All for One - One for Luna (MLP)

06: Field Trip

     Twilight went over her checklist one more time to be sure nothing had been forgotten: Reference books? Check. Scroll outlining research plan? Check. Blank scrolls? Check. Quill and Ink? Check. Extra scrolls? Check. Extras quills and ink? Check. Luna?

     She looked over at Luna and struggled not to giggle at the constant shift of emotion playing over her companion's face. Concern and uncertainty fought with curiosity, impatience, and a tiny bit of amusement. It was as though Luna couldn't make up her mind whether to try calling off the field trip, or to urge Twilight to hurry up already.

     Finally, she tucked away the pre-trip checklist and indicated to Luna that it was time to go. The plan was to make use of her larger alicorn magical reserves to teleport the two of them the entire way to the location of the Ursa's cave. Twilight would be prepared to immediately teleport them the much shorter distance from there back to Ponyville if the Ursa was awake, which was a possibility they had to consider. Luna would provide the necessary moonlight once they entered the cave or, if they had to flee, she could provide a backup source of magic in case the first teleport had used too much of Twilight's reserves.

     Twilight nodded to herself one last time from her position next to Luna. Everything was accounted for. Nothing had been forgotten. A magenta sphere surrounded the two as Twilight shaped the teleportation spell - and away they went.

     They had forgotten something...

     A thick layer of clouds hid all traces of the moon, and a shriek of intense pain tore through the night as they arrived at their destination. The forecast in Canterlot was for clear skies, but neither Luna nor Twilight had thought to check the forecast for Ponyville. Nor had they considered how fickle the weather could in the Everfree.

     This turn of events was so completely unexpected that it took a few seconds for Luna to realize she needed to act. Before she could, however, Twilight herself began to glow.

     The two alicorns stared at each other with jaws open in shock. "What-" Twilight began before the glow stopped and she shrieked again.

     This time Luna was ready and bathed Twilight in the moonlight she needed. Twilight laid there moaning and trembling in reaction to the unexpected experience, trying to get herself calmed back down and in control. Unfortunately, she wasn't given enough time.

     Two heads turned in unified horror toward the massive cave opening beside them as a deafening roar blasted from within and vibrations could be felt through the ground. Panic tore through Twilight's mind. There was no way she could cast even a simple light spell in her current shaken state, let alone the teleportation spell that was supposed to be their escape plan.

     A tiny corner of her mind which refused to be distracted from the scientific noted with interest the size of the dark purple head which had appeared. The Ursa Minor which had run through Ponyville had been as large as many of the building there, but this head on its own was two or three times that size. Twilight had planned to study the Ursa Minor, but in her haste to study it she had forgotten that an Ursa Minor lived with its mother until it became an adult itself.

     Two things forgotten then.

     A massive, clawed paw was reaching for her when a semi-transparent blue blur suddenly came between them. She stared in fresh shock as the Ursa Minor protected her and Luna. Part of her wondered if she'd ever get her mind back in a functional state given the constant surprises, but another noted that very question to be a sign she was well on her way to equilibrium already.

     The Ursa Major seemed startled as well at the interference of its young, drawing back to look them all over. Red eyes traveled from the cub, to Twilight's curled form, on to Luna's glowing one, and widened suddenly. A growl like boulders crashing down the side of a mountain rolled over them and it took Twilight a few seconds to realize that the growl contained words. She looked over at Luna with wide eyes as the words registered and saw Luna's jaw drop at almost the same time.

     Mama Luna!?

--------------------------------------------------

     Sometime later Luna found herself laying on one of the Ursa's humongous forelegs. Twilight sat on the limb opposite her, and Mina lay cradled between in Majora's paws. The fact that they had names was nearly as big a shock as learning that Ursas are capable of speech. It was common knowledge that Ursa were simply wild beasts - highly magical, but driven only by instinct. Common knowledge was obviously flawed as Twilight had been in deep conversation with Majora for some time.

     Luna wasn't really paying much attention though. She was still in too much of a daze and constantly replaying the night's events. First she had been absolutely paralyzed with fear for Twilight when they were confronted with having accidentally awakened the two Ursas. Then there was the shock and confusion from when Mina intervened (it turned out that she remembered Twilight fondly from the Ponyville incident). Finally, she'd been completely flabbergasted when she found out that the cub from so long ago was alive, well... and not a cub anymore. She could not find words to express what she felt, though the greatest was a sense of relief so intense that she had been unable to keep herself from collapsing on the spot. Now, at long last, she could put aside the anger she had been feeling toward herself for her long ago actions.

     Of course, the question had still remained as to how Majora had survived. The answer to that one had turned out to be a simple, "Auntie 'Lestia took care of me. She said you had to go away, but you'd come home again someday." That Celestia had safeguarded her powers during her exile had completely slipped Luna's mind. She could have asked about the cub when she'd returned, but the answer had seemed obvious...and she hadn't wanted to reface that pain. Twilight was the only one she'd ever spoken of the events to.

     But why did she not tell me? Luna thought. There's certainly been opportunity enough over the past year.

     Majora's voice as she conversed with Twilight sounded much like distant thunder on a summer night: danger held at a distance, but somehow soothing. Additionally, it could be felt like the purring of a large cat through the physical contact. Luna found herself drifting in a half-asleep state, exhausted in the aftermath of the emotional assault from the last few days and nights. It was only a sort of internal alarm which finally snapped her back to full awareness.

     "Twilight!" she cried out, a bit more intensely than she'd intended, and found herself the focus of three sets of eyes. She could feel herself flush slightly at having cut in as she had, but continued, "It's time for the dawn. We must return to Canterlot at once."

     "Oh." Twilight replied absently. Then blinked once, and again, "Oh! I didn't realize how long we'd been here!" She jerked to all four hooves and began cramming her supplied back into saddlebags.

     "Mama Luna is leaving again?" Majora rumbled with an obvious look of sorrow on her face.

     Luna was quick to reassure her, "Not like before. Not for a long time. I'll visit again soon, I promise, but we have to leave for now."

     Goodbyes were rather rushed at that point, but they were already running late. A teleportation spell later and they were back in Luna's chambers where she quickly went about setting the moon and sealing the room. Luckily she'd only been a few minutes late getting the moon down, and it would be unlikely that anyone other than her sister would notice.

     Settled on cushions with their cold dinner, Luna found herself mentally adrift once again. Not so Twilight, who seemed overly energized given it was about the time they'd been going to bed. She was almost completely ignoring the food in favor of her scrolls of notes, books, and mutterings.

     Luna rested her head on her forelegs and watched Twilight through half-lidded eyes. It was much nicer to see her enthusiastic and happy like this. Her lips slowly formed a small smile at the sight and her eyes slowly closed of their own will. She couldn't imagine what would have happened if Mina hadn't intervened or Majora hadn't recognized her. She could feel her smile falter as she relived that moment of terror once again.

     She realized with a stirring of surprise that she hadn't actually been worried for herself at all in that moment, only for Twilight. There was something about that fact, something important...if only she wasn't so tired. It was right there, teasing at the very edges of awareness.

     But she lost the thought as sleep finally took over.