//------------------------------// // Until The Day I Make It Right // Story: Walk A Thousand Nights // by Sunlight Rays //------------------------------// Nightmare Moon’s horn shone with fury, blocking out everything but its ambient light. Celestia screamed her sister’s name for the last time— “Luna!” Celestia shrieked as she jerked up in bed, the sheets tangling around her as she thrashed around in panic. Her breaths came in short gasps as she frantically looked around her surroundings, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She sighed heavily. It was the same dream again. She fell back onto her pillow, turned her head away from the door, and squeezed her eyes shut. She knew what would happen next. The doors of Celestia’s bedroom burst open, a midnight blue alicorn running into the room. “Tia! I heard you scream my name! Whatever is the matter?” Luna shouted as she rushed to Celestia’s side. “Nothing.” Celestia sniffled. “Go back to your chamber, Luna.” Hoofsteps neared Celestia’s bed. Celestia flattened her ears against her head, pressing her head onto her pillow. A soft hoof caressed her back. Celestia flinched, pushing the touch away with her wing. “D-don’t…” she whimpered. “Please don’t…” “Celestia, what’s wrong?” That voice. That sweet, soft, damned voice. Yet Celestia knew it wasn’t her. It couldn’t be her. Her sister was on the Moon. “Just, please go, Luna…” Celestia whispered, refusing to look at her. Every fiber in her body yearned to turn around, see her baby sister in the eyes, talk it all out, and cry her eyes out in her embrace. Yet she refused to do so. She couldn’t let hope betray her again. A wing tenderly wrapped itself around Celestia’s waist. She tried to push it away, but… “Please, Celestia, you can talk to me.” It was that voice again. That damned voice. Celestia knew it was fake. It had to be. How many times had she given in to her dream’s whisperings, only to wake up alone? How many times had she been betrayed by herself? She didn’t want to repeat that. Not this time. “Celestia, please, talk to me.” “I said leave me alone!” Celestia roared, shoving Luna away. The smaller alicorn fell to the floor, dumbfounded. Celestia jerked up and bored into Luna’s eyes. “Why do you keep torturing me like this? I have had this dream for a thousand years! This same accursed dream, over and over, only to wake up and find that you’re gone! Countless times I would wake up with hopes of seeing you again, only to see that accursed mark on the Moon! I won’t be let down again!” Silence filled the room, Celestia’s heavy breathing the only noise that could be heard. Then she lay back onto the pillows, turning away from her sister. She began to cry. There was no response from her sister. Celestia felt her hopes soar, that she might have finally banished her tormentor. Then a hoof gently caressed her mane. “I’m so sorry, Celestia.” “Why?” Celestia whimpered. “Why do you do this to me? Did I not suffer enough? Was spending the last one thousand years in shame and guilt not enough torture? I can’t live with this nightmare forever, Luna… I can’t…” Celestia’s body shook as her sobs hit her. She felt the soft sensation of a wing wrapping her, but she didn’t fight it. She didn’t want to fight it, yet she so badly wanted to. Powerless. “I’m so sorry, sister. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for all the torture you had to endure. I wish I could have been here by your side.” “And yet you still aren’t,” Celestia choked out. “You’re just a figment of my nightmare.” Luna sighed heavily. Her breath tickled the back of Celestia’s neck. And oh, how real it felt. Celestia hated this. She hated that her mind was constantly pulling tricks on her, that she kept having these nightmares every night. “I do not know what I could do to alleviate you of this doubt and guilt, Celestia. Nor do I wish to force you to sleep, for it would be against my conscience to do so.” Luna stroked Celestia’s cheek, wiping the tears away. “Please… just stop… just make it stop…” Celestia couldn’t bear it. She wanted this nightmare to end, for the apparition next to her to disappear. Yet she wanted this to not end, for Luna to stay by her side through the night. She didn’t know what to do. Luna was silent for a moment. “Very well, then,” she spoke, “I shall put you back to your slumber. Would that be helpful, sister?” Celestia hesitated, then nodded. Her eyes refused to make contact. Celestia heard the sound of Luna lighting her horn. The familiar warm blue light encased her, and Celestia felt the glory of sleep wash over her body. For once, Celestia did not feel at ease as her eyelids were pulled shut. She felt despair. … Celestia’s eyelids slowly opened. Once again, she saw the familiar surroundings. The curtains around her bed, the pillows next to her, and the sheets covering her body. A ray of pale light shimmered upon her bed. Celestia sighed. Just another dream, wasn’t it? Still, she turned around. The bed was empty, save for herself. Celestia squeezed her eyes shut. She should have known it would be a dream. It had been for the past thousand years. Yet the tears still found a way through her eyelids. Deep in her sorrows, Celestia didn’t notice the shimmering sound of magic faintly leaking through the curtains. She didn’t notice the thin thread of moonlight move across the bedsheets, passing her head and torso before disappearing entirely. She didn’t notice hoofsteps approaching her bed and somepony opening the curtains. A gentle touch caressed