The darkness under Canterlot was all pervasive, it had always been such. The shadowy caverns had been home to crystal miners in the past, but even their short stay only shared this place with the darkness, their lamps never able to chase the shadows away completely.
As such the crystal caves below the city were the perfect place for the appointed meeting; far from the eyes and ears of the normal ponies of Equestria. This meeting wasn't a 'secret', but neither was it openly announced either to the general populous and therefore Celestia along with Luna found themselves both standing alone in the centre of a large cave.
There were troubles that needed to be resolved before the truths were told to Equestria as a whole. Though it troubled Celestia and Luna greatly, it was deemed to be in the best interests to keep this all quiet.
The sisters took care not to disturb the darkness, their horns were dimmed and even Celestia's ever present glow had been quenched for this meeting. They were here to make up for wrongs that had been done long ago and Luna was scared at what they may be forced to do.
Celestia covered her younger sister with a wing and whispered reassurances into her ear as the first of their guests came. They approached timidly at first, but had more confidence as their numbers grew. Soon the cavern was thronged with ponies, which were all shades of darkness, greys, blacks and dark blues.
Gradually thousands of slitted eyes gathered about the two ponies and watched them with caution. Luna stood a little taller than when she had last been seen by Equestria, having grown somewhat as the nightmare powers striped from her were replaced by her own natural magic. Luna's mane and tail was starting to take on it's starred pattern and swirling shape once again, but despite these improvements Luna was still dwarfed by Celestia. Luna visibly trembled as ever greater numbers surrounded the pair, and had to fight the urge to hide behind her sister.
"I don't think I can do this Tia, what do I say to them? Sorry just doesn't seem enough," Luna's voice was deeper than when Foresight or the others had last heard it, her increased size giving her a far more adult tone.
Celestia hugged Luna again, "I understand Luna but this has to be done, we owe it to them all,"
Luna looked to her older sister with pleading, but her was firm, "This is part of setting things right Lulu and we must do it or you can never be whole again, nor them."
"But there is nothing more I can do for them, I don't have the powers I once did, and I can't undo what Nightmare Moon did to them," Luna pleaded, aching to be away from this place of darkness which reminded her too much of her prison on the moon with all the reflected eyes around them looking like stars in the firmament.
Celestia's face softened, "Be brave Lulu, I know you can do this, you bore the elements of kindness and honesty, and you can make this right."
Luna shook her head, "But how? What can I do now for them?" Celestia was about to say something else when a voice echoed in their minds.
"Celestia we agreed to come here at your request, you told us of a general amnesty and time for a restitution for the wrongs we have suffered," There was a whispered murmur that drifted around the cavern accompanying this quiet 'sending'.
Celestia stood tall and proud before the many watching eyes before them, she was not cowed or nervous by the accusing stares and Luna was amazed her older sister could be so, knowing what they did and what was to be said here.
"I did and that promise is still in effect I Celestia pro....." She was cut off by a large number of hisses and a few growls of protest.
"Let the 'Dark Queen' speak, it is her we have come to hear from not ‘you’ regent of the sun," The send was laced with anger and enmity.
Luna shrank back, but there was nowhere to hide from the ring of eyes all around her. The action was followed with mocking laughter and Celestia snorted angrily, but the watchers in the dark didn't relent.
"Is this really the cause of all our woes?" Such a scared pony, who must hide behind her big sister from those she has wronged?" These words were spoken in a harsh bark, not a whisper in the mind.
"That is not how you will address my sister, we came here to make peace and to set things right, not to be mocked," Celestia called out in anger. She was well within her power to shatter this place if she had a mind to, but that didn't subdue the hostility the pair felt emanating from the darkness beyond.
"Still you stand up for her, still you try to play the 'noble' protector you claim to be Celestia. We who watch from the shadows know the truth, you're a vain and selfish creature." The same voice echoed from the shadows once again. "We know you did nothing while this one corrupted our ancestors and led us to this point."
Luna winced at the accusations, all the worse for knowing they were true. She looked up to Celestia who had tears of her own now and a tremble in her voice also as she bowed her head in defeat.
"I do not deny it, I know I was wrong before and take full responsibility for my part in this tragedy that befell you all, I could have stopped it, but I didn't and I am sorry," Celestia replied in a pained voice. She looked to Luna and her sibling knew that her sister meant every word. She would have taken the entire burden for Luna if she could, but Celestia understood Luna needed to fix this.
"Sorry? SORRY? is that all this is, you came to say 'sorry' to us?" The scorn raked at the minds of both the royal sisters, it wasn't anything like enough to wound them on its own, but picked at the scarring already there and both princesses felt it was justified.
