//------------------------------// // The Therapy - Part 04 - Final. // Story: Chrysalis' unexpected Life // by coto616 //------------------------------// --------------------------------- The Therapy - Part 04 - Final. An idea proposed by Lord King Cocoon --------------------------------- "Do you like your new home?" asked the Queen, walking beside her friend towards the station. "I like it very much and thanks to you for coming with me to look at the building before I bought it, I have wanted to live in Ponyville for a long time and after months I can finally move into this place, this week will be the last week I will be living in Canterlot." Red Bug replied. "It will be good to have you in this place, this town has been in need of another psychologist for a long time." "Another one? What happened to the last one?" Red Bug asked with a glance at her friend. "She's living in the psychiatric wing of the hospital, you'll probably be able to hear her barking in the night." The queen's answer worried the changeling a little. "Speaking of psychiatry, how is Celestia? I tried to talk to her, but she won't see me. I didn't know prisoners could refuse visits." "She's fine, she's made a lot of progress in these months, and tomorrow would be our last session in private, and starting next month I'll be integrating her into a monthly session and the support group I'm working with in Canterlot, which reminds me." Red Bug reached into her pumpkin-shaped bag and pulled out a piece of paper, hoofing it to the queen. "I need you to read and sign this." "What is this?" The queen asked, looking at the paper the changeling hoofed her. "It's the clinical report on Celestia's development and progress in her therapy, it already has Twilight and Luna's signatures on it. You just need to read it and sign it to allow Celestia to live in the castle." Red Bug replied with a smile, and the queen looked at her without showing any emotion. "You've literally been staying with me for four days, and just as I'm about to drop you off at the station, I'm told I need to read and approve this thing." "Yes, any problem with that?" The changeling asked with a slight tilt of her head. The queen quickly scanned through the report, only taking note of the numbers at the bottom of it. "It's thirty pages Red Bug, I won't read thirty pages in five minutes, maybe Twilight can, but I can't, I'm sorry, you'll have to wait a few days until I read it and send it to you." The queen said in a strict tone. "But I must have them today, I want to surprise Celestia." The changeling replied in a pleading tone of voice, causing the queen to close her eyes and rub her forehead in search of a solution. "Could you at least give me a summary of what it says here?" She finished asking the monarch. "Of course." Red Bug replied smiling before pausing to think about what to say. "After the session where you were imprisoned with Celestia, she started to be a little more open to my words and my desire to help her get rid of the prejudice and racism she felt towards our race because of the jealousy she felt towards you, the fight she had with you helped her a lot to get rid of the stress she felt too long ago, and she was also able to vent in a nonviolent manner." "Of course, a fight to the death is not something that would be considered violent in Equestria." The queen smiled, and Red Bug looked at her annoyed, realizing she was being sarcastic. "Please continue." "Thank you, she also had an impressive personality change and showed interest in things she obviously always wanted to try but never could because her job as a princess wouldn't allow it. She obviously became regent of Equestria out of necessity rather than for her own pleasure." "What do you mean by that?" She and her sister have great magical potential and unlike the unicorns, she can move the stars at will without losing her magic or dying in the attempt, Starswirl saw this and trained them to their maximum potential without letting them explore their own personal interests, I know the personality of this unicorn and he doesn't escape much from the saying "the end justifies the means" but I understand that it was different times and there were different needs, at that time the population of ponies was much smaller than today, medicine was rudimentary and a disease that we consider simple today was deadly at that time, the death of a unicorn was devastating for everyone, an urgent solution was needed that would serve in the long term, in retrospect it would be barbaric to think now of using two infants to move the stars, but I repeat that there were other times and there were other needs. " "So why do you think she needs to live in the castle now? "Her treatment has come a long way, but it has stalled because she already needs to interact directly with more changelings and meet ponies who have had direct contact with changelings, plus there are other ponies with similar problems in this support group. Finally, I don't want to keep her locked up in that dungeon forever, I find she's no longer a threat to you or anypony else, she's a completely different mare." "I understand." The queen said, glancing quickly at the medical report. "Do you think she feels remorse for what she did?" "She knows what she did was wrong and wants to say sorry, but she still feels very bad about what happened, I spoke to Princess Luna and she told me that she sometimes has nightmares where she managed to finish you off and little Spark was eaten, I think that will haunt her for years to come." Redbud looked sideways, worried for Celestia. "But I am hopeful that a change of environment to one that is friendlier and more positive will be of great help to her mental health." The changeling finished with a smile. "Hmmm..." The queen thought about it for a long moment. It really didn't add up that Celestia would still be locked up in the dungeon if she had shown any progress, Equestria wasn't in the habit of locking up criminals for too long, and just as everyone believed in her when she told them she had changed, she had to accept the fact that Celestia was changing too, but unlike the others, she had an extra concern. "If