A peculiar coldness had begun to shroud a particular wing of the castle. It drew noticeably colder the closer you got to a certain room… Princess Luna’s private chambers. Nopony saw her return, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t there. A crashing sound had been heard as a patrol passed her bedroom doors. Worried, a Lunar Stallion decided to check on the alicorn he served. He nodded to his partner, and proceeded into the room.
“Princess Luna? Is everything alright in here?” The guard pony asked as he cautiously opened the door. “We heard a clamor and decided to…“ His words stopped as his eyes took in the scene in front of him. Everything was frozen. There was a thin layer of ice covering every surface; he had never seen anything as beautiful as the crystals that glistened and reflected back upon themselves. Princess Luna was lying on her bed, facing towards the door, but not noticing the ponies standing there at first. There were a few frozen tear-tracks on her muzzle.
Her eyes flicked from the frozen bedspread to the Lunar Stallions. “Please leave us alone, guards.” Luna whispered to the aforementioned ponies, blinking a new tear from her eyes. The guards quickly glanced to each other.
“Are you sure you—” He didn’t get a chance to finish as the alicorn jumped off her bed and landed a few feet from the ponies, her eyes full of mixed emotions.
The princess of the night took a slow stop forward. "I... said.. to..." she began before suddenly unfurling her wings. "Leave!"
Her commanding voice lightly tossed the two guards outside the door, before slamming it shut and erecting an icy barrier. The dumbstruck ponies quickly gathered themselves and galloped away, leaving the princess to stew in her sorrow.
“Twilight, please do not be afraid.” Celestia cooed. The princess’s student was quite taken back by what had been revealed to her. She’d stood up and taken a step away from the bed in shock. The princess still lay on her bed.
“You… you, what?” The unicorn squeaked out from her position on the floor. did she really just say what I thought she said? I must be hallucinating, how else would I have been in bed with Celesti—
“Twilight, I killed a pony. I’ve taken an innocent soul.” Celestia answered with a twinge of regret on her tongue. “It is a difficult situation to explain.” The alicorn began to take on a more shameful and sad tone. “Won’t you give your old mentor a chance to explain herself, please?” Twilight was still processing what she’s heard. Celestia has killed somepony, Celestia! Of all ponies! Like most sane ponies, she was a bit nervous sharing the room with somepony who openly stated they had taken another life.
“But, you’re the Princess Celestia! The nicest pony I’ve ever known! You’d never do something as awful as that... right?” Twilight hesitantly asked.
“I’m... afraid that’s where you’re wrong.” Celestia sighed. “It was a desperate choice made during a desperate, difficult time.”
Well... Twilight stood there while she silently debated her next course of action. If I don’t listen to her now, this will eat away at me for the rest of my life...
Twilight wordlessly, albeit slowly stepped back up onto the bed. She lay down by the alicorn, slightly further away than she had been before. The purple mare looked up to Celestia before nodding. “Okay, I’ll listen.” Her mentor tentatively nuzzled her friend, taking care to not spook the poor thing anymore.
“What I am going to tell you dates back to an age before Luna and I ruled, before we even came to this land. History teaches ponies many things about the events that founded Equestria and the origins of the princesses as the truth, most of which are fabrications. Many of the things I will say must be kept secret. Do you understand?”
Twilight stared into Celestia eyes for many moments before a slow nod. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know now, but something inside her told her she needed to hear this. Celestia stared ahead and took a long breath before momentarily closing her eyes. She was delving deep into her memory, where she had not been in a very, very long time.
“Luna and I were not born in the land known as Equestria. We came from another continent, the name of which I no longer remember. Its beauty rivaled that of this land, and its size was nearly twice of it as well. We were born and raised there under our mother and father, the king and queen of that nation. Mother controlled the sun, much as I do now, and father controlled the moon.”
“I was barely 100 when Luna was born, just a filly about your size at the time,” She paused to look at Twilight before continuing. “She was the most important pony in the world to me. I spent almost all my time raising and playing with her while mother and father tended to the nation. Do not think they neglected us though, I just knew they would be busy and gladly offered to watch her. They were the best parents anypony could ask for, always there if we needed them. They would do anything to help their children.”