"Enough, I will face you and tell you what we have to offer," Luna could take no more of this, if she was going to put things right then she would need to stand for herself, backing down and hiding away was what had lead to this point. She would not make those same mistakes again.
Luna closed her eyes in concentration as her horn glowed with power. The pervasive shadows retreated for a time to be replaced by a pale glow as a complex pattern formed in the air her. It mirrored the flowing star mane of the princess and spun slowly as more points of light were added to it. This lattice work expanded to fill the whole cavern, briefly illuminating the assembled ponies in its pale light as it past revealing there were thousands of them. The spell completed and Luna opened her eyes once more.
For the first time the cavern was quite, an expectant silence settled as Luna stood tall and regal despite her trembling legs. "Know this all gathered here, I have now placed the seal of truth upon this gathering. We cannot lie while within its effect, our true intentions and desires must be voiced here. I have done this that you may all know the words we speak are honest and from the heart. I would have you all know that sorry is but the start, you hope that we will undo what Nightmare Moon did to you.”
Luna closed her eyes and the tears ran down the cheeks of her face, “Though I wish I could say that we could, it is beyond even our power. We have no means to restore you to what you want."
The silence held even greater threat, but Luna pressed on; "The curse is in your very essence now, too deep in your shared heritage, we could not remove its taint without removing your very lives, too many generations have borne the curse of darkness and we cannot change that. So yes we are sorry, more than we can express but we offer more than apologies. We have plans for new laws and amendments that will grant you all a better quality of life and rights."
The silence lasted for only a few more moments before there was another chorus of angry shouts and mocking laughter, "You really mean that don't you, as if that will make everything all better?" The same proud voice was heard calling out and this time the pony came forward to be recognised. It was a bat pony and his slitted yellow eyes glared at the pair with unreserved hatred.
He sneered at them, "You really think a few changes in laws and protocol will make up for generations of suffering? I have foals that have never seen the sun, too afraid of being out and about with 'normal' pony folk. My people are forced to live in caves and holes lest we be blinded! The nightborn have it better I guess, they can take their darkness with them, but at the cost of being isolated from every other pony breed! Don't even get me started on the lithi, where are they by the way? They were probably killed in some distant underground war trying to earn back their lives that were never yours to take!"
Luna retreated as each point raised cut her to the core. The tears in her eyes free flowing as regret gnawed at her heart. Her trembling worsened and it looked like she was on the verge of breaking down. Seeing her pain Celestia grew angry and an unconscious flicker of her horn sent a bright flash through the darkness.
The altered all covered their eyes with pained hisses before the bat pony spoke again, "Oh that's the way is it? If we don't like what you have to offer you will just blast us apart? Kill us all as an inconvenient trouble of the past you wish would just go away. How very 'good' of you both, 'worthy' of the rulers of Equestria.
The negasi snorted and to his credit he didn't back down in the face of Celestia's anger. She took a heaving breath and let the light dim once again, "We have patience, but only so much and I can assure you that there will not be a better offer. We are trying to make things as right as best we can."
"Well to Tartaurs with your worthless promises and platitudes. I am half a mind to think that Catalyst had the right idea, Nightmare Moon may have been a tyrant, but at least she was honest about it. You knew where you stood with her in command," The bat pony's words were greeted with a number of affirming noises from round about.
Luna's heart sank into her hooves, was she such a failure that these ponies would rather have Nightmare Moon back than her? She lost all semblance of control and fell sobbing to the floor. Celestia moved to comfort her sister and glared at the bat pony with fire in her eyes. She was about to launch into another angered tirade when another voice spoke up from the darkness.
"Thou hast no concept of what thou ask," Echoed, grating and cold as it spoke out from behind the negasi. "We were there when the 'Queen of Darkness' sought to rule the land, she held no of love thy kind, my kind or any other."
The princesses looked up to see a small cohort of lithi march into the cavern. Every one of them was battered and chipped from fighting. One even had to limp where its leg had broken off part way and struggled to keep its pace with the rest. There were less than twenty of them, but they all marched on wards with surety and purpose.
The bat pony sneered at this, "Ever the faithful ‘peons’ of the sisters, you don't know anything."
"Thy anger clouds thy judgment winged one, Do not utter words and oaths thou wilt come to regret," the lithi cautioned.
Celestia could feel the tension mounting in the cave once again and sought to defuse it, "This was not meant to be a time of harsh words," but it was no use. The debate was degenerating into a shouting match as all those present voiced their opinions.
It was Luna who finally brought those present to order. Her voice rang out, causing the crystals lining the walls to tremble and all the ponies present bar the lithi and Celestia to cover their ears in pain, "Enough, Thou-shalt-all-be-still!" The whole cavern shook with the sound and for a moment some feared the ceiling would collapse.