you can promise me that when I walk through the door of my house, I won't be met by a white alicorn who wants to smash my face in, I can sign these papers." "As long as you don't provoke her, I'm sure Celestia won't attack you." The queen thought for a long time about the possible ways Celestia might be offended by something she said or did, she would love to upset the former Sun Monarch, but she didn't want it to affect her treatment, besides she didn't like the idea of keeping her locked up forever if it was no longer necessary. At first she wanted Celestia as far away from her son as possible, but after being locked up together she understood that much of it was her fault, and she also wanted to help her. "All right, give her my regards and tell her that I will be sending her a gift of congratulations in the next few days." The queen signed the document and handed it to Red Bug. Then the two of them made their way to the train station. After a few minutes of waiting at the station, the train was ready to leave, and Red Bug checked one last time to see if she had forgotten anything. Having everything with her, she boarded the train and sat down near a window. "Red Bug." The queen called to her friend from the station. "Yes?" The changeling replied as she stuck her head out of the window. "I almost forgot to ask you, what's your favorite thing?" "Did Pinkie send you to ask me that?" Red Bug had been in Ponyville long enough to know what the question was, and she was a little surprised that the pink pony still didn't know everything about her, but the changeling population in Ponyville had grown dramatically, and even Equestria's number one party pony had a hard time keeping track of everyone. "I can neither confirm nor deny any information about parties being held at any of the residences within the Ponyville city limits." The queen replied. "What?" The changeling asked without much understanding of the answer. "I can't tell you yes or no. Pinkie just asked me to ask you what your favorite thing is." "Ohh... then in that case, I like board games, see you in a couple of days." Finished saying the changeling saying goodbye to the queen, the queen for her part returned the farewell. --------------------------------------------------------------- Red Bug awoke to feel somepony tap her on the shoulder, and when she opened her eyes, she realized it was the conductor of the train. "Miss, we've reached Canterlot." That was what the conductor said before he continued to search the train for any more sleeping passengers or any forgotten luggage. "Ohh, thank you." Red Bug replied as she got up from her seat and did a little stretching before she grabbed her things and got out of the train. It was very late in Canterlot, and although the city was a quiet and familiar place in many ways, it had an interesting contrast in activity between day and night. When the sun was out, the streets were full of happy families and thriving businesses, but when the moon was at its highest, the only ponies awake and wandering around at that hour were the night watch, the crowded bars, the provocative mares offering their special services to lonely ponies, and the usual drunks. Red Bug was going to miss Canterlot a lot, both its cheerful energy during the day and its exciting passions at night, it really was a city where you could find everything but the chaos she loved that happened almost every day in Ponyville. She loved adventure and the unexpected, that was one of the reasons why she was interested in studying psychology, every patient was completely new and different. As she walked through the streets, she was greeted by many stallions and mares, and although she would like to bite into the passion fruit, tonight she should rest as much as possible, and she knew that if she entered a bar she would not just end up with a drink, so she preferred to push all those ideas out of her head and go straight to her apartment. --------------------------------------------------------------- Red Bug had a habit of getting up early and since she had a few hours free before going to see Celestia, she used them to do some exercise, check a doubt she had in the Ogres and Oubliettes manual, paint her new figure for the game, and since she couldn't cook, she went back to her neighbor's house to have breakfast with him. After talking a bit, she went back to her apartment to get her things and put them in her turtle shell-shaped bag of an unusual shade of blue before heading to the castle to see Celestia. The atmosphere in the castle was very different from when she had arrived more than a year ago. There were still some who ignored or despised her for being a changeling, but the vast majority had already accepted the fact that her race was here to stay and had no major conflicts other than the naturally curious nature of changelings and their total ignorance of personal space. She was not the most popular character in the castle but she already had some friends and she took the opportunity to greet them while she went to see her patient, it was after noon when Red Bug entered the dungeon and to her surprise there was a new group of inhabitants inside, one of them was a green stallion wearing a purple sleeveless shirt and a strange sleeping hat of the same color, The second was a unicorn, also green, but a few shades darker and his mane was spiky and bright yellow, the third was a very dark blue pegasus, but the fur on his chest and around his neck was white and puffier than normal and also gave the impression that he shaved his mane, and finally the fourth was a sturdy unicorn of large size and gray. Red Bug could not shake the feeling that she had seen them somewhere else, and if she thought about it a little she would remember where it was, but she did not have time to stop and ask them, she had to see her patient, she always visited Celestia after lunch because she always found her in a good mood after eating, but today was a special day, she wanted to arrive earlier to take her to lunch in the dining room and during the feast to tell her that she no longer had to return to the dungeon and could walk around the castle with more