Celestia smiled sadly, lost in the memories. Twilight inched closer to the depressed alicorn, laying her hoof on her shoulder for support. I’ll have to thank Twilight for this one day.
“Many years passed that way, I raised Luna while mom and dad took care of everything. Luna and I would do everything we could together, often causing problems for the guards who had to watch us in that colossal castle. It was shortly after my 305th birthday that mother and father seemed to change; they seemed stressed and more worried than their usual selves. We brushed it off as a momentary disruption of the norm.”
“It didn’t take much longer for us to get our cutie marks, and our talents revealed to us. Our parents approached us one day and told us what we were to become. Mother would train me to handle the sun, and father would teach Luna the ways of the moon. I had an uneasy feeling that we were being rushed, that something wasn’t right. By that time we were nearly the size we are now, with Luna of course being slightly shorter. We both earned our cutie marks on the same day.”
“It had taken a relatively short time of 3 years to be taught, and be able to use our abilities to move the cosmic bodies. Our parents made us move them as often as we were able, to ensure we could handle the stresses on our bodies and minds that go with the task. Not long after Luna and I were comfortable and confident we could move the sun and moon without assistance, mother and father came to us one day in the garden. They told us there was a plague, brought about by a demonic enemy whose origin was never discovered. It killed unicorns, pegasi and Earth ponies all alike, and was 100% fatal once contracted.”
Twilight was now leaning into the princess, her hoof holding that of the alicorn as she told her story. She was in awe, this was something nopony else but her and the princesses would ever know.
“Luna and I were told of ancient relics in another land that would have a chance of defeating this enemy before it was too late. You know them as the Elements of Harmony, a legend at the time. Mother and father had their forces do all they could to contain the infection in the far-reaches of the nation. It was delayed many times, but always found a new way to infect more hosts. With it only taking 72 hours to kill a pony, and the rate it was being transmitted across the country, it wouldn’t take more than a year or two for it to reach, and destroy the city we called home.”
Celestia sniffled and bowed her head. This is going to be harder than I thought…
“We… we were given the task of travelling to this far-off land and retrieving these relics by our parents. We fought to stay, but once we were shown what happened to the lands claimed by this virus, how it killed every living thing and left only wasteland behind… we quickly got ready to leave. We had been taught every survival technique known and taken extra flying time to build our wing muscles. On the eve of our departure, shortly after Luna raised her moon, our parents approached us and said they had ‘one final gift’ for us. They transferred their gifts of agelessness to us, in case we didn’t make it back in time.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked. “I thought all alicorns were immortal? At least that’s what I’ve read…”
“That is a, ‘rumor’, Luna and I spread early into our roles here. Subjects respect you much more and are happier when they believe their princesses will never die.” Celestia answered, and wrapped her wing over Twilight once more.
“Alicorns are actually born mortal and a long life expectancy that would have passed long ago were it not for my parents gifts. How they obtained the power of agelessness they never said. When they gave up their gifts to us, the powers gave us eternal life, so long as we were never too physically harmed.”
“They told us keep them and use them for the eventual day we would lead our own country. Once my sister and I had received our parent’s blessing, we set off for the continent we are on now. It took more than a month of the longest and most difficult overland travelling I can remember, and 3 days of flying over the ocean to reach this land. It was beautiful where we had come, but that illusion was quickly dispelled not long after setting forth for the site of the so-called Elements of Harmony.”
“On our way to the mythical temple where the relics were, we passed many ruined towns, long-dead and forgotten by the old civilizations that once lived there. We were only a few miles from the site of the Elements when we finally met another pony, that is to say, group of ponies. Luna and I immediately knew something was wrong with them, they showed tell-tale signs of magical manipulation the likes of which we had never seen. After we pried them with questions about the land… they quickly turned hostile and we, we were both forced to defend ourselves against them.”
Celestia looked down to her bedspread and let a lone tear fall. “That was the first time I had ever taken a life, Twilight… the first time I had ever used my magic to harm somepony. It was so horrible.”
