//------------------------------//
// Part I:  Moon of Remorse || Chapter 2:  In Good Hands 
// Story: Full Circle 
// by Sotharan 
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Sunset came back to consciousness gradually.  The first thing she was conscious of was the feeling of warm, soft sheets and blankets against her skin.  It was oddly comforting.  She was dimly aware that something terrible had happened, but she also sensed that the terrible thing was not happening right now.  Right now she felt both safe and disoriented, which was confusing.  
Slowly, she opened her eyes.  An unfamiliar ceiling greeted her eyes, but the play of patterns of sunlight on it helped her not to be frightened.  She felt a jiggle, like there was someone moving in the bed next to her.  She turned to look to her left and noted the pain and stiffness in her neck and shoulders.  “Mmmm,” she groaned.  As her eyes began to focus, she realized there was someone sitting on the bed next to her.  A sky blue, athletic-looking young woman with multicolored hair and magenta eyes was leaning against the head of the bed and looking at her with a smile that was a mix of playfulness and kindness.
“Rainbow Dash,” she whispered in recognition.
“THE one and only,” Rainbow confirmed puckishly.  “Good morning!  I hope you slept well.  You sure seemed to!”
Sunset could only look at her.  Rainbow tried to put herself in Sunset’s position and decided to try to reassure her.
“I bet you’re feeling kinda confused, but there’s nothing to worry about.  Let’s review.  You’re at Fluttershy’s house, resting in her bed.  She’s upstairs getting breakfast with Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity.  I’m not so great at cooking, so I drew Sunset-watching duty, which is fine by me.  And today is Saturday.”
Sunset’s eyes widened.
Rainbow leaned a little closer and her voice became a little softer.  “Yesterday was Friday.  All the bad stuff happened yesterday.  In the past.  Not today.”  She shook her head.
Sunset’s eyes fell.  She sighed.  
“Today’s gonna be a better day, like AJ said.  You just watch,” said Rainbow gently.  This whole thing was a new experience for her too.  She wasn’t used to feeling compassionate.  It was strange.  But she couldn’t resist.  Although Sunset wasn’t crying right now, she still had that same wide-eyed, sad, penitent, doe-in-the-headlights look in her eyes that she’d had last night.  It was impossible to want anything but for her to feel better.
A sudden growl from Sunset’s stomach served to lighten the mood.  Rainbow seized on the opportunity.  “Haha!  Somebody’s hungry!  C’mon.  Let’s get you moving, sleepy girl.  You need some pancakes.  And lemme tell ya, Pinkie makes a mean pancake.  I haven’t had one in a year and a half, but trust me – I remember!”   She leapt off the bed and jogged around to the other side.  She grabbed the headboard in one hand and offered the other to Sunset.
Sunset, who had blushed when her stomach had announced itself, groaned again as she tried to pull her arms out from under the covers.  
Rainbow frowned slightly.  “Hurts, huh?  We’ll get you something for that.  Take it easy.  Nice and slow.  I’m not in a rush.”
Sunset nodded gratefully.  She was able to get her right arm out and reached out to take Rainbow’s hand.  Her grip was weak, but Rainbow held on tight.  Slowly and gingerly she helped Sunset sit up.  The effort even of that had caused her to start breathing hard.  Rainbow let her rest for a minute, and then helped her get the bedclothes off her legs.  Next, taking extra care of Sunset’s knee, Rainbow helped her swing her legs off the side of the bed, then helped her put her arm around Rainbow’s shoulder so she could lean on her.  Very carefully, they both stood up.  Sunset couldn’t really put weight on her left leg, so Rainbow helped her hop to the door.  Then they reached the stairs.
“Hoo boy.  I don’t like to admit it, but I don’t think I can help you up the stairs by myself.  AJ!” Rainbow yelled up the stairs.  “Little help!”
Applejack appeared almost immediately and stomped down the steps.  “Hey you two,” she greeted without stopping.  “Here, let me get on the other side.  And now, one step at a time, here we go.”    
It took some doing, but they got Sunset up the steps without too much jarring.  She kept groaning, and apologizing for groaning, but they both reassured her that she didn’t need to apologize.  “You’re hurtin’, sugarcube.  We know.  Don’t feel bad – Rarity will get you some more ibuprofen,” said Applejack.  After a brief stop at the hall bathroom, they brought her through the dining room into the kitchen.  Pinkie was flipping pancakes like nobody’s business.  Each one came within a centimeter of hitting the ceiling.