freedom, of course there would still be restricted areas. At the end of the dungeon was a cell that her intern had had time to decorate a bit over the months to her liking, there was a shelf with several ponies of different colors made of `origami`, something Celestia said she learned by reading one of her magazines, there were some figures she could recognize as the princesses Twilight, Luna, Cadance and Shining Armor, but there were others she did not know who they could be, like an orange unicorn, a light blue Pegasus, and a pink pony that looked very chubby, surely they were old friends, another thing that changed was the pile of books she had in a corner, slowly changing from story books and classic novels, to more modern novels, sci-fi, and some comics, and what would be a surprise to everyone, but less so to Red Bug, was that Celestia was still asleep in her bed, apparently the former Princess of the Sun liked to sleep late. "Wake up Celestia, I have a little surprise for you." The changeling said as she entered Celestia's cell and sat down in front of the bed. "mmMMMMMmm..." Celestia replied before covering herself and continuing to sleep. "Come on Celestia, it's not good for you to sleep so late, besides I'm sure you're going to love this." "Did you get me a piece of that apple pie you promised?" Asked the very sleepy Alicorn, who was still sitting on the bed with her eyes closed, not even realizing to whom she was talking. "Apple pie? What are you talkin' about?" Asked the changeling, tilting her head sideways. "Have you forgotten?" The princess asked, wiping her eyes to shake off sleep. "You told me yourself that you were going to try to enter the kitchen during the night..." When Celestia opened her eyes, she could see that Red Bug was standing in front of her, the ex-princess became nervous and tried to get up quickly, but she got tangled up in the sheets, which fell down shockingly and frightened the changeling. "By Faust, are you all right?" Asked the changeling. "I'm fine... I'm fine." Celestia said as she slowly got up from the ground. "And what are you doing here so early?" She asked in surprise and tried to look in the direction of the corridor. "I'm bringing you a surprise, and I wanted us to go and eat together in the dining hall before I show you." She replied with a smile. "Lunch in the dining hall?" Celestia asked, making a subtle move past the changeling and poking her head out into the hallway. "The thing is..." The former princess scratched nervously at the back of her neck, and the changeling was aware of it. "... it's just... I'm not hungry and... I'm just waking up, and I'd like to get some rest before I start my day. Could we start our session at the usual time?" Celestia said smiling as she looked down the hall. "Is something wrong with you?" Red Bug asked, finding Celestia acting very suspicious. "Something wrong?" The tall white figure feigned surprise. "Nothing's wrong, I'm just a little..." "Wakey wakey Celly." Said someone approaching down the hallway, causing the former princess to turn completely red and Red Bug to become even more confused. "I couldn't steal a few slices of apple pie last night like I promised, but I did get some muffins..." The mysterious figure came to a screeching halt when he arrived at the cell and saw that Celestia was being accompanied by a changeling. It was a light brown unicorn with green eyes, a silver colored and very short mane and tail. It was not wearing its helmet, and since it was wearing armor, its cutie mark was not visible, but it did bring the tray of food for the former Sun Princess, which consisted of two plates of fruit and oatmeal, two pieces of bread, four eggs, two bowls of hay with flowers, a couple of muffins, and two glasses of juice. Red Bug's brain tried to connect the dots as she watched the stallion's face slowly turn a reddish hue. "Ohhh?... OOOhhhhhhhhh..." The changeling said as she realized what was happening. "Geez, look at the time." She commented as she had a look at the time on her invisible watch. "I forgot I have to see another patient, it's very important, he he." She quickly stepped out of the cell and into the hallway. "Please." The red alicorn said. "Sorry for the interruption, I'll be back... at the usual time, bye." It was the worst lie ever, but it was enough to save the situation. Without further distraction, the changeling left the dungeon. --------------------------------------------------------------- After eating lunch at the market and buying a new yellow bag with a pair of ears and a tail shaped like a thunderbolt, the changeling returned to the castle for her session with Celestia. The former princess saw the changeling approaching and could not help but blush again. The changeling opened the cell and allowed Celestia to step out of it and stretch out her limbs. "Since my original plan failed, we can go to another part of the castle. I think you will like it much better than the dining hall." "Thank you." Celestia said after a couple of flaps of her wings and a walk beside the changeling. For a few minutes the walk was very quiet and a bit uncomfortable, the changeling is very surprised how Celestia had broken her princess shell and slowly became a completely different mare, much more cheerful and sociable. Before when she was princess she had a quite active social life, but the weight of the crown did not allow her to form personal bonds with the ponies, If a love relationship, a one-night stand, or a simple interest that went beyond formality were discovered, it could create an avalanche of curiosity, suspicion, doubt, and endless problems for her and Equestria, but if the imprisoned princess could maintain a love relationship with a guard without anyone knowing, it was because she had surely had others in the past in the same way. Celestia was just a little nervous and a little embarrassed that her relationship had been revealed in front of her psychologist. "So... how was lunch?" Red Bug asked. "The what?" Celestia said, not listening to the changeling. "The lunch, how was it." "It was fine, thanks." "And the company, that guard was attractive?" The changeling asked