Celestia’s face from behind, dabbing at the streaks of teardrops falling down her cheeks. Celestia’s eyes snapped open, and she turned around. Luna’s turquoise eyes shone brightly into Celestia’s, a genuine yet sad smile on her face. “Good evening, sister.” Celestia only gaped at Luna. Her mind raced through all the possibilities. Was this another dream? Just another cruel joke her mind was pulling on her? Or was this her sister, whom she missed for a thousand years? Luna did not say anything further, only continuing to gently stroke her sister’s face with a hoof. “Is this…” Celestia began, but the words were stuck in her throat. Luna caught on and finished the sentence for her. “Just another dream?” When Celestia nodded, Luna merely shook her head. “Nay, sister. This is all real, just as real as thou are.” Celestia opened her mouth, then closed it. She opened it again, then closed it again. She couldn’t find the words to ask what she wished to ask. No, that wasn’t correct. She knew the words; she just couldn’t speak them aloud. It felt like an eternity before Celestia could finally speak. “H-how… how can I—” Words failed to escape the confines of her throat. Luna pulled Celestia into an embrace, holding her tight. “‘Tis alright, sister. ‘Tis alright…” she gently cooed, patting her sister’s back. “You wished to ask how you could trust me? You do not need to answer,” she quickly added. Celestia nodded. Luna let out a quiet hum, thinking for a moment before realizing something. She let go of Celestia, getting out of bed and opening the curtains. Curious, Celestia slowly unfurled herself to watch what Luna was doing. Luna pointed to the bedroom’s balcony doors. “Look, sister. I’ve put the Moon away for your Sun to take its place. It is your turn to take the sky.” True enough, the sky was devoid of the Moon Celestia was so used to seeing after she woke up. Only the last traces of the stars shone in the slowly brightening sky. As Luna silently gestured at her sister, Celestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her horn lit up, and she felt her magic connect with the celestial she had been bonded to for millennia. Feeling the warmth of the sphere soothed her mind, and she gently guided the Sun upwards, raising it above the horizon and delivering another morning to her nation. As she finished raising the Sun, Celestia turned to Luna, her lips trembling. “Luna, could you… could you come here, please?” With a curious gaze, Luna made her way towards Celestia’s bed. Celestia pulled Luna into a tight hug as she neared, holding onto her as if her life depended on it. She cried, burying her face into Luna’s chest.  “I-I missed you so mu-huch!” she cried, unwilling to let her little sister go. Her sister, the one she would never give up for anything on Equus. The one she sent to the Moon for a thousand years, leaving her trapped up there with nothing but anger and hatred. “I’m-I’m so s-s…sor-ry…” Luna quietly held her sister, letting Celestia hug her as much as possible. She gently patted Celestia on the back, softly cooing and stroking Celestia’s mane. She knew the pain. She knew that remorse. She knew how trivial the tears seeping into her coat were to the solitude, void, and emptiness her sister had felt every night for a thousand years. A thousand years she desperately wished she could take back. As the Sun ascended, Celestia’s sobs steadily died down, from tearful cries to sniffles, then finally to shivers and deep breaths. Luna didn’t let Celestia go from her embrace. Nor did Celestia seem keen on leaving her sister’s hug as she nestled ever deeper into the warmth she missed so dearly. They remained in silence. They didn’t need to talk. They knew what they had missed, and they were none too happy to simply keep company for each other. “Do you feel better, Celestia?” Luna softly asked. Celestia nodded. She nuzzled into Luna’s chest, rubbing her tears on her dark blue coat. “You are spoiling my fur, Tia,” Luna teased. Celestia didn’t respond, merely relishing in her sister’s presence. Luna simply let out a hum and readjusted herself. A pause. “Tia?” Luna asked. A muffled “Hmm?” came from Luna’s chest. “How long… How long have you had these nightmares?” Celestia didn’t respond. Her body shivered as she tried to answer, but the words got stuck in her throat again. She swallowed back tears as she managed to croak, “A… about a thousand years. Shortly after I… I sent you… away.” “I’m so sorry, sister. I didn’t know you had been hurting for so long—” “Because you weren’t here,” Celestia replied softly. “You weren’t here when I was suffering for what I did. I-I shouldn’t have sent you to the Moon, I should have—” “Shhh. None of that, sister. You did what you had to do. By sending me to the Moon, you saved Equestria and ponykind. Also, I am partly to blame since I didn’t watch over your dreams after I returned…” Luna trailed off, a somber tone melting into her voice. “W-why didn’t you?” “I was too immersed in my own guilt, sister.” The answer had Celestia pull away from Luna, looking into her little sister’s sorrowful eyes through her tear-soaked vision. “I presume you have heard about the Tantabus incident?” Celestia shook her head. Luna took a deep breath and sighed, giving her sister a sad smile. She opened her mouth, then closed it. She opened it again, only to close it again. Finally, she said, “It is not something I am proud of, to be frank.” Celestia looked into Luna’s eyes, curious and surprised by her confession. A sea of sorrows met her