Dear Princess Celestia.
It’s been two weeks since I told my friends about Midnight. Two weeks since I opened my heart and spilled my most terrifying secret to six of the most important people in my entire life. Two weeks since I put my faith in them not to shut me out, but to give me the guidance and support I need to finally banish my own inner demon.
I must admit that I was scared. Scared that things would be different after I opened up. That my friends would be more cautious around me, even after their heartfelt promises to the contrary. But thankfully my friends proved to me yet again that sometimes I can be just a little bit paranoid.
Things were a touch awkward at first, yes. Sometimes, my friends gave me these anxious sideways glances if I was in a bad mood. It would make me feel worse, like I was doing something wrong, and Midnight would always jump in to try and escalate things. Make me angry. Make me lash out.
But so far it hasn’t worked. I have a new secret weapon, you see, and I have been making very liberal use of it.
Telling on her.
It’s incredibly gratifying to know that any time Midnight is getting on my nerves, a helping hoof is just a holler away. When I call on them, my friends chase her away with soothing words and friendly hugs. They can never make her shut up, but at least they can help me ignore whatever poison she’s spewing at the time.
I know I’ve probably learned this lesson before… but seeing as I’m basically having to teach myself how to be me all over again, I thought it would be a good idea to send you this little letter to let you know how I’m doing, and what I’ve learned lately. And what I’ve learned—or rather, what I’ve been reminded of—is that good, true, friends won’t abandon you if you’re honest with them. So long as the real you is a good pony, then true friends will help the good in you shine through no matter what. You just have to let them in to pull that out for the world to see.
All that said, I still haven’t opened the chest. But I feel like… I don’t know how to describe it. Like I’m getting closer, maybe? It’s hard to say, but my mind doesn’t feel quite as clouded as it used to. The weight pressing down on me ever since the Tree of Harmony rejected me isn’t as heavy as it used to be. think I’m doing something right. I just wish I knew what.
I wish I could write more, but my parents are due to arrive any minute.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight looked the sheet of parchment over a few more times, ensuring there were no major typos or subjects she wanted to rephrase. After a minute of careful analysis, she gave a small smile and a sharp nod. She turned to Spike, who was waiting dutifully behind her and floated the parchment over.
“Alright, it’s ready, Spike. Send it.”
“Aye aye!” Spike said, snatching the scroll in his claws. Then, with a deep breath, he spewed green flames over it, and it vanished into smoke and ashes flying out the window. “There it goes!”
Twilight smiled, watching the last drifting embers of Spike’s dragonfire fly out the window. It was a bright and sunny day outside, just after lunchtime. Perfect for a family visit, she thought. She then turned back to Spike, giving him a grateful smile.
“Thank you, Spike,” she said, rising from her seat and heading for the door.
Spike grinned, crossing his arms over his chest. “Ya know, it’s been a long time since you sent a letter like that one,” he commented nostalgically.
Twilight paused, glancing sideways at her assistant with a raised eyebrow. “Huh? What do you mean?” she asked.
“Oh come on, you know what I’m talking about,” Spike pressed, spreading his arms for emphasis. “A friendship lesson letter. Ya know, talking about something you learned about Friendship. I don’t think either you or Rainbow have been sending anything like that ever since that whole fiasco in Manehattan.”
Twilight’s ears stood upright, her eyes going wide. For a brief moment, she felt an oncoming surge of genuine panic. She’d told herself way back when they started sending those letters that she’d send one every week, but it had been literal years since they went to Manehattan and she had only just now sent in a letter that could even vaguely be classified as a friendship report!
Then she stopped herself, taking a deep breath. She closed her eyes, allowing her mind to wander. “...You know why we didn’t, Spike,” she finally said.
“Yeah yeah, I know,” Spike replied, lowering his arms. “But to do one now? Feels nice, seeing you do that. It means you’re getting better.”
Twilight opened her eyes, her heart warming up at the point of praise. She was slowly getting better, wasn’t she? She was a scatterbrained psychological break when she first emerged from her amnesia. Now?