I can still hear them screaming, as my solar powers cooked them alive…
“Princess, I am so sorry.” Twilight reached her forelegs around her mentor’s neck before slowly going back to her side. “Was that when, you know?”
“No, remember what I said? It is the punishment for taking the life of an innocent. These mobs of ponies were inherently violent, and we later learned they had destroyed many villages for the pure sake of chaos.”
“Back to the story. After Luna and I, disposed of them, we quickly left the scene in case there would be reinforcements. We had accidentally gone in the wrong direction and ended up somewhat lost in the thick forest now known as the Everfree. We stumbled onto a small settlement of no more than one-hundred ponies in the mountains. We had previously avoided any signs of civilization for fear of being attacked again, but we had no choice as our food was quickly running out and nothing edible could be found to sustain our alicorn-sized diets.”
“We entered at night under one of Luna’s moonless skies and tried to loot some food stores without being noticed… we failed. However, upon being noticed, we were not attacked as we realized these ponies were not being afflicted by the same forces as the other anarchists’ ponies we had previously encountered along the way. They offered us food and shelter, which we were gracious and quick to accept, though we couldn’t stay long. The few elder ponies in the town came to us after I was witnessed bringing the sun out. They told of a great evil in the land that only, ‘the holy ones’ could vanquish.”
“Luna and I questioned them about the state of this land and the strange inhabitants we had run into before. They told us there was a great evil that had shown up many years ago and had taken control of the land… that evil was known as Discord.”
“Nopony was old enough to know exactly when or where he had come from, only what had been done by him. He quickly took over the continent as he drenched the lands into chaos and anarchy. His residence was a massive structure that was not far from the temple that held the Elements of Harmony. The elders said many brave and foolhardy ponies had ventured there in an attempt to either kill him or retrieve the Elements, none of which were heard from again.”
Twilight continued to listen to the princess’s telling of the tale. All of this was amazing and terrible to learn at the same time. Amazing to know more about the Elements, the princesses and the land’s history. Terrible, because the thought of how horrible the condition of it had once been under Discord’s rule.
I wonder what would’ve happened if he took over again... what he would have done to us?
“After we were packed and left the following day, we were easily able to retrace our steps and find where the ruins to the temple began. Luna and I agreed on a plan, we were to retrieve the Elements, use them to defeat Discord and then get back to our home as quickly as possible in hopes there would still be something worth saving. After traversing the forested ruins, we came upon the temple. It had many traps, physical and magical, old and new placed around and inside of it. We were able to get around them… most of them anyways. Luna was hit by one and poisoned beyond what my magic could heal at the time.”
Celestia let another tear fall onto her bed. Twilight reached up to give another comforting hug. “What happened next?” she beckoned the princess to continue.
“I did the only thing I could; I took her back to the settlement and tried to make her comfortable before she lapsed into unconsciousness. The lone doctor there promised to do all he could for her. He said any advanced medicines were confiscated by Discord’s indoctrinated armies early into his reign, and stored in his fortress. I knew then what I had to do. I made sure Luna was as okay as possible before quickly setting off on my own to invade Discord’s castle.”
“It did not take long to find, his mindless armies were plentiful the closer I got. Sneaking by them was easier than fighting. My magic was strong, but no match for the thousands of troops there. I eventually made it inside and found the rooms with what I was seeking. I grabbed as many antidotes as I could and left the fortress. I thought I was in the clear, but was discovered just as I escaped. I quickly dealt with those that had found me and made haste to leave.”
“I managed to make it to the edge of the forest that bordered the ancient castle before I was met with a foe beyond my skill levels, Discord himself. He commended me on my bravery and complimented my prowess. I made my best efforts to fly and run away, but he seized me in his magical grip each time without difficulty. He had known what I came for and was going to let me go… but only after I did something for him. He, he promised to let me go if I executed one of the village prisoners he was holding.”
Twilight brought a hoof to her mouth and gasped. “Discord did that? He forced ponies to kill innocent prisoners while his armies pillaged and destroyed!?” Celestia slowly nodded before addressing the questions.
