"And that, dear Twilight Sparkle, is the story of my adventures during the Oblivion Crisis," Luna finally concluded, taking a sip of her tea as she brought her story to a close.
Luna was sitting in a room at the top of one of Canterlot's towers, which she had designed for whenever she had guests and didn't want to meet them in her bedroom, with three other ponies sitting around her. Her sister, Celestia, was sitting to her right and eating one of the various cakes that Luna had made for this occasion, though to her sister's right was her husband, the recently healed Sombra. It never ceased to amaze Luna that they had managed what she originally deemed was impossible, healing the darkness that had rested inside Sombra and restoring him to the stallion he had been before Discord had interfered with their lives. Sitting directly across from Luna, and taking notes on everything she had said over the last few hours, was Twilight Sparkle, who had insisted on hearing of Luna's own adventures, which she eventually agreed with and invited her sister to hear the tale again... as well as giving Sombra the chance to hear it for himself.
In truth there was a fifth pony in the room that Twilight was, thankfully, unaware of, though Luna was sure that both Celestia and Sombra had noticed her the moment they walked into the room.
"But what was the favor that Celestia asked of you?" Twilight asked, knowing that her notes would be incomplete if she didn't have that piece of information included in the piles of papers that she had been writing the entire time.
"To let Nightmare Moon test you and your friends," Luna replied, cutting a side glance to her sister, who merely nodded her head for a few seconds, "She played the part of the villain, smashed the stones that used to represent the Elements of Harmony, and then you did what came naturally to you... you harnessed the power of the Elements and 'defeated' Nightmare Moon."
Twilight nodded and started gathering her notes, mumbling something about binding them into a book and keeping the adventures of the royal sisters under lock and key, so that other ponies didn't know it was possible to travel between worlds. That made Luna raise an eyebrow for a moment, because shortly after her return, and Nightmare's 'defeat', she had learned of a mirror that connected to a different version of their own world. It was there that one of Celestia's past students had run off to, though her sister seemed hesitant to mention the mirror or the other student to Twilight, so Luna decided to say nothing about it.
It took Twilight a few minutes to gather the rest of her papers, put away her writing quills, and make sure everything was in her saddlebags, before she respectfully bowed to the three of them and departed from the tower by teleportation. Once Twilight was gone one of the shadows moved from its place on the wall and the shadowy form of Nightmare Moon emerged from it, though she left her armor behind, as she was merely made of shadows and not physically there.
"I never thought she'd leave," the shadowy mare said, walking up to where Luna was sitting and connecting to her shadow, where she would disappear until it was night once more, "Hearing the story again... it sure brings back memories."
"I'm sure it does," Celestia commented, turning to Luna and Nightmare, "So, now that we know that Sombra can build a temporary bridge between worlds, when do you think you'll be heading back to tell Pandora about the death of her friends and whatever else she might want to know? I mean, you did promise her and you didn't fulfill that when we were in Skyrim."
Luna had thought about visiting her friend ever since they had returned from Nirn, and there were some days where she had nearly caved in and asked for a portal to be built, but she had been waiting for Sombra to recover from their return. Her sister's husband had, before their departure from Nirn, fought one large battle with their enemy, using the most of his power to ensure that said enemy would never threaten the world again. She wanted to be sure that he was fully rested before she had asked such a favor of him, but it had been almost two months since their return to Canterlot and Sombra had regained most, if not all, of his formidable powers.
She also considered that she had also been waiting until she told young Twilight of her adventures, another promise she had made back in Nirn, and now that she had done just that she knew that it was time to fulfill the other one.
"I guess I've just been waiting to tell Twilight the story," Luna replied, letting out a sigh as she turned to Sombra and Celestia, "No... if I'm going to be completely honest with you two... I've put off returning to Cyrodiil for too long. Pandora's likely wondering when, or if, I'm going to return and celebrate our victory over Dagon... so I guess I had better get going before she starts to really go mad."
"Well then, seeing how you'll be returning to Nirn, is there any specific location you'd like to return to?" Sombra asked, shadowy magic gathering around his horn for a moment, "I'll keep it open for a week... so that will give you enough time to visit the Shivering Isles and do whatever you want."
"Just put it at High Hrothgar," Luna answered, smiling as a section of the floor gave way for a crystal gate structure, to which she got up and stretched her legs, "I'll be back when I've told Pandora what happened since my departure."
