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// 3 Finding The Way Home 
// Story: Luna's Adventures Through the Looking Glass 
// by Bronyxy 
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Luna stood watching the body of Nightmare Moon not sure if she felt relief or disgust with herself for what she had done.

She turned to see a broad grin on the face of the delivery pony and she went to help him.
“Thank you my good Sir” she praised “I should not have defeated Nightmare Moon without you.”
His expression remained fixed in a smile and she saw the starts of tears forming in his eyes and moved to hold him gently.
“I am so sorry for poisoning you” comforted Luna “It is but a slowing elixir and will not cause any lasting damage.  Thank you, Sir.”

She looked back at Nightmare Moon, half expecting her to be ready to fight again or her body to have vanished, but instead it lay where it had fallen, surrounded by a sea of blood.  Luna looked at what she had done and felt her legs begin to tremble as the adrenalin wore off, still embracing the delivery pony, who was to her mind the bravest stallion in all of Equestria.

Once she felt stronger, she donned Nightmare Moon’s belt and placed both swords in it, simply to ensure that nopony would pick them up and attempt to use them against her.  Then she walked back down the passage from whence she had come and took a little known back route through the castle to a veranda that looked out over the darkened realm.

She focused he energy up to the heavens and the moon responded to her physic touch.  Sometimes it was sluggish or petulant, other times co-operative, but this time it was eager to respond as she commanded it down to rest.  Next she focused on the element with which she had enjoyed only passing acquaintance and drew upon it with all her might, dragging the reluctant orb up over the horizon and into the sky.  She caught her breath as she heard alarms sounding all around; the Night Guard rushing round the castle and indeed all over Equestria to find out what had happened and keep order on behalf of their Queen.

Luna knew there was still one more task to perform and reached out to the alicorn trapped in the sun, deftly undoing the locks that held her in place and freeing her from her fiery prison.  She was soon rewarded by a shaft of light projected down next to her like a spotlight from the heavens and when it faded, there stood Celestia.

There was a long pause as Celestia tried to work out who it was that had summoned her.
“It’s me Celly” said the blue alicorn “Luna.”
“Sister?” she asked, unable to take in this information.
“Celestia it is so good to see you” said a thoroughly exhausted blue alicorn.
“Last time we met was a thousand years ago when I sent you away” said Celestia, confused.
“A lot has changed” said Luna “Trust me.”
“I was at the Summer Sun celebration when Nightmare Moon imprisoned me in the sun” said the Sun Princess “Where is she?  What has happened?”

Luna wept and threw herself against her Celestia, shaking with fatigue and happiness “It’s alright, it’s alright …”
Celestia wrapped a caring forehoof around her for reassurance as she became aware of the pandemonium breaking out all around.  Luna pulled back and looked into her purple eyes.
“Nightmare Moon is dead.  Her body is in the Throne Room.  Equestria has been under eternal night for far too long under her command” said Luna in short bursts “You will need to resume your rightful place as Princess.”
“Of course” said Celestia “But where do you fit in?”
“I’m Luna from another dimension.  Your sister still needs to be rescued from the moon, but for expedience I can stand in for the time being as I know what has been going on.”

However improbable she felt the story to be, the alicorn claiming to be Luna seemed genuine enough, so Celestia took charge as had been suggested before panic broke out and guards over-reacted against an excited civilian populace.

The two alicorns made their way into the castle, the first ponies they saw being two startled Night Guards standing at the main doors to the Throne Room; neither knowing what to do.  Celestia broke the deadlock by enquiring:
“Well, won’t you let me in?”
Neither resisted as she opened the doors with her magic and walked in, bidding the guards attend.  The body of Nightmare Moon lay where Luna had left it and the brave delivery pony sat woozily upon the throne.  Celestia cocked an eye at the pony on the throne and Luna explained his part in the Queen’s downfall, the white alicorn nodding appreciatively.

The two guards stood stunned realising immediately that the order they had served unquestioningly for so long had been overthrown and changes would be very shortly coming.  Celestia bade one of the guards carry the delivery pony to the sick bay for treatment and rest whilst the other was ordered to round up all those who served Nightmare Moon’s Court.

As they arrived, each dignitary gasped when they saw the Royal Sisters, each with their wings outstretched and held back tears at the sight of their dead Queen, lest their feelings gave them away.  None spoke.