Her smile faded, and she shook her head. “Maybe I am. But I’m still not fully recovered, yet. And I doubt I’m going to be for a while. Things like this don’t just go away overnight, even with all of the help I get.”
Spike gave her a stern frown, crossing his arms. “Okay, none of that. This is not the kind of topic you get to be a killjoy on! That’s an order!”
Twilight leaned back. An order? She smirked in confused amusement at him, tilting her head. “Since when did you start giving me orders?”
“Since Sprainbow Therapy became a thing,” Spike pointed out without missing a beat, flashing her a grin that exposed a fang.
“Oh, for the love of…”
Before Twilight could give Spike a proper response, the door to the room suddenly slammed open, causing its current occupants to jump and let off exclamations of surprise. Twilight spun on her hooves to find a cheerfully grinning Rainbow standing in the doorway. “Hey, guys! Guess what?!”
“Dash!” Twilight complained, pouting at the pegasus indignantly. “Be careful with the door! You’ll break it!”
Rainbow shrugged. “Whatever. I say again, guess what?”
Spike sighed, sagging in place. “Ugh, what?”
“Just have a guess!”
A pause. Twilight shook her head, growing more confused by this sudden change in events by the second. “What is it vaguely about?”
“No clue, just have a guess!”
Twilight gave off a snort of irritation. “Rainbow, you know I love you, but this really isn’t a good time for this!” she chastised. “Spike and I were having a moment!”
Rainbow blinked and leaned back in mock horror. “What?! Without inviting me?!”
“Dash…” Twilight growled in warning.
Rainbow smirked, her face twitching. She then looked down, letting off a series of laughs. Twilight glared at her for a few seconds longer, trying to maintain her scorching look, but it didn’t take long for the other mare’s laughter to win her over, and she started laughing too. She just could not say no to that sound, try as she might.
Rainbow calmed down a second later, though the smirk remained. “Heh. Anyway. Your folks are almost here, Twi.”
Twilight’s own lingering laughter died in her throat almost instantly. She looked up at Rainbow with wide eyes, surprised. “WHAT?!” she shrieked. “Why didn’t you say so sooner?! And how do you know?!”
Rainbow’s smirk was now smug instead of amused. “Well, while I was out doing my volunteer work with the weather teams, I saw them leaving the train station. Figured I’d come and give you a heads up.”
“By cryptically saying ‘guess what?!'” Twilight bellowed, her nostrils flaring.
Rainbow shrugged innocently. “I wanted to have some fun with ya, what can I say?”
“Guess what, apparently,” Spike deadpanned, already heading for the door. “Now come on. You two can kiss and make up later!”
Rainbow rolled her eyes at the comment, though there was no hiding the subtle blush adorning her cheeks at the implication. Twilight’s own cheeks flushed slightly, though she did not drop her very displeased scowl. She marched up to Rainbow, her cheeks puffing up in indignation and her lips twisted into a pout.
Rainbow leaned back slightly, her smug smirk becoming a touch nervous. “Uh… we are gonna kiss and make up later… right? That- that is how this works, right?”
Twilight maintained her glare for a few more seconds. Then, she took in a long, deep breath, calming her nerves. Rainbow’s method of delivery notwithstanding, the news of her parents’ proximity was welcome. She put on a small smile and nodded at Rainbow. “Yes, we will.”
“Oh, good,” Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief.
“But only if you give me good kisses!” Twilight went on, smirking and relishing in how quickly she was able to turn the tables.
Rainbow blinked, her blush intensifying. “Uh… I-I, uh… How do I d-do that?” she stammered helplessly, cowering under Twilight’s gaze.
Twilight just smirked and sauntered by. “I don’t know. Use your imagination and show me—tonight,” she teased, taking the chance to bump her hip against Rainbow’s on the way past.
Rainbow’s embarrassed whines were music to her ears.
“Your saccharine affection for that trainwreck of a mare is absolutely disgusting,” Midnight groused internally.
Twilight faltered for only a moment, her smile fading. She felt a prickle of anger in the base of her skull but was quick to shake her head and push on.
There was a scoff from Midnight, but no further remarks, to Twilight’s relief.