"I'd tell you to be safe, but I doubt that will be necessary," Celestia commented, a smile appearing on her face as Luna approached the gateway, "I'll see you when you get back sister."
Luna nodded and walked through the gateway, where she knew that she could travel back to Nirn for what would likely be the last time in her entire life.
When Luna appeared at the peak of High Hrothgar she made sure that she was back in the body that she assumed whenever she came to this world, though when she was sure that everything was in place she opened her wings and took off. From the air she could see the destruction of the fights that Sombra had been a part off, though she was glad that he was back on their side again. She paid the ruined areas little attention as she angled herself towards Cyrodiil, giving her time to consider what she was going to tell Pandora when she returned to the Shivering Isles.
She knew that she would have to apologize for not returning when she came to free Sombra from his inner darkness, but there was also how she was going to start her story. She already knew that Pandora would ask to hear the tale that brought her to her world again, so she started piecing together what she was going to tell the Prince of Madness. She also reminded herself that she would have to address her friend accordingly, as she was likely still Sheogorath, so it wouldn't do to call her by the name she had known her by so long ago.
As she crossed into Cyrodiil, and flew over where Cloud Ruler Temple used to be, she heard Nightmare sigh inside her head, as if she was sad to see the place in such a state. Nightmare also made several comments on the states of the various other areas that they flew over, including the Imperial City when they neared it, but Luna let her counterpart speak her mind the entire time. She was curious if there was still a guardian that was standing guard outside the door to the Shivering Isles, or if they had decided to stop guarding it.
When they arrived outside Bravil, in what was called Niben Bay, Luna spotted the door to the Shivering Isles almost immediately, because it was hard to miss the two stone faces that made up the door. She then spotted someone standing beside the door, who happened to be dressed in a suit of armor that reminded her of the person who originally had been assigned to the door. She pulled her wings in as she spun around and landed before the figure she had spotted, which was actually a female Imperial that happened to be wearing the armor of the city that was to the west of them.
"Wh... who are you?" the woman asked, taking a few seconds to draw her sword and point it at Luna.
"Princess Luna, though you'd best know me by my old name..." Luna replied, taking a moment to add some drama to the reveal, something she knew that Nightmare would enjoy in the end, "...Nightmare Moon, the Queen of Knights."
The guard seemed to faint as she fell back onto the ground, to which Luna sighed and made sure that she was safe before nodding her head in silence. She then walked into the door to the Shivering Isles, where she appeared in the same room that she had appeared in the first time Nightmare had walked through the door. She noticed Haskill sitting at the same desk that she had seen him sitting at the first time they walked into the realm of Sheogorath, though as she looked to her left she noticed Nightmare standing beside her once more.
"My Lord was wondering when you would return," Haskill commented, seeing the two of them walk through the door as the room around them fell to pieces, "Please, proceed to New Sheoth and speak with my Lord."
Luna and Nightmare spread their wings and took off, flying through the air as they flew over the Gates that people could pass through to actually enter the Shivering Isles. They took in the familiar sights that they had gone through when they had been here an era ago, spotting several of the soldiers that served Sheogorath running around and taking care of whoever dared to attack them. There wasn't much that actually acquired their attention, as the forces of Jyggalag were nowhere to be seen thanks to his defeat so long ago, so they could fly to New Sheoth in peace.
When they landed in front of the actual palace the guards immediately drew their weapons in case they were enemies, but one look from Nightmare, and the reveal of her seemingly legendary battleaxe, seemed to tell them that it would be a bad idea to mess with the two alicorns. They entered the palace and spotted someone sitting on the throne, who at first appeared to be a man that reminded them of the old Sheogorath, but the moment he raised his head to see who was entering his palace a smile appeared on his face. That was soon followed by a mist wrapping around him and changed how he appeared, which remained in that state for a few moments, until the mist was gone and Pandora, in all her glory, was sitting before them.
"I was wondering when you'd fulfill your promise," Pandora commented, beckoning them forward as she used her magic to summon a pair of chairs and a table for them to sit at, "I am most eager to hear about your adventure in Skyrim... before I tell you about the madness I have had to deal with over the last era."
"We would be happy to tell you everything," Luna replied, smiling as she and Nightmare took their seats near their old friend, "It all started with the return of the Crystal Empire..."