Once all were present, Celestia proclaimed the rule of Nightmare Moon over and re-asserted her position, not as monarch, but diarch of Equestria with her sister once more.  Each was ordered to spread the word across the land and told in no uncertain terms that they would face judgement for their actions carried out in their deposed Queen’s name; but for now, all would be on probation.

Once the terrified dignitaries had scattered, Celestia summoned all of those who served in the castle to affirm the changes that had taken place, everypony from the maids to the guards.  She gave each of them the opportunity to continue in their service or to leave if they did not want to serve the new regime.  She was most heartened to sense the uncoiling of a tension amongst all those present and further that none expressed a desire to leave; it was clear that life under Nightmare Moon had probably not been much fun.

Deep in the Everfree, shafts of sunlight pierced through the windows of an unusual looking hut and a zebra smiled to herself.

With Equestria now back on the right track, Luna spent some time filling Celestia in on the finer details that had happened since Nightmare Moon had drawn her into this world.  When the story had been told, Celestia made only one observation:
“You destroyed the mirror?” she asked.
“Yes” replied Luna “I could not risk my world being invaded by Nightmare Moon.”
“Commendable; but didn’t you say she approached you first through the vanity mirror?” observed Celestia “Could it be that mirror still acts as a portal into your world?”

With no further words exchanged, both alicorns made their way to Nightmare Moon’s bedchamber and looked around.  Sure enough the large mirror remained in a thousand pieces, but the vanity was intact.  With trepidation, Luna raised her forehoof and made to tap the glass, but her hoof went straight through; the portal was still open!

“Seems to me all we have to do is open it up a bit to let you through” said Celestia, lighting her horn.  The yellow aura reached out to the portal and stretched it wider, opening a gap around it; a gap of purest black void that did not belong to either world, but moreover the gap between them.
“I think I’ll just close that again” said the Sun Princess “It looks like we will have to open it from both sides or you’re not going home.”

The white alicorn thought for a moment and then called for the housekeeper.  Eager to please her new Mistress, she arrived within a few minutes and curtseyed respectfully upon her arrival.  Celestia thanked her for her prompt arrival and enquired whether there was some trustworthy foal who could be spared for a special mission.  She advised most apologetically that foals had not exactly been welcome during the reign of Nightmare Moon, but that a few of the mares were known to have kept their foals carefully secreted and had even gone as far as arranging a clandestine foalcare rota, so that each could take turns looking after the brood and keeping them out of sight.

Celestia asked if the housekeeper would talk with the mares and see if any would be prepared to help out.  Eager to obey, but equally keen not to betray any long standing secrets among the staff, she curtseyed at last half a dozen times as she excused herself.

Ten minutes later, the housekeeper returned in the company of a smartly turned out older maid and her foal, a pink unicorn.  When asked to speak, the maid welcomed back Princesses Celestia whose rule she remembered very well, but was a little reserved about the blue alicorn whom she did not know.  She introduced her foal, who tried her best to hide behind her mother’s legs, in complete awe of the company that she had been presented to.

“Now what I would like you to do is go through this window” said Celestia to the awestruck filly “And find a grown up on the other side and bring them back so we can talk to them.  Can you do that for us please?”
The foal nodded.
“The rooms will look different from the ones you know in this castle” said Celestia “So remember to tell the grown up that they have to go to Princess Luna’s bedchamber, OK; because that’s where you’re going to go in and where you’ve got to come back from, and you must be quick.  Any questions?”
The foal shook her head and was given a final kiss and cuddle from her mother before being gently levitated through the mirror into a different castle that lay across a dimensional divide.

She shared one last look back towards her mother and then gingerly took her first steps to explore.  She went to the doors of the bedchamber and undid the latch, walking carefully through and looking either side, straight into the eyes of a very surprised guard.
“What were you doing in Princess Luna’s private chambers?” he asked.
“Please Mister Guard, Sir” said the foal shakily “There are some ponies who would like to talk to you through the window in there.”
His mind raced.  Granted, this had been an unusual afternoon; the Changeling Queen didn’t try and invade every day, but not only had a foal got past, but there were more?
“Is Princess Luna in there?” he asked, concerned.
“Yes” replied the pink foal “She’s stuck on the other side of the window.”
Now this he had to see; had Her Majesty locked herself out on the balcony perhaps?