She soon emerged into the main room of the library, Rainbow following closely behind her. Spike was just ahead, standing up on the tips of his toes by the front door to look out through the window.
“Any sign of them?” Rainbow called over, fidgeting with her mane slightly.
“Uh… nope. Not yet.”
“Welp,” Rainbow said, giving a languid stretch before flopping unceremoniously onto the closest couch. “Nothin’ for it but to wait.”
Now it was Twilight’s turn to roll her eyes. Instead of joining Rainbow on the couch, though, she chose to walk over to the door. She reached for the handle but stopped just before she pulled it open, an uncertain frown on her face.
Her parents didn’t know about Midnight, yet. She hadn’t had a chance to tell them, and it just didn’t seem like the kind of thing she should tell them via a letter. It was too personal. Too serious. It had to come from her directly, or not at all. That was how she had done it with her friends, and she was not going to snub her family.
Logically, she knew her parents would probably treat it the same as her friends had. They’d understand, they’d be supportive, and when she was around them, they’d make sure to make the distinction between Twilight and Midnight’s influence in their interactions.
But some small part of her mind wondered… what if they didn’t? With her ears drooping, it fully dawned on Twilight just how little time she had spent with her family over the last few years. And ever since her banishment from Canterlot, their visits had grown ever more spread out and sporadic. And with all of that time spent apart, Twilight had to wonder if they were really still as close as she thought.
Friends could drift apart with time, she knew. Was the same true of family? And if so, would it make them less likely to accept what was happening to her…?
She was jarred from her depressing thoughts by a tug on her tail. Curious, she looked down to see Spike pointing animatedly at the window. “There they are! They’re here!” he said emphatically, bouncing slightly in place.
Twilight took in a deep breath and shoved her mind back into the present. There was no point in worrying about it. “Besides! I had these worries with my friends! Or close enough! It’s all fine. It’s fine.”
She heard Rainbow’s hooves on the floor behind her, but she didn’t turn to look. Having the pegasus at her back was enough to solidify her resolve. With a subtle nod to herself, Twilight lit her horn and opened the door.
There, hoof raised and poised to knock was Twilight Velvet. Night Light stood to her side, eyebrow raised in surprise.
Any doubts Twilight had about her relationship with her family died the moment she set her eyes on them. A nostalgic warmth flooded her veins, filling her chest and stomach with soothing warmth. Her lips curled up into an enormous grin, and she threw herself forward without a second thought, throwing her hooves around her parents in a tight embrace.
“Mom! Dad!” she greeted, pulling the startled unicorns close to her and basking in their presence.
The sound of Velvet and Night Light laughing filled Twilight’s ears as they returned the embrace.
“Wow! Heya, kiddo!” Night said, pulling back a second later. “You’re in a good mood!”
“She just got done teasing Dashie a minute ago,” Spike pointed out, poking his head out from behind Twilight. “And that’ll make anypony giddy.”
Rainbow groaned.
Twilight pulled back from her parents and shot Spike a look. “Oh, hardy har, Spike. I’m just happy to see my family,” she chastised him.
Spike shrugged. “Didn’t say you weren’t.”
Velvet giggled at the display, rolling her own eyes. “Goodness! I would normally ask you how you’ve been, but it sounds like you’ve been doing pretty well!”
Twilight hesitated, then shrugged. “Eh… it’s been kinda up and down.”
“But you’re clearly on the up right now!” Velvet persisted, smiling and patting Twilight’s cheek affectionately. Then, with a devilish little smirk, her horn lit up, and the saddlebags she was wearing lit up. “And I think I know just the thing to push you even higher…”
“What are you…” Twilight went to ask before trailing off. Her eyes widened, latching onto the unmistakable sight of a box of Donut Joe donuts, straight from Canterlot, levitating out of her mother’s saddlebags and into her now-waiting hooves.
Night Light laughed. “Ha! You okay there, Twi? You’re looking pretty reverent there.”