Luna's eyes had taken on a glowing light and she rose off the floor with steady beats of her wings, "We shall not compel any to remain here that do not wish to. However this bitterness ends here and now, we shall have no ill feeling left to rot and fester as before. Thou all hast three choices:"
The ponies all around cowered at the display of magical might, it took a lot to get Luna angered but when she was it was best not to trifle with her.
"One; thou will submit to our laws to live in peace, freedom and happiness in Equestria as equal citizens. Two thou depart with a solemn oath never to raise arms against the kingdom of Equestria, neither thee nor thy kin and thou will teach thy descendants such," The Princess of the Night's face then became as hard as the lithi's, "Or three, thou shalt fall this night so that the cause of freedom may be maintained, these are thy choices and we pray thou choosest well."
Celestia slowly closed her eyes in sadness, she had so hoped it wouldn't come to this, but the altered situation had come to the boil once again with the return of Luna. The bat ponies and nightborn had always had it hard in Equestria, there was always blame and resentment from the day time ponies even after all these years. Though it was rare that it would show itself in action, it had occurred in the past.
Many of those within the cave were once followers of Catalyst and his band. They had been offered a chance for peace, despite what crimes they may have committed, but sadly it seemed that history was now again repeating itself.
Luna touched down lightly on the floor and her eyes took on their normal hue. She was panting hard and her lip trembled, but the choice had been given. It was now down to the ponies watching her to decide their own fate. The lithi as always bowed to Celestia and were the first to accept the new terms, on a purely mental level the choice offered was logical. The Royal sisters wanted to offer sanctuary, but they could not endanger the fragile peace of their land for it.
One by one, ponies formed into groups to either leave Equestria or to live by the lands laws. The royal sisters were pleased that most of them chose to comply with their offer. Thankfully the smallest group remained unrepentant and was unsurprisingly headed by the irate bat pony and a few of his closest followers. Celestia was sure he was one of those who fought on the side of Catalyst during the battle in the Everfree Forest. They glared at Celestia and Luna with angry eyes, but didn't move.
"You wouldn't dare, it would go against all you stand for to kill us now and we will take no such promise not to avenge ourselves on the wrongs you’ve done us," Celestia was pained by their stubbornness, here and now they must voice what they believed, even if they were wrong. The Princesses had to do whatever it took to keep their ponies safe. They had been given a choice, a chance for freedom and happiness, but they had rejected it and chosen the path of hate. The rulers of Equestria needed to be mares of their word.
"This is your final choice then?" Celestia asked sadly. The bat pony sneered and spat upon Celestia’s hooves before turning to lead his small band out of the cave.
"The seal of truth has shown the darkness in your hearts and not just your bodies. All must speak their real intent while here, their whole and inevitable intent," Luna whispered before lightning flashed out and struck the negasi, it was a short but tremendously powerful blast that filled the cave with light. The bat pony collapsed in as a charred husk and those by him scattered while staring in horror at the dead pony. Luna's eyes were full of tears as her horn dimmed and the magical light diminished.
The rest of the condemned ponies tried to flee, all rightly fearing for their lives but not one made it out of the cave. Luna's heart crumbled as she was forced to enact judgment, but freedom had its prices.
Celestia rested her head against Luna’s “We have to be firm, just and must be the rulers Equestria needs, Oh how I wish it could be otherwise.”
The ponies who remained looked at Celestia and Luna with new understanding. Yes they were ponies like them, but in so many ways they were so far apart. None of them envied the hard choices these monarchs had to make, but respected them for their integrity nevertheless.
Luna wailed openly and Celestia embraced her sister as Luna cried into her shoulder, "Why? Why couldn't they have just left in peace, they didn't even have to ever come back."
Celestia bowed her head and nuzzled Luna to comfort her, "They couldn't let go of their hate and anger. They would not offer forgiveness nor ask for it. We have to stand strong sister, we have to be a shield and a sword to our ponies. If any threaten them then we must do what is needed."
One of the Lithi nodded and repeated words he had heard so long ago, "Don't be so quick to wish for any destruction, it may come back to haunt you one day by giving you exactly what you asked for," Celestia remembered that advice only too clearly and winced to hear it again.
Luna continued to cry, “He said he had foals sister, what of them?” Celestia winced and squeezed Luna even tighter.
“There is no good answer to that question Luna. We will to do what we can to care for those who have lost, but far too often the innocent bear the consequences of the guilty. If we had not done this thing then whole future generations would pay the price.” Celestia couldn’t hide the tremor in her voice and they were both weeping freely now.