subtly, causing Celestia to blush again. Apparently, the former princess had a much more childish personality than everyone thought, and even though she was older than Luna, the princess of the night was the more sober and mature of the two. "HIM?...we...he's ....ummm." The former monarch did not seem to have a clear idea of what she meant. This showed the changeling more and more details that no one knew about the Alicorn. "Celestia." The changeling said with a smile as she looked at her companion. "As a professional psychologist I have the power to limit what kind of relationships my patients can have and with whom they can have them, not that I can forbid their private life in general, but I have had some changelings whose love relationships have been disastrous and according to my criteria and their evolution I advise them when they can or cannot have a love relationship, so don't feel pressured about what I think about your private life, in fact I think it's good that you have someone important in your life besides your sister, it shows that you have come a long way." "Um... thank you." "You're welcome." Everywhere you looked, Celestia was a mare of great dignity, strong personality, big heart, fair to all, generous, kind, knew when to be intimidating, very intelligent and of great wisdom, vast experience in all fields, a great military strategist, an excellent monarch, and possessed of almost incalculable magical power, she was the embodiment of the perfection that all mares aspire to be one day. But under the water there was a completely different mare, she was a very spontaneous mare, flighty, extremely energetic, cheerful, someone who liked to sing while cooking and put it all together on the plate as a giant happy face, she liked jokes, colorful balloons, crafts, comics, quick jokes, simple conversations, she liked to sleep late and was quite forgetful, she was someone who when she got too happy started to jump around, she loved theater, playing with foals and telling them bedtime stories. These and many more things were what Red Bug saw during all their weekly sessions when they were in Celestia's cell, or on the days when they were somewhere in the castle and wanted to see how she behaved in a normal environment. Finally, Red Bug came to a simple conclusion, the crown was Celestia's real shackle. Princess Celestia and the mare named Celestia were two completely different beings. They had locked up a princess who was racist because she hated a queen, but next to her was a mare who might as well be Pinkie Pie's sister, and it wasn't fair to have her locked up in a cell. "Will you tell me where we are going?" The alicorn asked. "You'll find out when we get there, but tell me what else you've been up to these days. Have you been reading any interesting books?" "Oh yeah, it's about a pony that's a super soldier wearing armor with artificial intelligence." "Artificial intelligence?" "It's like a super intelligent pony made of pure magic living in a little crystal inside the armor, and together they fight an army of aliens in a giant ring floating in space resembling a planet with plants, trees, beaches, deserts, even oceans." Celestia replied excitedly. "Sounds interesting. What's the name of the book? "It's a collection of books but the first one is called..." Red Bug wasn't the biggest fan of reading, but a good science fiction book was not something to be despised. The changeling hadn't come with the intention of having a session like the others she had had with Celestia, her intention was to give the alicorn a day where they could just talk about anything before showing her where she would sleep from now on. Celestia had surpassed all of her expectations and she hardly needed her help anymore to overcome the racism she felt towards the changelings, after her non-lethal battle with Chrysalis, the former princess eliminated all of her frustration and the hatred she felt towards the queen, She was able to see how blind she had been to her own feelings, how absurd her actions had been, and how her blind fanaticism had led her to let her heart succumb to darkness, and how that darkness had nearly extinguished the life of an innocent. These actions had left a deep mark on the former princess that she could never forgive herself for, no matter what others told her, but Red Bug was not giving up yet, she was willing to continue to help Celestia overcome this last obstacle, no matter how many years it took. "And have you thought about talking to Chrysalis? I know she is willing to talk to you." The changeling asked, she had asked her before and she knew what kind of answer she would get, but she had to ask anyway. "I..." Celestia stopped and looked to the side, trying to avoid the subject. "I can't, how could I look that colt in the face with the knowledge that I was on the verge of killing him, I... I... I... I can't." Celestia's voice was full of embarrassment. "Perhaps another day." The changeling replied, touching Celestia's shoulder and flashing a smile at her to try and cheer her up. "Yes... perhaps another day." Celestia returned the changeling's gaze as she wiped something out of her eyes. The two of them walked slowly down the corridor, Celestia greeting everyone she saw with a big smile. Some of them still bowed in her presence, even when the alicorn reminded them that it wasn't necessary, but many of them had been her servants for years and it was still a hard habit to break. As they walked and talked about what Red Bug had done during the week, they came across a unicorn in a bow tie and a pegasus with very large glasses. They were picking up a large number of papers from the floor in a very hurried manner and muttering something unintelligible. "Is something wrong?" Celestia asked, approaching without realizing that she had quickened her pace. "Oh, Prin... I mean, good day, Celestia." Adjusting his glasses, the Pegasus greeted. "Did they commute your sentence?" he asked, "It's good to see you back at the castle. "Not really, Red Bug has a surprise for me and I'm guessing what it is on our walk around the castle." "I see, and any luck?" "Do you know anything about a surprise for