy
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110.
>"Princess Luna!?"
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111.
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112.
>Luna casually walked up to the two lovers as Green ran over and immediately sank her torso to the ground in a deep bow of respect
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113.
>"What ails you on this night, my young mare?"
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114.
>"n-nothing, really!" she stammered out, frantically trying to figure out what she did wrong
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115.
>Green was shitting bricks, and Luna quickly realized she needed to tone it down
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116.
>moonbooty kneeled in front of the paralyzed Green, then brought her head below eye-level trying to not look intimidating
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117.
>"you can tell me anything my dear, i come not to cast judgement"
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118.
>Green FN was no stranger to Luna encounters, but was startled in this case
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119.
>"no offense, but-like- why did you come here!? why now? i was in the middle of a really..." green trailed off, not wanting to admit it and break the lucid dream
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120.
>Luna leaned in a little closer, and green felt the comforting warmth radiate off her star-studded mane
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121.
>her caring blue eyes brought all of Green's feelings to the surface
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122.
>"really... good... dream..." green hid her face, squeezing her eyes together to stop the oncoming tears
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123.
>the dream painfully fell apart, leaving Green and Luna in a whitish-blue void
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124.
>Luna felt Green's crushing sadness in her bones, knowing how much this fantasy was holding her together
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125.
>the moon princess comfortingly pulled Green close in her inviting front hooves
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126.
>the black mare stayed tense and resistant, frustrated at herself for breaking so quickly in front of equestrian royalty
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127.
>"tshhhh shh shh shh shhhh..." Luna comforted as she bobbed Green up and down like a small filly
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128.
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129.
>"im not a foal." green creaked out
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130.
>"youre a strong mare, Green FN-"
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131.
>Green always got a chill in her spine when Luna namedropped her
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132.
>"-everypony knows that. but you are also young, and have been plagued with great loss in these few years."
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133.
>green finally let her breath out, having no choice but to let luna's reassurance sink in
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134.
>"i dont take anypony who loves me for granted" green muttered into her chest, trying to maintain some dignity
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135.
>"and thats a good thing, a comendable trait"
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136.
>"and its like-" green started to yap, "-like i know morning glory's never coming back, but i just *cant help it!* its like i cant learn to live without them even though its been HOW long..."
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137.
>sniffffff
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138.
>"and then with mom too its like... i know that my friends arent gonna be around forever... and not everypony i know is gonna care about me, have my back you know..." green rambled on
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139.
>Luna processed every word, even though she knew the answer already,
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140.
>"let me ask you, my dear: are you lonely?" she asked
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141.
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142.
>Green just sat there for a bit, like she got hit with a gotcha question
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143.
>"no..." she bashfully said
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144.
>"you seem hesitant."
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145.
>another moment and a crunchy snoof,
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146.
>"because im not. i have my friend crimson, my earthball teammates, my, uhm, bat friends..."
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147.
>Green was staying politely vague for an unfamilar audience, but Luna knew exactly who she was talking about
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148.
>"so why then, do you dwell so much on the ones that aren't around you?"
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149.
>she got Green good on that one
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150.
>"because . . . well . . . i guess i still love them in a way"
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151.
>"do you not think anypony else can give you that love?" luna poked again
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152.
>another long moment of silence, as green laid motionless against luna
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153.
>green knew the answer but didnt want to admit how silly it was making her look
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154.
>"can... can i just lay here for a while?" she asked monotonously
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155.
>"of course young mare, rest in my hooves as long as you please"
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156.
>the distant noise of ethereal winds kept them company for a long moment
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157.
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158.
>it was far from the first night that Luna had focused her attention on putting one singular mare to a peaceful rest
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159.
>even if it meant facing some uncomfortable truths
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160.
>and on every one, the only regret is that she couldnt spend more time with her troubled kin
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161.
>this one especially, being a short night during the 7th moon
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162.
>the faintest of lights started to broach the horizon, as the moon sank in the western sky
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163.
>"i wish your nights were longer." green commented, as if thinking the same thing
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164.
>"thank you, young mare. i too prefer the long nights of winter"
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165.
>a joke popped into green's head with a little giggle
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166.
>"the hoodies have been doubled!" she vocalized, copying her highness' inflection
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167.
>Luna snorted in laughter, caught off guard by the joke and covering her snoot in green's mane
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168.
>Green full body laughed along with her in the Princess's hooves
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169.
>"ayyyyy..." she took a breath to calm down, Luna adjusting herself to hold Green better
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170.
>"Green FN, my dear"
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171.
>green attentively looked up at the princess
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172.
>"i must leave you and tend to the moon" Luna stated, slightly disheartening Greenie as they started to peel off each other, Green dusting herself off, "lay before me one last time" she commanded, yet in a soothing tone
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173.
>green was unsure but laid before Luna on her left side, bad knee resting on the other in a slght fetal position, her comfiest of choice
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174.
>luna loafed in front of green, sparking her horn and looking down upon the black mare as if in a crib
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175.
>"know this young mare: you are never alone in the night as long as I am here. now rest easy, for you have many days ahead..." Luna said soothingly to the mare below her, touching her horn and washing the dream away in a sea of blue light
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176.
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177.
>Green FN gasped awake, startled
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178.
>the muted brick walls, amber lights from the outside, and unmoved furniture greeted her like always
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179.
>her plushie was cradled between her crossed hooves and the fuzzy fabric of her hoodie
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180.
>blanket still right up to her chin, socks still snug on her back hooves, left ear and mane squished against the pillow
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181.
>with her vision crusty, she rolled over and hit a wide pec stretch, unravelling herself from the position she fell asleep in
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182.
>grabbing her cell phone to see what time it is, green flipped it open
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183.
>4:46 was what she read through squinted eyes
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184.
>and the text from deep rest she was gonna answer tomorrow
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185.
>tomorrow being in 2 hours and 14 minutes, which green immediately closed her phone to continue sleeping through
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186.
>her sleep was light, nothing but black and the comfort of her bed crossing the fronts of her eyes
by GreenFNPON3
by GreenFNPON3
by GreenFNPON3
by GreenFNPON3
by GreenFNPON3