//------------------------------//
// Of Moons and Letters 
// Story: A Royal Outing 
// by Mod On Death 
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Of Moons and Letters


Pain. Pain is the only thing that the two alicorns could feel at that moment. None of them had ever known its true definition until dancing that insane dance. They had thought that at some point during their long lives that they knew what it was like, but now they knew the truth of the matter. They inched forward to a bench right outside the Grand Library, the ultimate compendium of written works in the entire kingdom, and plopped down on it with an exhausted groan. 
“Well, that escalated quickly,” the older sister said, following her reflection with a chuckle of self-amusement. While she was laughing she noticed that her sister wasn’t laughing, but looking up at the sky with a blank look on her face. “Something the matter Lulu?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing,” the solemn sister replied, quickly looking away as to not tip off her sister about her thoughts. “I mean, I was just wondering about that song we heard. Not the insane one. I mean the second one dealing with Nightmare Moon. What exactly was that?”
“Oh. That piece.” Celestia began to remember the history of that song as memories flooded back to those nights long ago when that song was new. “That song was written about fifty years after your exile and was written in commemoration of that night. It’s said that the composer actually saw it all happen from his bedroom in Canterlot and wrote down his memories for his future self to remember. When he was older he finally composed the piece and the rest is history.”
“Alright.” Luna seemed like she had more on her mind than she let her sibling know. Celestia was about to say something when her sister started talking again. “It’s just that the song was so vicious. So angry. It felt like something you would play to go along with the end of the world. I guess that’s what it felt like for that person when they saw me then.”
“No Lulu, that wasn’t you. We both know that it was Nightmare Moon who had taken over your body. You couldn’t help it.” Celestia knew that this was hardly something to console her sister with, seeing as it had been her body.
“Yes, but we also both know that it was my anger and jealousy that led to Nightmare Moon becoming real. Not only that, but we both experienced the same punishment. A thousand years alone on the moon. It really changes one’s self and sanity.” As Luna finished extolling her emotions her sister proceeded to roll back her eyes and groan loudly, not out of pain in her hooves but of pain in her head of having to hear this again.
“It’s always the moon with you, isn’t it? You always say that it was so bad there but I didn’t have any other choice. I mean, you were out of control and I needed to send you SOMEWHERE and the sun was obviously out of the question. It just seemed like a fitting location for you to be sent,” finished the older sister, trying to justify her actions. 
“I know that you needed to do that, but the matter remains of you actually doing it anyway and never showing much remorse for the pain I felt. I mean, you easily brushed off a thousand years of pain so easily that it almost seems like you’ve forgotten.” Luna was starting to get angry at her sister. Celestia wasn’t going to let this stand though.
“You know what? I’m so tired about hearing about the moon being awful. That’s your thing! I’ll show you that you’re overreacting and go there myself!” Just as Luna was starting to protest, Celestia had cast a teleportation spell that took her to the moon where her sister had spent her exile. “There isn’t much wrong here,” she was about to say before she realized she couldn’t speak. Hay, she couldn’t even breathe! As the princess grabbed at her throat she realized that the lack of air was suffocating her and the cold chill of space was also encroaching on her body. She attempted to teleport back to earth, but lost all strength and fell to the ground slowly. Just before blacking out she saw a figure come out.

Celestia woke up right outside the library she had left her sister. She saw her sister standing over her with a face that expressed unbearable sadness. Celestia had finally tasted a small portion of what her sister had gone through.
“Sister. I…I never knew it was like that. I don’t know what to say.” For the first time in a while The Great Princess didn’t attempt to make herself the good girl in this debate, but rather the pony who realized the error of their ways.
“Only her rage kept me alive. She cast magic that made it so I didn’t need air to survive, but that didn’t mean the pain subsided. The cold chill you felt gets worse when the shadow comes and blocks out the light, leaving only the freezing feeling and despair. That is what my experience on that rock was like. I experienced this for a thousand years.” The Exiled Princess may not have shed a tear, but her sister knew that this was possibly the saddest her sister had ever been.
The two of them were silent for a while, both feeling shame about their past actions. How could they ever heal the wounds they inflicted on each other long ago? How long had she really felt this way about her situation? None of them knew what to do and just sat there.
“Follow me,” Celestia said, breaking the silence.  Without a word Luna got up and started following her sister all the way up to the library.  She didn’t know what was going on, but knew that doing something was better than sitting around in her grief. They entered through the library doors and approached the front desk. A mousy looking colt approached them, a pile of books his cutie mark.
“Dewey here. How may I help you?”
“Hello Dewey. How’re the kids? I hope they loved the gift basket I sent them for Hearth’s Warming Eve.” Before Dewey was about to inquire about what the pink haired mare was talking about she gave a wink, letting him know that she was in disguise.
“Oh yes! They absolutely loved it. I assume you’re here to see your private room then?” Dewey knew the deal that he had with the princess; he kept the key to her secret section of the library and she would always make sure his family was taken care of.
Without a word they followed the librarian until they reached an inconspicuous locked door with several locks on them.  He opened each of them up with a different key and then slowly pushed the door forward, making a creaking noise upon opening. The two sisters walked into the room and several lanterns were lit. The colt then left the two to themselves.
“What is this place?” inquired Luna.
“This is my secret section of the library. It’s where I keep my collection of letters over the years.” Luna was surprised by her sister and her secrets. Obviously she must have developed a few over the long time she had been gone. 
“What kinds of letters sister? Royal decrees and whatnot?”  To respond to her sister, Celestia levitated one of the letters to her sister and had her open it up. In it read:

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today I learned the valuable lesson in supporting your friends. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out how you can help them out or even if helping them out is a good thing. Sometimes simply being with your friends and being yourself can be enough to help them make the right choices.

Your Faithful Student,
Sunshine Seeds

Luna was not expecting this. As she was reading the letter she had thought that it was one of Twilight’s but the name was definitely not of her sister’s student. She needed to find out.
“Sister, who is this ‘Sunshine Seeds’?”
“That was one of my students from many years ago. She was a studious pony who hadn’t had much time to make friends, just like Twilight. Over the many years I’ve rules I have tutored many young unicorns in magic and have had them learn the ways of friendship. This hasn’t been just for them though. The pony I had in mind for these letters was me.” Celestia sat down for a moment, about to reveal her secret to her sister. “The reason I had those ponies write those letters is so I could remember what it was like to have those experiences again and see them on a bright and hopeful face. I remember how awful I felt when I had sent you to the moon and worried that I would become a monster after becoming so powerful and disconnected from other ponies. The letters would remind me of why I was princess and my job to protect them all.” Luna had finally understood her sister’s emotions; each day Celestia saw her past and grieved about the choice she made. She wanted to finally get past the moon since she had dealt with this pain for over a thousand years as well. Luna decided and that moment to nuzzle her sister, and they both walked out of the room silently.
By the time they had left the library it had gotten late, so they finally decided to head back home to the castle. Instead of having the chef prepare them something, the two sisters tried to create a meal, failed, and ended up eating sandwiches. They spent time around the fire in Celestia’s room telling about hilarious stories of the past and recent events that would remind them of the good not only then but now. Luna had resumed her role as Guardian of the Moon and had set it in place. She was incredibly exhausted by the day and decided to go to sleep soon.
“Lulu?” the sister asked, using her new nickname, “Would you mind sleeping with me tonight?” The answer given was an immediate jump into the bed with her big sister. They both laughed and while they were exhausted it took them an hour to finally settle down. “Just letting you know little sis, I’ll always love you.”
“I know,” replied Luna, closing her eyes. Today was a good day.