your dear Celestia, I know it's not in the dining room, the kitchen or the gardens?" The former Monarch asked, sounding playful and winking. "We haven't heard of a surprise, and if it is, it wouldn't be a surprise if we told you, right?" The unicorn replied. "Well, it was worth a try." She replied, giggling. "Then what's your problem?" Red Bug took a step back and simply watched Celestia interact with the pair of ponies as she helped the two characters pick up their papers and arrange them into a pile. "Just the usual, I was on my way to my office with my papers until Feather Light came flying low with his papers and crashed head on into me." The unicorn replied, pointing his hoof at the Pegasus. "You know I'm afraid of heights. Besides, if you weren't so slow with your papers, I wouldn't have to carry such a load." The Pegasus replied. "You have a fear of heights?" Celestia asked as she cocked her head to the side. "Yes. He's known since we were little and always teases me." "You know, a Pegasus with a fear of heights is funny." The unicorn commented with a little chuckle. "Not as funny as a unicorn sneezing in the middle of a spell." Replied the Pegasus. "Hey." Said the unicorn angrily. "That's a familiar condition, and it's not funny." "I know, and I'm sorry, and I'm sorry I bumped into you too...I'm just a little stressed about the gryphon thing." The Pegasus said regretfully. "It's okay, I know you didn't mean it." The unicorn approached and used his magic to adjust the Pegasus' glasses before sneezing and making the Pegasus laugh softly. "I love your laugh, will I see you at my mother's tonight?" He asked with a smile. "Remember my promise to bring that wine your mother is so fond of." "Thanks again for that." The unicorn said before giving the pegasus a warm kiss on the cheek and taking the papers Celestia offered her with his hooves. "See you tonight, see you later Celestia, see you Red Bug." With that, he disappeared around the next corner. "Love is a wonderful thing, isn't it?" Celestia said, offering the Pegasus the other pile. "It certainly is." The Pegasus replied as he took the papers. "And how did this happen?" "I've always been afraid of heights, I know that's weird for a Pegasus, and that's why when I was little my family moved from Cloudsdale to Manehattan, and it was at school that I met Jade Buster, since we were little we realized that we both didn't feel the natural attraction to mares, and for the same reason we spent a lot of time together at school, it was in the middle of high school that we realized that we felt a special attraction to stallions and to each other. ... after that our love grew naturally. I don't know if it was fate or if I didn't have many options with my taste, but I don't regret anything, I wouldn't change anything about our relationship. "The Pegasus tidied up the papers and tucked them under his wing. "Thanks for your help, it was good to see you again, even if you look a bit..." The Pegasus adjusted his glasses as he looked closely at the Alicorn. "Do I have something in my mane?" She asked as she did a quick check of her mane with her hoof. "Oh for Faust's sake... do I look fatter? it's just that I don't get much exercise in the dungeon and..." "It's not that." The Pegasus said, cutting the nervous mare off. "You look more....brighter, but that's probably the sun reflecting off my glasses, anyway, thank you again and I hope you have a good day, see you Red Bug." The Pegasus walked away and disappeared into a nearby room. "How long have you known them?" Celestia asked the changeling. "The two of them? They have been working here for a long time, long before I ever set foot on the castle." "I don't remember ever seeing them, when I was a princess I never had the chance to talk to my servants in such a close way, all conversations were always very formal, even with Inkwell, and she was my right hoof, I know most of them only by their names, but now I realize I know nothing about them, what would have happened if I had gotten closer to them..., what would have happened if I had taken off my crown from time to time, what would my life have been like if... If I hadn't been a princess..." Celestia said the last words almost mumbling and stopped walking, lost in her introspection. "Well, you got an excellent opportunity to figure that out now." The changeling commented, pulling Celestia out of her thoughts. "I guess you're right." She added with a smile. "I know I am, but come on, it's time for you to see your surprise." With those words, the two of them continued on their way up the stairs. --------------------------------------------------------------- "Why did we come up those stairs?" Celestia asked, in the knowledge that these stairs were only the way to her and her sister's room. "I... will... explain... when... we... arrive... there..." The changeling tried to answer between gasps. "How many... steps... has... this... thing... got... a million?" The changeling finally gave up and leaned against the wall for air. "Eight hundred and forty-two." Celestia replied in a calm voice. "Don't you want me to carry you?" "I'm fine... I'm fine..." Red Bug replied, taking a deep breath of air and preparing for the rest of the climb. "Besides, we should be over halfway there." She continued to climb the stairs slowly, taking deep breaths as she went. Celestia looked at her and laughed softly. "We're carrying a little more than three hundred." Celestia added before she walked past an exhausted changeling who stopped as soon as she heard the number. --------------------------------------------------------------- "Feeling better?" Celestia asked as she leaned over a little bit to get Red Bug off of her back. "Yes, thanks, how is it that you girls go up every day? is it because of the stamina you have from the earth ponies' magic?" "We fly." Celestia replied with a spread of her wings. "That's why the balconies in our rooms are so wide." "Why didn't I figure that out before?" The changeling huffed and puffed at having said that. "Because it's the first time you have to face the Stairway of Death." Celestia said, laughing. "Where then?" "To your room, your surprise