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    Twilight, as was fast becoming a habit, lay wide awake for a little longer. She stared up past the rafters to the ceiling of the mill, thinking about nothing at all until Luna approached Twilight and leaned close. Her horn was softly glowing, the princess intending to shut the purple unicorn out from her dream.
    "You're going to keep doing this for how long?" Twilight whispered, halting Luna in her tracks. The princess looked honestly surprised at the question. Twilight gazed up at her, lying on her back.
    "And why wouldn't you meet my eyes that night at the banquet, back at the fort?" Twilight asked. She had so many questions she had never known when or how to ask. They chose now to escape her brain through her mouth.
    The princess said nothing for the longest time, their eyes fastened on each other, violet on blue, neither part so much as blinking. Luna's horn was still glowing, pulsing without a sound. The light illuminated both their faces, neither of which held any discernible expression.
    "When you said there was merit to anypony who dared to speak their mind to you rather than bow and scrape," Twilight said, shaking her head slowly. The back of her head ground against the hard floor. "I thought at first it was an insult to Rarity, but there's a difference between obeisance and observing decorum. I'm asking you the questions. Why won't you answer? Why won't you show me?"
    Luna was still staring at her. The princess was mute, but she leaned in a little closer. Her breath was hot. Twilight blinked, only now realizing that there were tears in her own eyes, and she was shivering even though she felt warm all over. Her body obviously didn't even know what it was doing any more.
    The final word in their discussion still hung above Twilight, the spell that clung to Luna’s horn in silent threat. Despite how much she didn’t want that spell cast on her, Twilight felt herself drawn up, raising her head off the ground to get closer to Luna. Her breath came ragged, and her voice was unsteady.
    "If your duty and your purpose is to raise the moon, and the memory you cling to is what's keeping you from doing that," Twilight said, gripped by a surge of the nauseating anger that accompanied thinking about the dichotomy that was Luna. "Why can't you let it go? What the hay am I missing?"
(Excerpt from Within and Without , Chapter 12. I wrote this in 2011 and used a lot of passive voice back then, but eh, the story is still dear to me.)

Description

    Twilight, as was fast becoming a habit, lay wide awake for a little longer. She stared up past the rafters to the ceiling of the mill, thinking about nothing at all until Luna approached Twilight and leaned close. Her horn was softly glowing, the princess intending to shut the purple unicorn out from her dream.
    "You're going to keep doing this for how long?" Twilight whispered, halting Luna in her tracks. The princess looked honestly surprised at the question. Twilight gazed up at her, lying on her back.
    "And why wouldn't you meet my eyes that night at the banquet, back at the fort?" Twilight asked. She had so many questions she had never known when or how to ask. They chose now to escape her brain through her mouth.
    The princess said nothing for the longest time, their eyes fastened on each other, violet on blue, neither part so much as blinking. Luna's horn was still glowing, pulsing without a sound. The light illuminated both their faces, neither of which held any discernible expression.
    "When you said there was merit to anypony who dared to speak their mind to you rather than bow and scrape," Twilight said, shaking her head slowly. The back of her head ground against the hard floor. "I thought at first it was an insult to Rarity, but there's a difference between obeisance and observing decorum. I'm asking you the questions. Why won't you answer? Why won't you show me?"
    Luna was still staring at her. The princess was mute, but she leaned in a little closer. Her breath was hot. Twilight blinked, only now realizing that there were tears in her own eyes, and she was shivering even though she felt warm all over. Her body obviously didn't even know what it was doing any more.
    The final word in their discussion still hung above Twilight, the spell that clung to Luna’s horn in silent threat. Despite how much she didn’t want that spell cast on her, Twilight felt herself drawn up, raising her head off the ground to get closer to Luna. Her breath came ragged, and her voice was unsteady.
    "If your duty and your purpose is to raise the moon, and the memory you cling to is what's keeping you from doing that," Twilight said, gripped by a surge of the nauseating anger that accompanied thinking about the dichotomy that was Luna. "Why can't you let it go? What the hay am I missing?"
(Excerpt from Within and Without , Chapter 12. I wrote this in 2011 and used a lot of passive voice back then, but eh, the story is still dear to me.)