gaze, those ocean-blue eyes showing regret and wisdom. “When I ventured forth into the dream realm for the first time after my return two years ago, I came face-to-face with the nightmares that plagued you.” “You knew?” Celestia asked with wide eyes, bewildered by Luna’s words. Luna nodded. “I did. And I did not do a single thing about it.” “Why?” “Because it was too painful to bear, sister.” Luna took a deep breath once more, shuddering as the memories came to her mind. “The night I went into your dreams, I just stood there and watched as the nightmares ate away at your psyche. Watching myself turn into Nightmare Moon, chase after you with my sights on your neck, and ultimately kill you was…” Luna clenched her eyes shut, and a tear ran down her face. Celestia wiped it away with a tender hoof. “S-sorry. ‘Tis… hard, having to recall such memories.” “You don’t have to talk about it right now, Luna. We can discuss it another time.” Luna shook her head. “Nay. I have already put it off long enough already. I will not delay this any further.” She took in a deep breath, steadying herself before continuing. “T’was worse when I saw what came after the first nightmare was over. Your mind tried to create a small haven for you, trying to relieve you from the anguishes of your guilt. Knowing the pain you would have to endure once you awoke and unable to bear the beratings of my conscience, I fled. I turned a blind eye to your suffering, desperately trying to forget what I had seen. But the things I saw and done followed me to my dreams, and I began plaguing myself with nightmares. “After all, didn’t I deserve it? I would have plunged Equestria into an eternal night had I not been stopped twice, and even after that, I deliberately ignored your cries for help. I believed that if I suffered the same predicaments that tortured you, it would alleviate the wrongs I was committing and lessen my guilt.” Luna smiled bitterly. “I was mistaken. “So I created the Tantabus, a creature designed to feed on one’s fears in their dreams. I asked for it to do its worse every night. It fed on my nightmares and grew until it escaped.” Luna paused, looking at Celestia. Celestia didn’t say anything; she merely stared back at her younger sister, a look of shock and sorrow on her face. Finally, she managed to ask, “Why didn’t you tell me?” “I didn’t want to put even more of a burden on your soul,” Luna replied, lowering her head in shame. “Of course, ‘twas a rash decision to do so. Conversing about it with you would have alleviated these sufferings of ours.” Celestia gently wrapped a wing behind Luna’s head. “So what happened to the Tantabus?” “First, it invaded the dreams of the Element Bearers, then the rest of Ponyville. Then it tried to escape into the waking world, essentially turning it into a living nightmare for everyone.” Luna shuddered as the memories of that night resurfaced. “It was terrifying to realize that I was threatening everypony’s lives again. I truly thought that I was no better than I had been as Nightmare Moon. I despaired that I could not escape from what I had been, that all my good efforts and friendships were for naught. “If it weren’t for Twilight Sparkle, I almost let my guilt feed the Tantabus and help it escape. Her words helped me realize that the fact I was feeling sorry for my actions proved that I was not Nightmare Moon, and that I will never become like her again.” Luna paused. She gently gazed at Celestia, never breaking eye contact with her. “If there is anything I have learned from that incident, sister, it’s that staying in the past and regretting the choices you made does not help. Only when you learn from those mistakes and move forward can you improve yourself.” Luna hugged Celestia tightly. “So please, Tia, I want you to let go of your guilt. We both know that we won’t repeat the mistakes we made a thousand years ago, when we were so young and naive.” Celestia stayed silent for a long while, then slowly nodded. “Thank you, Luna. I-I’ll try to… to move on, like you said.” Luna nodded. “Acknowledging your problems and having the willpower to try to fix them is halfway the journey. I’m glad you’re trying to become better, sister.” “It won’t be easy, will it?” Luna shook her head. “No. But I will be here for every step of the way.” “Thank you, Luna.” Celestia snuggled deeper into Luna’s embrace. The lunar princess let out a soft chuckle, then pulled the covers over the two of them. “By the way, sister, don’t you have day court?” Without replying, Celestia pulled a piece of parchment and quill over. She scribbled a few words before magicking the scroll away. “The schedule for today’s morning has been cleared, so I think I can stay here for just a little longer.” Luna giggled. “I see you haven’t changed since foalhood.” Celestia giggled back. “Same goes to you, Luna. A thousand years and you’re still as foalish as you used to be.” “Says the one who pushed all of her duties back!” Their banter continued for a while, continuously getting laughter out of them. They settled down, and not long after, both were slipping away back to the dream realm, basking in the warm sunlight shining through the window. Peace. She knew she still had many turbulent nights ahead of her. But she also knew that she wouldn’t be alone. She wouldn’t have to shiver in her bed night after night, longing for warmth. Because that warmth lay next to her, wrapping her in all of its generosity. For the first time in a thousand years, Celestia was not afraid to fall back asleep.