awaits you inside." The changeling said, moving forward, and a moment later Celestia opened the doors to her room and found Luna and Twilight waiting for her inside. "Luna?, Twilight?, what are you doing here?" Celestia asked, approaching her sister to hug her and later her favorite apprentice. But Twilight quickly broke the unexpected hug. "We wanted to greet you and be there for you when you heard the news, dear sister, but what took you so long?" Luna asked. "We climbed the Stairway of Death, but aren't you the surprise, Red Bug said?" "We're part of it, but not it." Twilight replied as she looked at Red Bug, who was walking up to Celestia with a scroll in her hoof. "This is the surprise I told you about." Red Bug presented the scroll to the white pony. "Since Celestia has..." Celestia read the scroll, opening her eyes more and more with each word. She finally looked at her younger sister in surprise. "This is real?" "It is as real as both of us." "Though there are still some places you're not allowed to go, like where we keep the magical items or the forbidden spells wing of the library, but otherwise you can walk all over the castle, including the gardens." Twilight added. "You won't have to go to our weekly therapy sessions either, but you will have to attend the support group on the first Thursday of every month here at the castle." Red Bug said. "Does that mean that I will be able to go back to my old room?" The Alicorn asked, as if she were a filly who had just been bought a bigger bed than her old one. "That's why we wanted to show you the surprise we have in your room." Luna replied. "But as long as you have this on your horn, you won't be able to leave the castle grounds." The Princess of the Night pointed to her sister's forehead. "Have that on my horn?" Celestia touched her horn with her hoof, and when she felt a ring, she remembered that she still had it on. "Oh right, I forgot the ring." Celestia said with a chuckle. "Well, I'll go get my things and be right back." This little action caught Twilight's attention. How could someone like Celestia, who was one of the most powerful magic users in history, forget that she had an inhibitor ring on her horn? But it was normal for Luna and Red Bug, because when Celestia read her books about origami, most of them explained how to make the figures with the hooves, and the Alicorn was fascinated to make a new figure out of paper, it gave her a lot of satisfaction to know that she was doing it with her hooves, she knew that with magic she could do it in fractions of seconds, But knowing that her effort and dedication gave her a feeling of happiness and accomplishment that magic could not imitate. Her new hobby and other actions she did without magic reminded her that it was not necessary to use magic for everything and filled her with an inner peace she had not felt for centuries, accustoming her over time to living without the use of magic. "Your things?" Luna asked somewhat puzzled. "My books, my comics and my paper ponies, and I have to break the news to my..." Celestia blushed and cleared her throat before continuing. "Break the news to your what?" Luna asked playfully, bumping her hips lightly with hers. "Tia, sneaky mare, you have a suitor I don't know about?" Luna asked with a chuckle. "Um... no?" Celestia said in an attempt at denial, but the blush on her face didn't do her much good. "He's just... a friend... he comes to lunch with me every day, he goes to Manehattan to get some books I wanted to read, he brings me cake now and then, I see him through my window when he's training in the yards, and we chat for a few moments when he's done his shift, that's all, he's just a friend, there's no romantic interest on my part, no, nope, none, nada, nothing, nervous laugh." In the end, Celestia forced a smile at her sister, hoping she would believe her. "Did she say 'nervous laugh'?" Twilight asked Red Bug in a very low voice. The changeling just nodded her head. "Okay." Luna said, smiling honestly at what her sister said. "Ok?" Celestia asked curiously. "Just... okay?, just like that." "Yes, just... okay, is there any reason why I should doubt your word, dear sister?" Luna didn't believe Celestia's words for a second, but she liked to play with her sister's innocence a bit. "Um... no?" "Well, then, so that we have more free time, I will fetch your things from the dungeon and bring them to your room, while you go and fetch your... friend... and inform him that you have more free time now." The way Luna said `friend` made Celestia blush all over. "Then when you return, we can catch up." That last part was a complete lie, Luna visited her sister at least two or three times a week to check on her and tell her what she did. "Ok, I'll have a chat with my friend and... I'll go back to my room so... we can talk." Celestia covered her face with her mane and quickly left the room. Luna just giggled. "She's not coming back." Luna said with a light laugh. "And if she does come back, she'll be accompanied, so I suggest we leave before that happens." The princess turned to Red Bug and Twilight. "Did you know about Celestia getting involved with that Unicorn?" The changeling asked. "Of course, my sister has very romantic dreams about this unicorn and they usually end very intense, but I'd rather withdraw from her fantasies before her love comes... more to the south, if you know what I mean." Luna replied winking, causing Red Bug to giggle a little and Twilight to turn completely red as she made up the mental image. "Well, I have to finish the paperwork for my sister's release and move her things from her cell to her room as promised. Will you stay for dinner Red Bug? The princess asked. "Of course." "I'll see you this evening then." Luna used her magic to open the balcony window and fly away. "I didn't know Celestia was dating anypony." Twilight said. "Haven't you talked to Celestia lately?" Red Bug knew Twilight hadn't spoken to Celestia in months. But she had to ask anyway to see how the young princess was doing. "I've had a lot of work to do lately." Red Bug knew the answer was a lie. Even though Twilight had the same title and power as