“Yes, he was not as cocky as he was upon his last return. His power had not fully actualized, and he was much worse in the ancient times. He did terrible, unspeakable, violent acts upon those that disobeyed him.”
“When Discord made his offer to allow me to leave and save my sister’s life in exchange for the prisoner, I instantly refused and told him he’d have to force me to do it… words that would have best been kept silent. He snapped his fingers and summoned a female unicorn prisoner from his castle, bound and gagged. I was in one hand’s magical grasp; the pony was in his other. I tried to resist but he was just too strong, I couldn’t escape and was powerless to fight back. What happened next was… was the worst thing I had ever been a part of.”
Discord dropped us both to the ground and gave me an ultimatum, he told me only one of use would leave alive. I was reluctant for him to elaborate...”
Many centuries ago.....
”What are you talking about, Discord? Just let us go!” Celestia sneered at the god of chaos, whilst leveling her horn as she built up an offensive spell.
“Ah ah ah, no magic.” Discord chided before snapping his fingers again, draining what magic the alicorn had into a lightning bolt in his other hand before dispelling it harmlessly into the atmosphere. Celestia’s strong appearance faltered as she felt completely helpless against this entity. “Your magic would be unfair against such a comparatively weak companion.”
“What... what are you saying?” Celestia asked as she felt her heart drop. She had an uneasy feeling about what would happen next.
“Why, it’s simple...” Discord paused to turn and whisk away the bindings on the unicorn, leaving her shivering in fear. “You two both wish to return to loved ones, I’m afraid that just can’t happen.” He paused to look back and forth to his prisoners.
“You can’t do this to me!” The alicorn shot at her chaotic captor.
“And why is that?” Discord dis-interestingly asked as he pretended to inspect his nails.
“You don’t know who I am, do you? I am Princess Celestia, you cannot do this to me!” Celestia stamped her hoof. “I demand you let me go at once!” Discord seemed unamused and pretended to yawn in boredom.
“Ohhh, a princess! And what will her majesty do to me? Lock me in a dungeon?” He asked in a mocking voice.
“I’ll—” Celestia was cut off as she was brought face to face with Discord in his magical grip. He slowly closed his fist, crushing the helpless alicorn in an invisible vice.
“You’ll do what?” His serious, deep voice slowly asked before dropping her back where she was before. She stood and assumed a charging stance for a few moments before backing down, breathless. “That’s what I thought.” The white alicorn took a minute to catch her breath before addressing Discord again. The unicorn mare continued to watch in silence.
“You... you can’t just do this to me, I’m—” Was all she managed to ask before being silenced.
“You alicorns are all the same, assuming you are the natural leaders of this world,” Discord rolled his eyes in disgust. “Ponies like you are nothing more than a fluke, a genetic race of freaks that believethey should decide how the world is run.” Discord frowned before turning a glance at the unicorn prisoner. An insidious idea had formed in his mind, which was mirrored by a grin of pure malevolence unseen by the alicorn.
“You’re wrong!” Celestia spat at her accuser.
“You know, maybe I am wrong.” Discord turned to the princess, his face contorted in an evil smirk. “If you believe you should make all the choices in your subject’s lives, then maybe it’s time to prove it.”
“Will you please cease with your cryptic wording and just release us? I don’t have the time to sit here and play your games!” Celestia grumbled, her fury clearly evident.
“Very well then...” Discord snapped his fingers, bringing both of the ponies side by side in front of him. He snapped them again and erected a magical barrier around the clearing, several hundred feet across and meeting in a point above the trio. “Like I said, only one of you may leave. And you, my young little princess, shall have the honor of choosing who.” Celestia and the unicorn looked to each other. She saw knowing in her eyes, mixed with spine-tingling dread. “It’s simple you see, you choose who lives and who dies. Who will it be? This unicorn who attempted to steal from me to save her starving family? Or you, trying to steal from my medicine cache. So who will it be, your ‘majesty’?” Discord began to let loose a thunderous laugh as the mocking words left his mouth. The unicorn decided to speak up now.