Twilight licked her lips, mouth watering, before focusing a warm smile on her father. “I just… I haven’t had anything from Canterlot. Especially not any of Joe’s Donuts. Not since… well…”
She trailed off. She looked back down at the box, her smile softening somewhat.
“A little taste of home, then,” Velvet said, her voice lowered with understanding.
“Yeah…” Twilight replied, tracing a hoof over the box. She hadn’t really appreciated that little donut shop by the roadside when she was younger, even with how often they had gone there. Now, though…
With a start, she realized that she had forgotten something. “Oh! Uh, would you like to come in?” she asked, stepping aside.
“Well of course!” Velvet replied, strolling in. Her gaze locked onto Spike, and she quickly knelt down to scoop the dragon up into a warm embrace. “Oh, and hello Spike! How are you doing, little guy!”
“Doing well! Eating gems. Putting out the fires these two keep causing. The usual,” came Spike’s response as he returned the hug.
“I feel like I should be offended,” Rainbow deadpanned, walking over to join him. “But you’re not wrong.”
Twilight stepped back, giving Rainbow and Spike a chance to get in their greetings with her mother. Once Velvet disengaged from her hug with Spike, she went right to hugging Rainbow. It was a touching scene, and Twilight couldn’t stop smiling at it.
“...For real, though,” Night Light suddenly said from her side in a hushed voice, drawing her eyes back to him. His smile had faded, replaced with something a little more serious. “Are you doing well?”
Twilight paused, considering her words for a few seconds. Eventually, she nodded. “It’s slow going, but yes. I’m doing well. Or at least I’m doing better than I was.”
Night Light raised an eyebrow. “Something happen?”
Twilight hesitated, biting her lip. “Er… yeah, you could say that…” she said, turning to face her father directly. “Look, I uh… I have a few things I need to tell you and mom. About what’s going on with me.”
She was about to continue when Night Light lifted a hoof, cutting her off. He put on a gentle smile and slowly shook his head. “Nah. Not right now, at least. We’re gonna be here for a few days. So let’s all take a minute to catch up first. Haven’t seen you in way too long. Let’s not start with depressing stuff.”
“But… it’s…” Twilight wanted to protest, to just get it out of the way. But she couldn’t, and when she heard a series of laughs coming from Velvet, Rainbow, and Spike, she couldn’t help but nod along. “Alright.”
Night Light grinned and ruffled her mane. “Atta girl. Now, that said, there is one thing I need to get out of the way now.”
Twilight quirked a brow as Night Light reached into his own saddlebags and procured a scroll of all things, bound with a dark blue ribbon and held closed with the royal seal of Canterlot. Twilight’s eyes widened as she took it in her magic. “Huh? A letter?”
“From Luna, yeah,” Night Light said. “She stopped us just before we got on the train and asked us to bring this to you. Said it was important.”
“And she didn’t send it through Spike?” Twilight asked skeptically, turning the letter over in her magic. Something seemed odd about this. Why would Princess Luna send along an important message via such a comparatively slow means of delivery when near-instant communication was possible thanks to Spike?
Night Light shrugged. “Nope. When we asked, she just said it’d be better coming from us.”
Twilight hesitated. If this was from Luna, it probably had something to do with her mental state, or Midnight, or something related. Depressing things like that would almost certainly kill the mood, and she had just agreed not to start with depressing stuff. But at the same time, it was also probably important, and Twilight did not have the room to ignore her therapist’s words.
“...Mind if I just get this out of the way right now?”
Night Light shook his head. “Not at all. Go for it.”
Twilight braced herself for the worst with a nod, unfurled the letter, and began to read.
Dear Twilight Sparkle.
When you lost your memories, I treated you with mistrust and cold contempt. I was a blind fool, unable to see the scared, frightened mare you were through my own fears of how your loss of experience could harm my niece. And as a result, I only made you feel worse, escalating the problem.
When you regained your memories, at last, it was my decision to banish you from Canterlot as punishment for the crimes committed against my city’s inhabitants. At the moment, it had seemed just. It had felt right. You were to walk the path of redemption, and returning to your home was to be your reward for seeing that path to its end. Or so I told myself.