“Pinkamena Diane Pie,” Applejack teased sternly, “you are showing off!”
“So?” challenged Pinkie.  “What’s your point?”
Applejack and Rainbow both laughed.  “None whatsoever,” said Applejack good-naturedly.  
Pinkie winked at Sunset.  “Good morning, Sunset!  Ready for some flapjacks?”
Sunset could only to nod.  She still looked quite stunned.
“Aww, poor baby,” said Pinkie.  “You’ll feel better with something in your tummy!”
Sunset nodded again.  She just didn’t know what else to do.
“C’mon.  Let’s get you sitting,” said Rainbow.  They helped her into the family room, where Rarity and Fluttershy were watching some Saturday morning cartoons.  
Fluttershy smiled warmly at her.  “Hello Sunset.  I hope you are doing ok.”
Sunset tried to return the smile.  It was hard not to be brightened by Fluttershy’s well-wishes.  
Rarity, on the other hand, leapt to her feet.  “Sunset!  Good gracious, look at your hair!  Come over here, darling, and we’ll set some order to that!”
Sunset just looked surprised.  Applejack chuckled.  “Hold your horses, Rarity.  Let the girl figure out where the hay she is.”
“Oh nonsense.  Bring her over here.”  Rarity produced a brush from somewhere.  Applejack and Rainbow shrugged and started helping Sunset over to an easy chair, while Fluttershy looked on in gentle amusement.  Very carefully, they helped Sunset sit down.  She leaned on the arm of the chair.  Rainbow plopped down next to Fluttershy.  Rarity set straight to work, while Applejack went back into the kitchen to help Pinkie.  Under Rarity’s expert hands, Sunset’s mane was soon on the way to being well-tamed.  Sunset closed her eyes.  It felt so good to have her hair brushed.  After a few minutes, she felt brave enough to tell Rarity something.  
“Rarity?”
“Yes, darling?” Rarity responded absently.
“I…I feel really weird.  Everything seems surreal.”
Rarity paused for a second.  “Well I think that’s to be expected.  You’re going through a big change.  Give yourself some time, sweetheart.”
“Big change,” Sunset said quietly to herself.  “Big change.  Everything’s changing.  Everything’s different.  I’m…not sure what to do next.”
“There’s no rush,” said Fluttershy.  “We’ll help you figure it out.”
“But…”
“Uh uh,” said Fluttershy gently, shaking her head.  “You don’t have to do anything today but rest.  There are no plans.  Let’s just take it easy.”
“Really?  Ok,” she agreed.  Taking it easy sounded like an excellent idea to her.


Sunlight poured into Twilight Sparkle’s room in the Crystal Castle.  It fell on her crown, whose majestic magenta stone – the Element of Magic itself – glinted brightly, dappling the walls with red-purple sparks of light.  Twilight came to full consciousness almost immediately, and experienced a moment of disorientation.  This was the third place she’d slept in in as many nights, and though she had technically gone to sleep here on the night her most recent adventure had begun, she had not been allowed to complete that sleep, so she figured it didn’t count.
She looked down at the smaller bed set next to hers.  Spike snoozed peacefully in it.  She smiled fondly.  It came to her that it was quite early in the morning.  Long experience with being up at all hours allowed Twilight to realize, however, that she would not be going back to sleep.  She sighed.  
I don’t suppose I can put this off any longer, she thought to herself.  She knew, somewhere in the castle, was another much older and wiser princess, who, in spite of being the High Princess of Equestria, was too polite and kind to insist (or even mention) that she wanted very much to know every detail of Twilight’s last 48 hours.  Twilight knew her well enough to understand this.  But she loved Celestia, almost like a mother, and so she also knew she would not keep her former mentor waiting any longer than necessary.
She rose from her bed quietly, put on her crown (with a sense of pride and accomplishment that was, for the first time, not at all uncomfortable), and silently left the room.
As she opened the door, the Crystal Guards posted on either side of it snapped to attention.  “As you were, gentleponies,” she remembered to say kindly.  They relaxed and bowed to her.  She returned their bow, showing that she respected them in turn.  “Do either of you know where Princess Celestia is?” she asked politely.