“I was doing that to help somepony I love you bastard!” Her hoarse voice managed to exclaim.
“So was she." Discord looked to Celestia. "I think it only fair the princess decides who returns to their loved ones. After all, if she believes herself of royal blood, then she should be the one to choose.” He paused to let his words sink in. Celestia and the unicorn looked back to each other in disbelief. Her face was pleading in fear. “I’m going to leave you two to... mull things over. This barrier will only go away once one of you lies dead. Your magic will be returned to you as well.” Discord informed before giving a snap of his fingers. A hammock made of clouds appeared next to him before he gave a long stretch and climbed into it. “Please girls, do take your time. Unlike you, I am in no rush.” Neither of the ponies sitting there had the luxury of time to decide what happened next.
Celestia stood and stepped back several paces before looking the other pony in the eyes, her own filling with remorse. She knew what she had to do. Her sister’s life, and the lives of everypony in her home depended on this unfortunate decision. The other pony slowly stood on her wobbly hooves before speaking once again.
“Please... I have a family. They’ll need me...” She pleaded, almost bowing to her knees before the alicorn. Her eyes watered with tears.
I have a family too... Celestia closed her eyes before bowing her head... and charged.
“I-I’ll never forget her scream...” The sun goddess wept, her cracked dam of emotion finally giving way to the tears she so desperately fought back at the memory. Tears cascaded down her muzzle and landed on her bedspread
“T-there was nothing I could do, I had to do it! For my kingdom, for my sister! That mare died by my hooves, right in front of me. I apologized through my tears, but she told me it was ok... She actually thanked me in the end, thanked me for ending the tortures Discord had forced her to relive each and every day to force the location of the village out of her.. I left her body there as I fled and returned to the village, with her blood still on my horn and face.”
“Princess… I, I don’t know what to say…” Twilight could barely comprehend what she had heard. Celestia’s tears had begun to increase in frequency as she told the event. For a while they both just lied there, leaning into each other as the words replayed in their minds. It was slowly getting dark outside now, the time passing quickly as she told what happened. Celestia eventually mustered the courage to continue.
“When… when I made it back I gave the antidotes I retrieved to the doctor. He began to work on Luna right away. I was glad to be there; she was drawing nearer to death every hour without that medicine. It was a few days before she was awake. In that time I had finally washed my horn and face. Nopony asked me what happened or commented on it, they all just looked at me with sad, knowing eyes. I never discovered which ponies were the family of that mare I... that mare I killed.”
“I was in a personal hut they were gracious enough to give me for a few days. I just sat and wept, the look on that dying pony’s face haunted my every waking second. It did not help when I remembered why we were here in the first place, to stop the billions of innocent ponies just like him back home. I’d never hugged anypony as hard as I did when Luna came walking into our temporary home. The doctor said she was well enough to leave, but it would be another day or two before she could travel. That night when I slept, I was visited by something… something very powerful.”
“I ‘woke up’ in my dreams in a dark place. It was not long before I realized I was not alone. In front of me was something barely recognizable as a pony. Its entire body was light, with no other features besides being twice my size and clearly an alicorn. It was blinding to look at; I had to cover my face from its radiance. It eventually identified itself as “The Creator,” and told me I had to pay the price for what I had done. I had asked what it meant and a short ways away it summoned the memory of the pony I had killed. It was like watching it from my own eyes again.”
“The Creator told me when it bestowed the gifts of agelessness to my grandparents, whom I never met, early in their lives that it would be taken away and they would be cursed if they ever took an innocent soul… that same rule applied to me as well. I tried to reason with it, telling it that what transpired wasn’t my fault, that I was forced to do so! It told me the rules were clear, ‘to spill innocent blood, no matter the circumstances is to revoke ‘The Gift’.”
Small flames lined the edge of Celestia’s mane as she told her tale. Twilight only hugged her to try and comfort her poor princess. She was almost burned trying to do so.
“I’m sorry Twilight, I was just so angry at the time... I had no choice!” The white alicorn cried.