Again, I was a blind fool. I’m sorry.
I see now how my actions, my hasty judgments, have hurt you. Time and time again my decisions have caused you harm that you never deserved, and it has only ever made things worse. For all of my knowledge of dreams, of emotions, I confess with shame and regret that I have ever been a slave to the whims of mine.
Separating you from your home city. From your family, from your origins, from your mentor. I told myself It was to drive you to make amends. But in truth, it has served little more purpose than a petty, spiteful act of revenge. I remembered how you had cradled Rainbow’s body in the streets, having just robbed her of her memory of you, and I felt anger like I had never known. All I could think of was how my family had been harmed… and I took no heed of why, or how I could keep it from happening again.
That ends today, with this letter.
And so I, Princess Luna, hereby decree, that you, Twilight Sparkle, shall once again be free to return to Canterlot, provided you do not come alone, that you notify either my sister or myself of your coming and that you limit your time in the city to one week per month. It pains me to impose even these limitations on you, but your task is not yet complete, and your redemption not fully earned.
But it is my hope that being able to come home will remove some of the strain upon your emotions, which, in turn, will hasten your recovery and triumph over Midnight. But, upon a more personal note, it is my hope that this can begin to earn your forgiveness.
I will suffer no excuses to be made for me, Twilight. I failed you. As a Princess, as a peer, and as a friend. I can never make amends for how I have treated you and held you back with words alone. I can but hope that the power my words hold can, in time, absolve my name in your mind and heart.
Humbly yours,
Princess Luna
Twilight stared at the letter, dumbfounded. Her jaw hung open, working rigidly up and down as she processed everything she had just read.
“...I… I can go home…?”
She didn’t notice how the ponies around her immediately fell silent. The storm in her mind was far louder than the quiet could ever be in her thoughts. She didn’t even hear it when Rainbow asked her what she had said, or when Spike placed his claw on her hoof when she started to shake. She couldn’t see the worried looks in her family’s faces through the tears welling up in her eyes.
She could go home. Just like that. There were strings attached, of course, but she didn’t care right now.
She could go back to Canterlot.
Her legs gave out under her. A broken sob of joy and relief escaped her lips.
“Twilight?!” Rainbow exclaimed, her voice just breaking through the noise of Twilight’s tumultuous thoughts.
Twilight looked up at her family as they crowded around her, concern written evidently on their faces. She smiled at them, a trembling, uneven smile, but one that glowed with relief, joy, and so many others. She lifted the letter up so her family could see it.
“I can go h-home,” she blubbered out. She sniffled, passing the letter into Spike’s claws. “It’s from Luna. S-she’s letting me go home…”
Spike took the letter, eyes wide, and quietly read the letter aloud for the whole room to hear. The mood of everpony present gradually shifted with every word until all had joined Twilight in their quiet, solemn joy. When he finally finished, nopony said a word.
“So… y-you can come visit us, now?” Velvet asked as if she didn’t quite believe it.
Twilight sniffled, wiping a hoof over her face. She opened her mouth to say yes, absolutely, but something stopped her. As much as she wanted to just drop everything and go back to Canterlot right now, her family had just come all this way to visit her here.
And besides… she wouldn't feel right about just going back. She had something she had to do first.
“Don’t you dare.”
Twilight faltered as Midnight’s venomous snarl echoed around in her head. She blinked, and suddenly her malevolent reflection stood before her, behind Spike and between her mother and Rainbow Dash.
Midnight bared her teeth angrily, putting her fangs on display. “I know what you’re going to do, and I won’t allow it.”
Twilight frowned, rising to her hooves. “You can’t stop me.”
“She doesn’t deserve it!” Midnight yelled, stomping forward until her muzzle was mere inches from Twilight’s. “She hasn’t earned it!”
Twilight had to resist the urge to react to the apparition. “You read the letter. You know how much she regrets how things have gone. If I don’t do this, I’ll be making the exact same mistake she did.”
“No, because you have done nothing wrong!” Midnight snapped, her pupils dilating as ghostly magic bled out of the corners of her eyes. “You are not the one who hurt a perfectly innocent pony with your blind contempt! You are not the one who stared into the heart of someone sad, scared, broken, and confused, and ripped their heart out!”