The innocent little filly directed the guard towards the front of the vanity and what he saw took his breath away.  The mirror clearly had nothing behind it, but nonetheless there was a figure he recognised very well in a room on the other side of it.
“Princess Luna!” he gasped “How did you get behind the vanity mirror?”
“Long story” said Luna “Please would you hand this brave little filly through to us?”
He picked up the pink foal and boggled at the prospect of feeding her through a mirror into a room that couldn’t exist but that already had Princess Luna in it.  The filly soon clambered through the portal and into the hooves of her grateful mother as the guard stood dumbfounded.
“Now, go and return with my sister post haste please.”
The guard stammered, staring at Princess Celestia standing behind Princess Luna in the mirror:
“Beg pardon Your Majesty” he stammered “Her Majesty is stood behind Your Majesty …”
“She’s not the real one; promise” said Luna “Now go!”
“Am too!” joked the Sun Princess in mock dejection once the guard had run off, then leaned forward and whispered in her ear “Did you see the look on his face?”
The two alicorns giggled and did their best to picture the scene on the other side of the mirror when the guard tried to explain himself to the other Celestia.

Within five minutes Celestia had entered Luna’s bedchamber as the guard waved his hoof in the direction of the enchanted mirror.
“They’re in there” he whimpered.
The white alicorn walked up to the vanity and looked into the other realm where she saw her sister waving with a cheeky smile on her face, making a “cooooeeee!” sound in greeting.
“Sister” she said “Trying to keep a straight face, but failing “What have you done now?”
“Long story Sister” replied Luna “I defeated Nightmare Moon in combat and ended eternal night.  Have you had a busy day officiating over the wedding?”
“Actually, we’ve fought off a Changeling invasion force headed by Queen Chrysalis.”
“Who?” enquired the Celestia stood next to Luna.

“Princess Celestia, I presume” said Luna’s sister with a smile on her face.
“Your Majesty” bowed both Celestias at once with an excess of theatricality that Rarity would have been proud of.
“Oh, cut that out” interjected Luna before the Celestia : Celestia interchange descended into farce “We have an interdimensional portal here, and you’ve both got to stretch it at once for me to get through or I’ll be stuck here.”
“I’d actually quite like to keep her” said the Celestia standing beside Luna.
“Oh” said Luna’s sister “What will you offer me?”
“Stop it this instant!” shouted Luna stamping her hoof and rolling her eyes “Honestly I thought you two would be more grown up!”

The two white alicorns looked at each other, each noticing a smirk forming on the other’s face.
“Look” pleaded Luna “We don’t know how long this portal will last, so please can we dispense with the banter?”
This brought the Celestia doppelgangers to the business at hoof and Luna’s sister enquired which spell the other would cast.  Once the details were agreed, both white alicorns focused their magic onto the portal and stretched it together, watching as it opened up beyond the size of the vanity creating the very eerie sight of one room blending into the other.

“Jump now Luna!” shouted one of the Celestias “Before it collapses!”
The blue alicorn did as she was told and jumped through safely back into her own realm next to her true sister.  As she did, the portal snapped shut and on both sides of the divide a white alicorn put a forehoof up to the vanity mirror and felt only glass, and saw only their own reflection.  Each wished that they had more time to have spoken with the other, but both was delighted that Luna had escaped back to her true home.  For her part, Luna gave her real sister a heartfelt nuzzle of the kind she hadn’t for far too long; finally recognising how much she loved her.
“An invasion you say?” said Luna.
“Yes Sister” replied the Sun Princess “But there will be time enough for catching up later.  I think for now you may want to freshen up and attend the wedding reception before the bride and groom depart.”

Luna looked wistfully at the vanity mirror and gave it a reassuring pat with her forehoof.  It was solid.  Then she tidied herself up quickly and trotted off to perform a duty that even half an hour ago she didn’t think she would ever be able to do ever again in this realm and raised the moon.

Her duty completed, she fluttered down into the main courtyard of the castle where Cadence and Shining Armor were beginning their first dance.
“Hello, everypony.  Did I miss anything?” she enquired as she landed next to Rainbow Dash under Celestia’s watchful eye.

There would be time for catching up later …