“I begged it to reconsider and asked if there was anything I could do to earn it back… but nothing I said pleased this entity. I felt energy ripped from me as I stood, scared in the darkness. The Creator told me it had transferred my agelessness to my sister, Luna. So she may continue the tradition of passing it onto the next two alicorn children… I silently thanked it for this, at least the traditions would continue.”
“As further punishment, it told me I would be granted temporary immortality until a set date far into the future. When I asked why, it told me it was a way of making me feel the guilt I ‘deserved’. I was to live more than a thousand years of suffering before I would die from its spell. Even if I was physically harmed to the point of death, I would continue on living… to continue living the regret. I later woke back up in the hut I shared with Luna. It took a few days to sink in as my sister continued to recover.”
“We decided to go with our previous plan, though with much more caution this time around. After another day to pack supplies, and receive the blessing of their elders, we set back for the temple, for the last time. Most the traps were disarmed from our first attempt and we found that we almost made it the first time. Luna and I retrieved the elements with relative ease and donned them. We were ready to take Discord.”
“We trekked the short distance to his massive fortress and snuck inside, following my previous route. After what felt like hours of silent searching, we found him in his makeshift throne room. He was incredibly arrogant this time we met, which was his ultimate downfall. He laughed at the thought of two young princesses overthrowing his reign. Luna and I used the power of the Elements to turn him to stone, something he did not witness through his pretentious laughter. The energy of the continent began to shift as Discord’s powers retreated. His indoctrinated slaves and armies reverted back to themselves with no memory of anything they had done. They were the lucky ones.”
“The reverted ponies worshiped us as their goddesses. We told them of our need to leave, and to guard Discord’s statue with their lives if we did not return. We topped-off our supplies at the familiar village and quickly set off for home. It had been nearly a year since we had seen it. Luna and I would return home as heroes to our nation… unknown to them the horrors that dwelled in our minds. The trip back was only half the length of our first departure. We set foot back in our homeland in just two weeks.”
The princess became silent once more, lost in the memories only she could see, wishing she couldn’t. Twilight gently nudged her in the shoulder with her own.
“Celestia? What happened when you got home? Did you make it back in time?”
“We… we weren’t quick enough. Luna and I… when we got back to our island home it was barely recognizable. Everywhere was an arid wasteland, devoid of any life whatsoever. Be it animal or plant life, nothing had survived the plague. Even the sun itself seemed weaker in this decrepit land. We didn’t see a single creature, or even grasses or weeds as we flew to the citadel we grew up in. The city we called home was in shambles. It was just barely a year since we left the bustling, lively city. Now it was ruins and looked thousands of years older than it should be. The demon that had swept over the land had destroyed everything. There was nothing left for its virus to infect, so we were safe.”
“We found our way to our castle; it was barely standing as we carefully made our way inside. Our hopes that our mother and father survived were still there, but faint. It took us awhile but we eventually made it to their bedroom. We found two piles of dust on their bed… their crowns lay within them. Before departing, we found a message engraved into the walls of their room, it was barely readable.”
Celestia paused before continuing, wiping a tear from her eyes with her shoe-less hoof.
“They… they told us they loved us very much, that we made them the most proud parents in the universe. They said the infection accelerated too quickly and they were sorry they wouldn’t make it to see us return. Our parents’ engravings told us to start a new empire in the land known as Equestria, to continue the lineage and unite ponies in peace once more. After saying our final goodbyes, we left our island home and have never returned. The knowledge of that continent is erased in the incredibly rare times it surfaces. The risk of the demon’s taint traveling overseas is too great.”
“Our return to this land was met with a grand reception: The ponies continued to hail us and had transformed the temple that housed the Elements, into what is now known as The Temple of the Two Sisters, as tribute and thanks for what we did. We took the offered positions of rulers of Equestria. We had a lot of work to take care of; there hadn’t been any form of civilization in decades. We had to build everything from scratch, but the ponies freed from Discord’s power were eager to assist.”
“In seemingly no time at all we had the groundwork for new towns laid out and a new government and economic system. However, all the work in creating an empire did little to distract me from my past. The guilt continued to fester and rot inside of me.”