Twilight flinched back under Midnight’s tirade, her ears drooping. She opened her mouth to rebuke her, but nothing came. “I…”
“...Twilight?”
Twilight blinked when the sound of Rainbow’s voice reached her ears. She looked up and locked gazes with the pegasus that had captured her heart. She got lost in those cerise orbs, was swallowed whole by the concern they were now expressing, and the boundless love that spurred on that concern.
She remembered a quiet hospital room bathed in the light of sunset. She remembered a quiet Canterlot bedroom in the middle of the night. She remembered Rainbow’s body cradled in her hooves as a storm of memories that did not belong to her danced in her mind. And she knew.
She turned back to Midnight and said three words.
“Yes, I am.”
Twilight was expecting Midnight to argue. To fight back the point, to rage and scream against it. But to her surprise, the fire in Midnight’s eyes faded away. For several seconds, she didn’t say a word.
“Fine,” she said quietly, turning away.
Twilight blinked, and just like that, Midnight was gone.
“Twilight, are you okay?” Velvet asked, drawing Twilight’s attention. She turned to look and saw the still concerned faces of her family. After a few seconds to wrangle her thoughts back into line, she put on a smile and nodded.
“Sorry, I just… I got lost in my head for a minute,” she said before looking down at Spike. “Spike, can you do me a favor?”
Spike perked up, standing upright. “Uh, yeah, sure, what is it?”
Twilight’s smile grew. “Take a letter.”
A million thoughts ran through Princess Luna’s mind as her eyes wandered aimlessly over the landscape far beneath her from her place on one of Canterlot Castle’s many balconies. The sky was clear, with only the occasional stray wisp of a cloud drifting by. The sun was high in the air, slowly making its long journey for the horizon.
It was all beautiful, to be sure, but just now she couldn’t find it in herself to appreciate it. The light of the sun was too bright, too cheerful. It was almost like an eye, glaring at her in scrutiny and judging her for her decisions.
She took in a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh.
“Sister?”
Luna opened her eyes and turned to see Celestia stepping out onto the balcony with her. She tilted her head in surprise, though she did smile at the sight of her elder sibling. “Celestia. What are you doing here?”
Celestia took a position by Luna’s side, draping a wing over her shoulders. “Day court finished early today, and I wanted to come to check in on you. You’ve been quieter than usual, lately,” she said, dropping her regal tone for the time being.
Luna looked down, repressing a snort of amusement. She should have known better. “Ha. You noticed that, did you?”
“I am more perceptive than most ponies give me credit for,” Celestia replied, giving Luna a squeeze. “So tell me. What’s bothering you?”
Luna was quiet for several long seconds. She took in a deep breath and turned away, gently brushing Celestia’s wing off of her back. She took another moment to think of how best to phrase her question before looking back over her shoulder. “Tell me, sister. Do you think I’ve matured?”
Celestia blinked. “...What?”
“As a mare. As a pony,” Luna clarified, turning to face her sister directly. “Do you think I have grown in any significant way since before my banishment? And I do not mean physically, I mean mentally.”
Celestia’s eyes widened in shock. A moment later, she relaxed, and a small, encouraging smile decorated her lips. “Of course you have, Luna. You’ve grown incredibly.”
“Are you certain of that?” Luna pressed.
“As certain as I am that I love you, little sister.”
Luna twitched at that, unable to stop a small smile from forming on her lips. “I… I see. That is some incredible confidence in my growth you are exhibiting.”
“Oh, that’s not to say you still have room to keep growing,” Celestia followed up, her tone turning playful.
“Ah, there it is.”
Celestia laughed, shaking her head. “But, to be honest, that is true for me as well.”
Luna smirked. “Clearly, consumer of cakes.”
Celestia flinched at the well-placed jab, consciously prodding at her belly. A moment later she caught Luna looking—and smirking—and pulled her hoof away. The two shared another amused chortle. Celestia quickly sobered up, however, and affixed Luna with a concerned frown. “What brought this on?”
