//------------------------------//
// After All These Years 
// Story: After All These Years 
// by Caelus Storm 
//------------------------------//


After All These Years
by Caelus Storm


Princess Celestia roamed the halls of Canterlot Castle, lost in thought.  It had been one thousand years.  One thousand years since she had wielded the Elements of Harmony.  One thousand years since she had banished her sister to the moon.  Even for immortals, one thousand years was no short span of time.  And yet...Celestia remembered that night as clearly as if it were yesterday.

 There was a flash of prismatic light, so bright even Celestia nearly looked away.  The light engulfed the abomination that her sister had become.  As the light grew brighter, Celestia heard her sister cry out in anguish.
"'Tia!"
"Luna!" Celestia cried, tears streaming down her face.  With a final, blinding flash, Luna vanished, leaving Celestia alone in the darkness of the castle.  Beside her, the Elements of Harmony slowly dimmed, and Celestia felt their magic ebbing away. "I'm so sorry," Celestia said, weeping.  How could this have happened?  She had tried to be there, to comfort her sister.  Had she really been so blind to here sister's unhappiness?  It was her fault for letting her sister become that abomination.  Her fault that she wouldn't see Luna for many centuries.  And when Luna did return, she would probably hate her sister for imprisoning her for a thousand years.  Celestia started to leave the throne room, but a sudden weariness over came her.  She collapsed on the ground and broke down sobbing.
"Oh, Luna," she whispered, "What have I done?"  There was no answer, but Luna's final cry still echoed in her mind, and would haunt her dreams for centuries.

Celestia paused on a balcony.  The moon shone brightly in the night sky.  Below, all of Equestria was asleep.  She looked up at the endless sea of deep blue, sprinkled with twinkling diamonds that were the stars.  Luna had done well, raising the moon after one thousand years of imprisonment.  The thought of the moon princess brought a mix of emotions.  Regret for having inflicted such a punishment on the one she had loved most.  Sadness for all those years that had been lost.  Joy that her sister had returned.  And relief that Luna had forgiven her.
"One thousand years, my sister," Celestia whispered, "And still you can forgive me for being so blind."
Celestia left the balcony and once more wandered the halls.  She passed sculptures and tapestries, some from almost a millennium ago.  This late at night, there were almost no ponies around save for the occasional guard.  Each one she passed bowed their head in acknowledgement before returning to their patrols.  Even when she was surrounded by her little ponies, she had always felt so alone.  Perhaps that was why she had started taking students.  She couldn't remember when she had started that particular practice.  She did remember some of her brighter students.  Starswirl the Bearded, Argenta Spellfire.  And Twilight Sparkle, her most recent and most faithful student.  For a brief moment, she wondered how Twilight Sparkle was doing.  Things would be a bit quieter now that she had moved to Ponyville.  Celestia chided herself.  Twilight was not the timid little filly she had been when Celestia had first met her.  She was not Twilight's mother, and shouldn't be so concerned over the unicorn's well-being.
Celestia stopped outside Luna's bedchamber.  To her surprise, the door was ajar.  Through the crack, Celestia could see Luna sitting by the window, gazing out at the night sky.  Celestia had expected Luna to be asleep.  Between the celebrations in Ponyville and Canterlot, and raising the moon earlier, Luna had been exhausted.
Celestia nudged the door open.  The room had remained relatively unchanged for the past millennium.  There were even a few of Luna's childhood possessions sitting on the mantle above the fireplace.
"Luna, you should be resting," Celestia said.
Luna turned, a slightly surprised expression on her face.  "I-I couldn't sleep," she said.  "It-it feels strange, being home after so long."
Celestia walked over to her sister.  "Luna," she said softly, "is something troubling you?"
Luna looked around the room.  She was silent for a long moment before she replied.  "After a thousand years, i expected things to have changed," she said, "and so many things have.  But there is so much that is still the same."  Luna paused.  "I guess i was expecting more things to be different."
Celestia hesitated a moment before she responded.  "Well, if you would like some change, we could redecorate your room."
Luna's shoulders slumped imperceptibly.  Celestia lifted Luna's chin with her hoof.  "Many things have changed, but I will always love you, my sister."
Luna smiled, her eyes showing the happiness she felt.
They hugged, wrapping their wings around each other.  They were silent for a long while, then Luna finally spoke up.
"Do you really think that we could redecorate?" she asked.
Celestia smiled.  "Of course," she said, "though I think we could find a new place for some of these old toys.  Including Pony Pie."  She held up an old stuffed pony of Luna's.
"'Tia," Luna gasped, horrified at what her sister was suggesting.  She grabbed the pony from Celestia.  "Pony Pie is special."  Then she saw the look on her sister's face.
Celestia started laughing.  Luna joined her.  Suddenly, they weren't Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, the rulers of Equestria.  They were Tia and Luna, two sisters who loved each other no matter what.
They both stared out the window.
"The moon is beautiful tonight," Celestia said.
Luna cuddled closer to Celestia.  "Thank you, my sister," she whispered.
Celestia smiled, knowing the thanks were not only for the compliment.  She sighed.  One thousand years.  She finally had her sister back.  They were together again; together after all these years.