“Princess?” Twilight quietly asked. “Did Princess Luna know what happened?” Celestia looked up to the ceiling before turning back to her with her eyes closed and her voice strained.
“She does, now.”
“It was a few years before any semblance of normalcy in Equestria. Our temple in the Everfree was indeed grand, but no place fit to rule from. Canterlot’s foundation and castle was built by just about every pony that could help. Luna and I helped too, of course, our magical skills were still increasing and we were amazed at what we could do.”
“After this castle was built, we quickly settled into our roles and tended to our nation. It was almost a funny thing to say at first, our nation. One day it finally clicked for us, we did it. We did everything our parents wanted us to do. We wondered if they knew how far things would go, but the duties of this country tend to keep one, busy. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Luna was slowly growing envious of the joy our subjects expressed with my daylight, and how she thought they shunned her nights. I was focusing on the nation and still trying to cope with my guilt and what happened with ‘The Creator.’ I was too wrapped up to notice my own sister’s feelings.”
“It took 10 years of pent-up jealousy before the entity known as Nightmare Moon took hold of my sister. It was with unimaginable regret I used the very elements that saved us, to exile her. Believe me when I say I did everything to appeal to her, but she was too far gone to be reasoned with.”
“You… you did the right thing.” Twilight comforted, lightly nuzzling the alicorn.
Twice today I’ve heard somepony say that…
“I know, Twilight, but it’s not an easy thing to justify, no matter how you look at it.” Celestia sighed before continuing.
“I was nearly consumed by regrets and sorrow, having the knowledge of killing an innocent pony and banishing my sister, my friend who had always been there for me. It would have driven me to suicide, if I weren’t incapable of dying that is. As I used the elements to exile Luna, I set the time of her return to a specific date, one thousand years into the future.”
“So, I was right after all!” Twilight beamed.
“Yes you were, my astute student.” Celestia smiled for the first time in a while, looking down at the purple mare cuddled up next to her.
“But why did you set a timer on her banishment?”
“I knew at the time that I would need time to find a way to bring the real Luna back, and time enough to train her to run the kingdom without me. The first part has been completed, though that was the easy part of my plan. Shortly after her banishment, I wrote a letter to myself and safely stored it in what is not the labyrinth. I put a memory spell on it so I would only remember an exiled sibling and not the innocent pony that died at my horn. The spell was calibrated to activate a few years after Luna’s return, giving her enough time to settle in and get her comfortable.”
“Y-you, you planned all this from the start? Over a thousand years of planning?” Twilight was completely in awe, the success of something on that scale was hard for her to wrap her mind around. Celestia nodded to the bewildered unicorn.
“Yes, now that she is settled back into her role as the princess of the night, and knows of my… ‘incident’ and what it means, I must begin training her to run the nation… without me.”
Twilight quickly spoke, her voice full of confidence “I bet it won’t be that hard, you managed to run it for a thousand years on your own. Plus, with the new committees, it’ll be a snap for her to—” Celestia raised a hoof to politely interrupt.
“That is not what worries me, Twilight. She can handle political problems easier than I, but her magic is not as adept as mine. Do you remember what the story said about Luna’s banishment? That I had to take duties of the sun and the moon? If Luna cannot learn to tame the fire of the sun, the world will freeze to death, and all life as we know it will cease.”
Twilight stared completely dumbfounded. How had she not realized what was really going on? She was on the verge of tears just at the thought of how it could all go wrong.
“How… how long will it take to train her? How much longer do you have in your life?” In truth, she was afraid to ask these questions, but they would nip at her until she had an answer… no matter how good or bad it was.
“I have ninety years of life left before I die. I wanted to have time to live the life of a regular pony before I pass away. Well, the time an average pony has to experience life.” She looked down to Twilight and smiled weakly before continuing. “I don’t know if this helps, but you will likely pass before me, so you’ll never be without me to guide you.”
Twilight hugged Celestia with all her might. This was a lot to process, and she was right; she was a bit relieved to know she’d never have to live without Celestia. She didn’t care if it sounded selfish on the princess’s part, for now she was happy enough.
