//------------------------------// // Forgiveness [Drama? Sad?] // Story: Half-Hour Horses // by HoofAndQuill //------------------------------// (The Prompt: They may be immortal alicorn princesses, but above all else, Celestia and Luna are sisters.) The room was dark, and silent. Princess Luna raised a hoof to feel the garland of flowers around her neck. It was still there. This was still real. It felt like she was dreaming. Last night, if it could be called that, she had been... gone. 'In' the moon, banished for her treason and rebellion. She remembered everything she had done, she remembered the fear on the ponies' faces, she remembered the regret in her sister's eyes, even after all this time. She remembered the defiance, the sheer, stupid, suicidal stubbornness of that purple unicorn, Twilight Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle had been right to be stubborn; she had won. When Princess Luna had awoken, after feeling the effect of the Elements of Harmony, the true power of those artifacts, she had become a different pony. Or rather, she'd seen herself for what she had truly been. Jealous, petty, antagonistic... traitorous. All of these, even to the one pony that nopony should ever defy, Princess Celestia. Even to her own sister. Yet, when she met her sister's eyes after her defeat, Princess Celestia had offered forgiveness. Without any hesitation, her sister had offered her peace and family again. Within an hour of her defeat, they had attended a town-wide party seemingly spontaneously decided upon by a single citizen, and she had been warmly welcomed by the townsfolk. Two pegasus foals barely out of diapers had even given her this garland. Here at Canterlot Castle, which was strange and new to Princess Luna, there was something familiar. This room had obviously been built ages ago, with the castle, but it was a near perfect replica of her old bedroom in the Everfree Castle. The room must have set vacant for centuries, just waiting for her. Built even while she was imprisoned, while she was a criminal, and a traitor. Why? A soft knocking sounded from the door. Princess Luna tried to summon the will to sound confident and powerful, as her station demanded, but her diminished body and the uncertainty of her emotions lead to her voice breaking halfway through her sentence. She kept her diction formal, in case it was some of the castle staff she had been briefly introduced to. "Thou art allowed entry." The quiet giggle from the other side of the door gave away the identity of the pony before the door opened. Princess Celestia stood in the doorway, taking up nearly the entire space, wings spread and a stern look in her eyes, despite the small smirk remaining on her lips. A flash of fear surged through Princess Luna, the same fear that had gripped her as she awoke to her sister's voice after her defeat. Princess Celestia stepped forward with no further request for permission, and closed the door again behind her. A few moments of silence passed. Princess Celestia looked down at her little sister, and Princess Luna looked up into Celestia's eyes, before suddenly feeling ashamed and looking aside. After another beat, Princess Celestia spoke quietly and carefully, in a guarded, even tone. "I have missed you greatly, little sister." The temptation was still there, to throw herself into another desperate embrace, and cry with her sister once more. But her emotions had calmed enough since then that she could stop herself, and speak more calmly. "My sister, I must apologize, I... I didn't mean..." Luna's voice quieted as she trailed off, still staring down at the floor. A moment passed, and she started again, her voice low and thick with scorn. "No, I meant what I said, all those years ago. I see now I was wrong, but... I meant it, all the same." Princess Celestia stayed silent, and stepped forward, looming tall over Luna. She didn't strike her, or even speak harshly. She spoke quietly and gently. "I know." Luna looked up to her sister's eyes, and then looked away again. "But still you offer forgiveness. You had this room built for me, you welcome me back without the slightest hesitation. Sister, had I won, I would have killed you. I would have killed you without a second thought, and... and you still treat me like this." Celestia sighed, and then sat down on the carpeted floor. Princess Luna remained standing, but still only stood even in height with her sister. Celestia spoke deliberately. "Princess Luna, you were a traitor to the crown, you tried to usurp our power, and you attempted to assassinate me. Any other pony, I would have dealt with more harshly. But after all that has happened, you are still my sister, and you always will be." Princess Luna sat down slowly, the carpet feeling much softer and more well made than anything in the era in which she had lived. She still didn't look up to meet her sister's eyes. "How can you be so forgiving, my sister?" "I have been imprisoned for a thousand years." Princess Celestia spoke seriously, and Luna fought the urge to stare at her incredulously. "While you were gone, I had to run Equestria alone. I did not relish in your punishment, sister. These past centuries have been the loneliest in my life. I was the only pony in Equestria that didn't age, the only pony that had no true lifelong friends, or lovers. While you were alone in the moon, Princess Luna, I was alone here in Equestria. Every year I raised the sun for the Summer Sun Celebration, and every year reminded me of the distance between us." Luna stared at the dark purple carpet below them. She couldn't meet her sister's eyes, and she had no words for her at the moment. Princess Celestia continued. "I had this room built, because I felt certain I was only a short time away from finding the magic to return you to Equestria. I was wrong. I maintained it because I knew you would be home someday, my sister, and I hoped that... I have always hoped that you would return to me, and that you would forgive me." "Forgive you?" Princess Luna looked upward, and met her sister's eyes for the first time in what felt like forever. "Why would you need my forgiveness?" Princess Celestia shuffled closer to Princess Luna, and Luna felt her body tense for a moment. Her side touched Celestia's, and familiar feeling rushed back to her. Memories of nights spent together, laughing and talking of old times and old friends, and victory celebrations after a war or a personal battle. Luna sighed, and leaned against her big sister. Her coat was warm and soft, and more importantly, it was hers. For each of them, there was only one pony that truly understood what it was to be who they were. Princess Celestia spoke quietly, her voice heavy with regret. "I drove you to your rebellion, Luna. I didn't mean to, and you are not without blame for your actions, but I should have seen what I was doing. I should have seen what our subjects' adoration for me was doing to you. I have forgiven you for your rebellion, please forgive me for my mistakes as well." Luna looked down again, closing her eyes to keep her treacherous tears from escaping. All this time, she had burned with hatred for her sister, through her own feelings, and through the influence of the darkness that had settled on her heart. For a thousand years she had stewed in miserable, lonely resentment, even as the regret burned in the back of her mind. The Elements of Harmony had shown her what she had been doing, they had shown her just how ruinous these feelings had been. But that all paled next to this pony, sitting beside her. After trying to kill her, after trying to steal her kingdom away, and after a thousand years of torture for the both of them, she was so willing to forgive that it nearly broke Luna's heart. The fact that despite all that, her older sister was asking HER forgiveness simply left her without words. Princess Luna leaned in, and nuzzled against Celestia's neck, unable to speak. Celestia crossed her neck over her sister's, and embraced her softly. "Thank you, Princess Luna." After a thousand years apart, the royal sisters of Equestria were finally family again.