Luna hesitated, her jovial mood fading away. A few seconds passed before she stood up and turned away to look out over Canterlot again.
“When you banished me to the moon, it was because I had allowed my own emotions to take ahold of my heart. My jealousy over how much more love and reverence you received. I felt ignored and overshadowed. Like I didn’t matter. And before that, I had often been far easier to offend than you. I was more rash, reckless, and prone to making decisions that were, in retrospect, incredibly stupid.
“When I came back from the moon, I swore to myself I would never allow such things to happen again. I created the Tantabus to punish myself, and to ensure I never forgot what I had done so I could never make the same mistakes again. But Rainbow Dash, and to a lesser extent, you, sister, helped me believe that I had grown past those old mistakes and that the Tantabus was not necessary. That I need not torture myself so.”
Luna turned back to Celestia, her gaze hardening. “I thought I had grown past such follies, but of late I have found myself repeating them over and over. Perhaps not on the same scale as before, but the pattern is all too familiar… And so I ask again: Have I grown? Have I matured? Am I better now than I was then?”
It was impossible to read Celestia’s expression. Whatever she was thinking, it was masterfully hidden behind her poker face. She stared at Luna for several long seconds, her eyes narrowing analytically. Luna stood her ground, unflinching. Whatever assessment her sister made of her, she would accept it in stride and learn from it.
It came as a surprise to her, then, when Celestia’s lips pulled up into a smile, and she nodded. “Yes, you are.”
Luna tilted her head. “You… are certain?”
“As certain as I am that I love you,” Celestia repeated, drawing a roll of Luna’s eyes. Celestia’s smile grew, and she placed a hoof over Luna’s heart. “Because back then, when we were young and foolish, you responded to all of these bad feelings by turning into Nightmare Moon. You were as blind to the danger you were putting yourself in as I was of how my neglectful behavior was harming you.
“But here you are now, voicing these concerns to me. That on its own is leagues beyond where you used to be. I have watched you ever since I got you back, Luna. Watched you overcoming your grief, your guilt, your trauma, and reaching out to do the same for Rainbow and all of our subjects. So while it is true that you perhaps have more you need to learn, you have grown, and you will continue to grow.
“And whatever mistakes you have made, past or present, I have the utmost faith that you will rise above them, learn from them, and emerge a better mare for it. And the first step in learning from your mistakes is to recognize that you have made them in the first place… Something you would never have done before your Fall.”
Luna took a deep breath and closed her eyes, feeling her sister’s hoof over her heart. She allowed her words to sink in and resonate in her mind, before opening her eyes and giving Celestia a grateful smile. “Thank you, sister. I just hope you’re right, and that I can earn forgiveness for my mistakes.”
Before Celestia could respond, there was a sudden flash of green flames off to their right. Luna turned to look, catching sight of a scroll of parchment. Celestia was quick to snatch it up in her magic, quirking her brow in confusion. “Oh? What is this? Another letter?”
“Another?” Luna asked, watching as her sister undid the seal and opened the letter.
“Twilight sent me one earlier, checking in with me. It was like the friendship reports she used to… oh…” Celestia trailed off, a smile spreading on her face. A moment later, she turned the letter over to Luna. “It’s for you.”
Luna gingerly took the scroll in her magic and brought it up to her face, equal parts curious and dreading what she would find written on it.
Dear Princess Luna.
Some part of me says you don’t deserve it. That you haven’t earned it. But I don’t care. My hooves aren’t clean either.
I forgive you. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle.
That was all that was written. And it was enough to make Luna silently tear up. She lowered the scroll to see Celestia smiling warmly back at her.
“You see?” Celestia asked in a near-silent whisper. “You’ve grown.”
Luna swallowed heavily, unable to hide her smile. “I… I suppose I cannot deny it any longer, can I?” she asked shakily before barking out a quiet half-laugh. “Ha. I have grown. But I still have more to do.”
Celestia drew her into a warm, loving embrace. “And you will do wonderfully,” She assured her, the certainty in her voice leaving no room for doubt.