A young negasi colt, no more than two years old by the looks of him dared to trot forward. The bat pony was far too young to fully understand the complexities of this whole event. He was scared but what he could see and understand was there were ponies in distress.
He cautiously came forward and laid a small flower at the hooves of Luna before looking up at her with his green slitted eyes. The plant was a 'White Star', a simple but magical blossom that only bloomed in the moon light.
"Mum said it was so sad with what you had to do, so I wanted to cheer you up princess," He gave a little wave of his hoof before galloping back to his mother with a "Did I do good mum?" as he was enfolded by her loving embrace.
Luna looked at the flower and couldn't help but form a little smile. Celestia hugged her even tighter and whispered in her ear, "That's why we must do what is needed, for the likes of them."
The lithi all saluted as the rest of the ponies departed, all having made their choices. Celestia looked at the battered and damaged stone ponies who had given their all for Equestria and her heart felt like lead in her chest.
"Thank you all, I know we can never repay you for....." She began, but the stone pony shook it's head
"It is us who must thank thee princess, even though we are monsters in almost every sense of the word; thou hast stood by us all this time." The lithi spoke in its granite voice, before it turned to look right at Luna.
"We deduce that thou have no way of turning us back then? From the choices offered before we heard no offer of return to our former selves," It was not said in an accusatory fashion, but the implied inflection of being let down was there never the less.
Luna couldn't meet the black and hollow eyes of the stone pony as she shook her head. The lithi stood there for a moment longer before the stone stallion spoke again, "What would thou have us do now?"
Even after all this the lithi were loyal and awaiting command, even with their last hope of being made whole again being denied them, they chose to serve faithfully.
Celestia and Luna both felt 'their' burdens were heavy, but it took their breath away to see these stoic ponies carry their curse with such courage. Celestia suspected that not all emotion had been purged from them, that somewhere deep down they chose to do what was best. They did it because they felt it was the right thing to do and did it with hope.
Luna however was struck by a sudden thought, "Thou said thou were present when Nightmare Moon was correct?" The lithi nodded at this. "We mean thou were there when Celestia gave that advice to Focal Balance correct, during the closing stages of the Nightmare War?” There was a glimmer of hope in Luna's heart now. The lithi nodded once again.
Celestia couldn't help but catch what Luna was getting at, "There have been no lithi 'born' have there; you are all that is left from a thousand years ago."
"That is correct my princess, that is why we still serve," The Stone pony said.
"They are the first generation; there may still be hope for them to be changed back. There could be something left to save even now," Celestia announced with triumph. She went on in a much happier tone than before. "Go about your duties with a new order: keep yourselves safe. I want all your sacrifices to mean something and be more than just a noble memory. When we find a way to return you to your true forms then I would be overjoyed to be there."
With this the lithi saluted and began to march out of the cave once again. Luna gently released a breath she didn't know she was holding before she looked to Celestia once more, "Is that it then?" She asked in a hopeful tone. Celestia tilted her head to the still waiting crowds of bat ponies and dark pegasi.
Luna nodded and visibly shook herself down before addressing the remaining altered who watched the night princess with anxiety. “We will see that those who choose to remain in Equestria will be well homed and all due support given to begin their new lives here. We thank you for your forgiveness and welcome you to our lands.”
She then turned her attention on those who had chosen exile. “As for your selves we are ponies of our word, no harm will befall you. Go with our blessing. We will ensure you are given supplies support along with all we can offer to aid you in setting up a new home for yourselves outside our borders.”
Luna’s voice was controlled and strong and Celestia was proud of how her sister was now taking charge of things. “Though it pains me to think you would not accept our offer to live here, I wish you all the best in the future and should your kind require our aid then let us know and we will do what we can.”
The ponies all looked to each other and a hopeful murmur began. Celestia gave Luna another gentle hug of support before whispering into her ear, “Well done Lulu, I know that wasn’t easy.”
Luna looked up into Celestia’s proud face and felt the weight of the past lift, if only just a little, from her heart. “Thank you Tia, for getting me to face up my responsibilities. Will it all be alright in the end?”
Celestia gave a little smile as another tear trickled down her face, “I really believe it will be Luna, together I have no doubt we can fix everything in time.”
The ponies began to file out of the crystal caverns with a new sense of direction and purpose. It took some time, a lot can happen in a thousand years Luna thought to herself as she felt the faint glimmer of hope in her heart. Maybe enough time to soften hearts and have all be ready for a fresh start.
The restored princess closed her eyes once again and nuzzled into Celestia's chest, finding simple comfort in the warmth and love found there. She looked up into her sister's gentle eyes and whispered a simple; "Thank you Tia, thank you for standing by me this time."
The End.