Luna, she still had less work and much more free time, but the Night Princess managed to find a few hours a week to see her sister, Twilight just avoided her. "Are you feeling okay, Twilight?" "I'm just a little stressed out about work, that's all." Another lie from the Princess. "You can always have a word with me, my office door is always open." Red Bug knew the princess still had some conflicted feelings about what had happened with Celestia a while back, and even though Twilight often visited her friends in Ponyville and was able to talk to Luna on a daily basis, she still felt a little lonely and betrayed by what Celestia had done to her, but the alicorn was still very young and would eventually talk to Celestia so she could get those unpleasant feelings out of her system. "Thank you, but I would hate to be a bother." "You're not a bother, Twilight, your job is to be a princess and mine is to be a psychologist. Besides, my office door is still broken and I couldn't close it even if I wanted to." They both laughed a little. "Besides, it would be nice if you could talk to Celestia sometime. I think it would help you both a lot." She said with a smile. "I think I'll do it someday, thanks for the advice, but now I must return to the throne room, see you tonight Red Bug." Twilight approached the balcony and flew away as well. Redbud sighed with satisfaction that she had done a good job helping Celestia set her new life on a course for bright new horizons. She knew that Twilight would soon be talking to her former mentor to make amends. Celestia had changed a lot in a short amount of time, she was a different mare now, much more simple and loving of the little things, and she was obviously sorry for what she had done to Chrysalis, Clear Spark, her sister, Twilight, and all of Ponyville, and even though everyone had already forgiven her, she still didn't forgive herself for what she had done, but as Red Bug had told her, she had a new chance to start a new life. It would be years before the former princess would have a chance to wear the crown again, but Red Bug had a feeling that when that time came, Celestia wouldn't want to. Celestia was free of the pressures of the crown, free of social pressures, free of responsibilities, free to do what she wanted with whomever she wanted, she tasted the small pleasures of a simple meal, she felt the satisfaction that came from finishing something small for the simple pleasure of doing it, she slept late without having to worry about the sun coming up, she met a new love that she wanted to see blossom, she could have real conversations with real ponies, not the boring conversations full of fake laughter that she had been having with the nobles of Canterlot for centuries. Celestia had tasted the simple life, and she loved it. Red Bug looked around Celestia's room and noticed a few things. Many of the former princess's personal belongings had been put away after she was imprisoned, but almost everything had been brought back and was still in boxes, the bed had new sheets and a vase of colorful flowers, there was a jewelry box, but apart from a few gold earrings, there was no other jewelry. The changeling looked around. One thing became clear. "What am I going to do with the rest of the afternoon? --------------------------------------------------------------- Luna rose from her bed and stretched all her limbs, she liked her job of keeping nightmares out of the ponies' dreams but it was time to do her other job which was to make the sun rise and the moon set. She opened the windows of her balcony and as she stepped outside she breathed in the last of the night breeze, But as she was about to concentrate on moving the stars, she happened to look at her sister's balcony and saw Celestia sitting there. Out of curiosity, she went to see what her sister was doing on her balcony so early in the morning. "Good morning Sister, it's good to see you silhouetted again at this hour." Luna walked over to her sister and gave her a big hug. "Good morning Lulu." Celestia said as she hugged back. "And may I know what you're doing?" "Last night when I was in bed I realized something, for over a thousand years I stood in the same place, looking in the same direction, doing exactly the same thing, closing my eyes and concentrating on the spell to position the sun in the sky, only opening them when the sun was already above the horizon." "I know, I do something similar every night with the moon, and now I'm doing it with the sun, it took me a little while to get used to its massive volume, but I managed it, but what's so strange about it?" "I've been doing this every day, every week, every month, every year, for over a thousand years, and I've never had the chance to see a sunrise, and for the first time in a long time, I have the chance to see one." Celestia said with anticipation as she looked out over the horizon. Luna just smiled and concentrated on making the moon disappear, and when everything was in darkness, she slowly made the sun appear over the horizon. Celestia looked like a filly opening her presents at the hearth`s warming. She admired the beauty of the scene. She could see the first rays of sunlight breaking through the curtain of night on the horizon, and the valley, which had been in total darkness, beginning to glow with brilliant colors; she could see the trees emerging from the darkness; she could hear the first songs of the birds, She could see the farms near Canterlot and small equine figures working in their fields, apparently stopping to admire the same beauty she was watching. She could see Ponyville in the distance, and she could see and feel the magic of that moment when the world was filled with new life. "This is... amazing." Celestia said, not wanting to let go of what she saw. "I know, but I prefer the serenity of the stars." "Thank you so much for coming back to my side, Luna, I have missed you so much." Celestia said, resting her head on her sister's. "I have missed you too, my dear sister." They both stared at the landscape for a long moment. Then Luna heard a strange sound coming from her sister's room. "What is that?" Luna asked worriedly and