“I’ll miss you, Celestia. Even if I die before you… I’ll miss you.” Twilight loosened her grip on the princess’s neck and pulled back a bit.
“I’ll miss you too, Twilight. You are the most amazing unicorn I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.” Celestia complimented as she turned to look down at the purple mare, their faces barely a foot apart.
For a while they just looked into each others eyes, letting everything sink in. The air around them seemed to grow thick and tense as it slowly dawned on them how close they really were. The princess unfurled her wing to cover the unicorn and smiled. They both knew what was about to happen, their feelings unable to be hidden any longer. Twilight’s eyes flashed to Celestia’s muzzle almost too fast to notice. Celestia slowly lowered her head, while her companion slowly raised hers. The gap between them was quickly closing and first contact only a scant couple seconds away.
“Princess Celestia!” The door burst open as a Lunar Stallion accompanied by a Solar Guard came inside. The princess and Twilight both jumped at the interruption. Twilight thought she saw a very faint flame dance on Celestia’s horn before flickering away; it might have been her imagination though.
“Yes, what is it?” Celestia asked through a strained voice.
You were so, so close this time Celestia...
“It’s Princess Luna! There’s something wrong with her. She’s… freezing her part of the castle.” The Lunar Stallion stuttered, completely unprepared for the situation. “Is she… she’s not going to turn into Nightmare Mo—“
“No, she will be fine once I talk to her.” Celestia’s voice was back to her authoritative princess mode. She stood up from the bed and made her way outside her chambers.
“Twilight, why don’t you stay here? I’d hate if anything were to happen to you. And I think you could use some time alone too, no?” She asked as she turned back to the unicorn still occupying her golden bed. A nod was all the reply she got, and needed.
“Guards, please have Luna’s wing of the castle cleared.” The guard ponies exchanged nervous glances as Celestia’s bedroom door shut behind her. “It is only a formality; I can handle whatever it is she’s doing. Now please, go.” And with that, they left to their appointed task, leaving a lone princess in the corridor.
Celestia’s walk to Luna’s wing of the castle was full of many, racing thoughts..
Was it right to tell Twilight everything so soon?
What will I do if Luna can’t learn the sun’s power?
What will I do with my remaining life?
Would I have really kissed Twi—
Before she knew it she was at Luna’s bedroom door. She knew right away what was happening with the icy growth that was starting to spill out into the corridor. It happened when her emotions were too much to handle and she couldn’t find a release.
She hasn’t done this since mother and father died… Celestia thought as she studied the icicles that jutted out of the door at every angle. With a quick flick of magic, she vanished and re-materialized inside her sister’s frozen bedroom. She had to admit, her sister’s work had been quite beautiful when not created out of despair. The crystals in the ice reflected her every angle across the entire room in little pieces as they reflected off of each other. The princess of the night was on her bed, staring out the window she had somehow managed to not freeze or shatter.
“Luna? It’s me…” Celestia whispered in the most caring tone she could manage. She took a few slow steps toward her sister’s bed, shattering the beautiful, minute ice-crystals that covered the floor. “Are you alright, dear sister?”
“You know We are not…” Luna blinked, not taking her gaze from the window. Her older sister glanced outside, noting it was quite dark by now.
“If you’d like…” Celestia started, still using her caring voice. “I could take care of the moon for you, just for tonight?”
Luna’s response was her eyes glancing over to her sister for a moment before muttering a flat “No.”
“Lulu, please. Let us talk about this.” Celestia took another step towards the bed. Luna slowly huffed and lazily got to her hooves and stopping in front of her older sibling. Her heavy eyes scanned her sister for a few silent moments before leaping forward and embracing Celestia in a crushing embrace.
“It’s not fair Tia! It’s just not fair! I just barely got back!” Luna bawled into her sister’s coat. Celestia rubbed her sisters back in a comforting motion and wrapped her wings around her in support. How can she leave me like this...
“It’s going to be alright Lulu. We’ve been through everything together… we can get through this. I love you.”
“I love you too, big sis."