“Your Highness, she is on the observation deck of the central tower.  She has only recently raised the sun,” the senior of the two guards answered.
“Thank you.  Good morning to you both.”
“And to you, Your Highness,” he answered again for them both.  
Twilight smiled and went on down the corridor.  It did not take her long to find her way to the central tower.  She passed the Crystal Heart as it spun and hummed at the heart of the ancient realm and started up the long staircase.  She considered flying, but for some reason she decided to walk.  Probably, she admitted to herself, it allowed her to put off the inevitable for a little longer.  Twilight was not looking forward to this meeting.  Not so much because she was afraid that Celestia would disapprove, but more because she knew Celestia would worry about Sunset.
She reached the top of the stairs.  Two Solar Guards were there at the door to the balcony.  As she anticipated, they came to attention at her approach. 
“Gentleponies, I suspect the Princess is expecting me,” Twilight said.
“Indeed, Your Highness.  Please go right out.”  The stallion opened the door for her.
Twilight stepped out onto the wide balcony that covered much of the central tower.  Before her was the form of her elder, the mightiest pony in all Equestria.  Celestia’s mane and tail, as always, blew and sparkled like banners, though there was no wind.  She was looking out over the Crystal Empire, silent and motionless.
Twilight trotted over to her quietly and stood next to her.  “Celestia,” she said softly.
Celestia turned to look at her and Twilight could instantly tell she had been crying.  It was something of a shock to Twilight – being Celestia’s almost-peer was still taking some getting used to.  Celestia’s expression was one of anxiety and concern, and she was making no attempt to hide it from her former student.
“Twilight, my dear friend.  Thank you for coming to see me so early in the morning.  Please tell me you got some sleep.”
“I did, and thanks for that.  I’m sorry I was too exhausted last night to give you the full story.”
“I could see how tired you were, and so I did not insist.  But please, please Twilight; don’t keep me in suspense any longer.  Tell me what befell you, and my poor Sunset Shimmer.”
“You really love her, don’t you?” Twilight probed gently.
“Yes.  Very much.  Her fall has been a source of great pain to me for many moons.”
“Then let me begin by telling you that I meant what I said last night – I left her with ponies – people, actually – who will take very good care of her.  And, I believe there is hope for her, Celestia.  True hope!”
Celestia held her breath for a moment, and then let it out in a long sigh of at least partial relief.  Twilight proceeded to tell her the entire story.  It was not easy to tell or hear.  When Twilight reached the part about how the Elements had manifested themselves in the mirror world and formed the Rainbow Wave, and how the Wave had completely defeated Sunset, she paused for a moment.
Celestia looked at her with sympathy.  “That must have been a challenging moment for you, Twilight,” she observed carefully.
Twilight didn’t answer immediately.  It was uncomfortable to remember the emotion of that moment, not only because of how strong the feeling was, but also because that was no longer how she felt about Sunset.  But she wanted to be completely honest with Celestia.
“I’ve never been so angry,” she said, her mouth a flat line.
“I’m proud of you,” said Celestia quietly.
Twilight turned to look at her.
“I know what you must have felt.  You could have…finished her.  Or brought her back to me in chains.  But you made a better choice.  All I want to understand is why.”
“Because that’s not the end of the story, Celestia.  I’m still not sure exactly what happened to Sunset when that Wave hit her, but it was nothing short of life-altering.  When the smoke cleared she was lying in a crater, terribly weak.  She couldn’t even climb out on her own.”
Tears were forming in Celestia’s eyes, so Twilight hurried on.
“But that’s where the story starts to change for the better,” Twilight said, giving Celestia an encouraging smile.  Here Twilight began to get emotional herself.  “When she tried to climb out, she was in tears.  I’ve never seen anypony cry that hard.  She said how sorry she was.”  Here Twilight had to pause and wipe her own eyes.  “I told her the Magic of Friendship is everywhere – even she could still find it.  She said she didn’t know the first thing about making friends.  I had my back to her at that moment, but when she said that I turned and looked at her…and it was her eyes, Celestia.  I’ve never seen eyes like that.”  Twilight was blinking through her tears.  Celestia was looking at her in total amazement.  “When I saw her eyes, her need, her total, honest sorrow – I…my heart changed.  The anger was gone.  All I wanted was for her to get better – to turn her life around and experience the love that I now know.  So, I reached down and pulled her out of the crater.”