quickly ran into Celestia's room. "LUNA WAIT!" The white alicorn shouted, but her words fell on deaf ears. "WHO DARES DISRESPECT THE SANCTITY OF MY SISTER'S CHAMBER?" Luna shouted in her royal Canterlot voice as she floated through the air, her horn shining brightly. From Celestia's bed, a terrified tan stallion with a cutie mark of a cloud of sunbeams got up screaming and tried to get away, but he couldn't get far because one of his hind legs was tied to the bed. He fell face first to the ground and was knocked unconscious. "Luna, stop." Celestia said, entering full speed. "Stop what?, a stranger invading the sanctity of your room?" "He's not a stranger, he's my coltfriend." Celestia walked over to the unicorn, untied his hoof, and gently tried to wake him up. Luna looked at the unicorn carefully. She remembered that his face was the one she always saw in Celestia's dreams. "I recognize the stallion's face and I know he is your suitor. But why did he spend the night in your room and why was he tied to your-" It didn't take Luna long to connect the dots. "Ohhhh... I'm sorry, but you should have told me sooner." "And what do you want me to tell you?, 'I'm going to my room with my coltfriend to have sex'?" Celestia replied angrily. "Those are private matters." "I know, I'm sorry." Luna was embarrassed by what had happened. "He won't wake up, can you use a spell?" "Yeah, give me a second." Luna reached over and gently touched the unicorn's forehead with her horn. A small magical sparkle came from Luna's horn towards the unicorn. "That'll do." "mmMMmmm... Celly?" The stallion asked as he opened his eyes to see Celestia standing in front of him. "I'm glad you woke up, are you feeling all right?" The Alicorn asked as she helped her lover to get back on his four legs. "I'm okay, thanks, what happened? I had a nightmare about a terrible black witch with a creepy voice trying to evaporate me and..." Luna cleared her throat to interrupt the unicorn and not embarrass herself any more. "I am deeply sorry for what happened, I am Luna, Princess of Equestria, Regent of the Night and Guardian of the World of Dreams, sister of Celestia, the mare you are courting and apparently... you have succeeded, may I know your name?". Luna said very formally, apparently that was the old way to introduce yourself when you met a pony who was courting someone from your family, and the unicorn, not understanding why the princess spoke that way, tried to imitate her in the best possible way, partly out of respect, partly so as not to offend her and have her turn him to dust. "Emmm... sure." The stallion said. "My name is Moonstone Spirit. I'm a castle guard and one of those assigned to guard the entrance to the dungeon." "A pleasure to meet you Moonstone, I must say she is a beautiful mare to accompany you, but the ancient laws dictate that if you intend to marry my sister's hoof, you must have a mortal combat with a direct relative, and since you have consummated your relationship, I must assume the seriousness of your relationship and you must duel against me, so I will expect you in the gardens in thirty minutes." Luna concentrated for a second and made a beautiful sword with a long, thin blade appear. It had runes inscribed on its blade that glowed slightly. "I'll have my old rapier, so be wise in your choice of weapon." The princess of the night's gaze was cold, merciless, and full of determination. The unicorn's blood ran cold as he felt the magical power emanating from the weapon. "YOUR OLD RAPIER?" Celestia shouted. "LUNA, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?" Luna laughed, seeing her older sister's face. "It's a joke, Tia, that law was disproved centuries ago, I just needed an excuse to show you that I found my old rapier and this was the perfect time." Luna brought the weapon close to her face and took a deep breath of it. "Mmmmm... after so many centuries I can still smell blood, it makes my skin tingle when I remember our fights." With a flash of her horn, she made the weapon disappear and walked towards the door with a smirk on her face. "I'm going to the dining room for breakfast. A night's work eliminating nightmares and moving the celestials in the sky has given me an appetite." The princess used her magic to open the doors and disappeared down the corridor. "You're OK?" Celestia asked the unicorn next to her, who seemed to be on automatic pilot. The stallion's body remembered that one of its biological needs was to breathe, and it took a deep breath of air. "Blood?" Was all he could say as he tried to regain his composure. "Now you have an idea why we were always princesses and never queens." Celestia sat back on her haunches. "But sometimes I resent my sister for having such terrible taste in joking at the worst possible time." The unicorn sat down next to Celestia and pressed his body close to hers. "Do you think I would be able to beat her in a fight?" "Not in a million years, but you don't need to to win my love." Celestia replied, turning her head to give the stallion a kiss. "Then I have nothing to worry." The unicorn replied returning the kiss. "And Moonstone." said Luna, sticking her head through the door and breaking up her older sister's romantic moment. "Welcome to the family." She added with a wink to the stallion before disappearing again. "LUNA!" Celestia shouted, blushing. "When will you learn to knock" The sound of Luna's laughter could be heard from down the corridor, slowly fading away. --------------------------------------------------------------- Just like Red Bug, Luna knew that her sister had changed a lot in her way of being, she saw her become a much happier mare, with more energy and full of love to give and receive. For a long time, she thought about giving some power to Celestia when she was released, but seeing the happiness in her older sister's face, she knew that she was happier that way, If the former princess wished to return in the future to participate in the matters of the state, she would be willing to support her and help her find a rewarding job. But in the meantime, she was happy to see her sister enjoying life as a normal mare, a mare named Celestia.