Celestia’s eyes widened further.
“I just knew it was the right thing to do.  Maybe the Magic of Friendship was still flowing through me at that moment – I don’t know – but the next thing I did was beckon to my friends.  And do you know what they did?  They came right over and put their hands over hers.  They understood immediately.”
Celestia was crying quietly now, her tears sprinkling the crystal under their hooves.
Twilight took a deep breath.  “That’s pretty much the end of the story.  I only had a little time left before I had to get back through the portal.  Your counterpart gave me back my crown, my friends and I celebrated a little, and I left Sunset in their care.”
Celestia shook her head in complete astonishment.  “I didn’t think I could become more proud of you, Twilight, but I was wrong.  What a kind, generous, forgiving thing you did for her.  I have no doubt whatsoever that you acted rightly.”  And at last Celestia could hold back no longer.  She swept Twilight up in a tight hug.  “Thank you, thank you for being so gentle and merciful to her!  Oh, I am so glad!  It sounds like you are right.  There is hope for her!”
“Yes,” Twilight confirmed, “the whole thing reminds me a lot of…well…Luna.”
Celestia was nodding, still hugging her.  “That makes perfect sense.  It was the same effect.  And her demeanor after the Wave hit her sounds very much like Luna’s.”
“And Luna’s doing so well now.”
“Yes.  There is hope.” Celestia sighed deeply.
Twilight was quiet for a moment.  
“Does something trouble you still, my most faithful former student?”
Twilight looked a little sheepish.  “To tell you the truth, I was worried I’d overstepped my authority in leaving her there.  Should I have brought her back here, to…face justice?”  The concept made Twilight acutely uncomfortable.
But Celestia reassured her.  “It was your crown she stole, Twilight.  When I allowed you to pursue her personally, it was with the full confidence that you would deal with the situation appropriately, and with the full authority to act on my behalf.  And that is exactly what you did.  In fact, what you accomplished has exceeded my wildest hopes and dreams.  So don’t worry – I am proud of you and I mean it.  I think we will document in the records that she has been pardoned.  That will take care of any legal issues, at least on this side of the portal.”
Twilight seemed pleased.
“Congratulations, Princess Twilight.  You’ve issued your first Royal Pardon.”
“Me?  But…”
“The Pardon will be in your name.  As I said, I granted you full authority.  And it was very kind, and very wise.”
Twilight blushed and looked at her forehooves awkwardly.  Celestia just beamed at her.
“There is one other thing I want to discuss, Celestia.”
“Whatever you wish, my dear.”
Twilight looked unhappy again.  “You haven’t told me a lot about Luna’s first few days after she was hit by the Elements, except that they were hard, but now – now I want to know.”
Celestia nodded.  “I understand your concern.  Very well.  To be perfectly honest, they were very hard.  She was never in any real danger – let me reassure you about that – but she had to go through some very difficult things.  She was very weak, for one thing, and her magic was almost nonexistent.  There was physical pain – she was injured.  Not seriously, but not slightly, either.  The hardest thing for her was the sorrow and remorse.  It was crucial for her to feel it and experience it, of course, but it was very hard to watch.  I did a lot of just holding her and reassuring her that she was forgiven and loved.  There were nightmares, too, of course.  Bad ones.”
Twilight swallowed.  “How long did it last?”
“The worst of it was over after exactly one moon.  I think the Elements must have been designed to function that way.  Truly, it was a very big difference after the 30th day.  It was a relief.  She still struggles with regret now and then, and she still has the occasional nightmare, but the worst is past.”
“Still, that’s what Sunset might be going through right now.”  Twilight looked deflated.  She stamped her forehoof.  “I wish I hadn’t had to leave so soon!  I could be there helping.  I wish I could help her,” she confided almost wistfully.
“Your desire to personally help her through the hardest part is a healthy one, but I think you will have to trust the help you have given her via the events you have set in motion.  Your friends are trustworthy and true, Twilight.  I am nearly as proud of them as I am of you – both here and in the mirror world.  They will care for her as you would have.  My heart tells me this is true.”
“You’re right, I’m sure.  But the fact remains that it will be 30 moons before I can even check on her.  There’s no sugarcoating that, Celestia.  I’m not looking forward to it.”
“That makes two of us.  But we will face it together.”