//------------------------------// // Revelations "Good" End // Story: Second at Best // by Wages of Sin //------------------------------// The letter fell to the floor as Twilight's now pure golden aura flickered out. "Twili-" "No" "Twi-" "NO! No! No! No! No! No!" "Twilight, what does it-" "It's all my fault!" "Twilight, what are you-" "It's all my fault!" she cried, falling to the ground, "Celestia's dead and the planet's dying and it's all my fault!" "Twilight, you cannot be held responsible for-" "But I am! Celestia died to save me!" her voice caught in her throat, but she managed to pitifully wail the worst part, "and I repaid her by hiding myself away! It's all my fault!" "Twilight, explain what you have said. I cannot understand such a thing could be." "I- I-" words failing, Twilight simply turned away, hoofing the letter over to the sister of its author. Twilight's turmoil steeped as she took glances at Luna's expression while she read. She contemplated running, but decided that there was no point anymore. Twilight watched as Luna's eyes drifted from the end of the page, signaling that it was over and Luna now knew everything. "It's all my-" "No," Luna said firmly, still staring off into space, "No, it isn't." "I killed her! I killed Celestia!" "You did no such thing. You said yourself that the transfer of power was performed with the intention of ending my sister's life. She knew what she was doing. She has been dying for a thousand years, you granted her release from a millennia of suffering. You achieved so much that she felt she could trust you with her sun, to carry on where she left off." "And look where I've put us! If I hadn't confronted her! If I hadn't been disguised! If I had just woken up! I hid myself away like a child and now the whole planet is dieing because of it! If I had known..." "'If you had known'-what? If you had known then you would have done something different? That in itself means the blame is not yours! You didn't know anything!" "But I should have!" "You were angry that my sister had orchestrated your life, puppeteering you into a fate that she picked out for you without your knowledge or consent. You were upset over her neglectful and even abusive acts towards you, and you very well should have been! My sister, though I wish her soul may now finally find rest, I would dare say did do all such things to you. She has no less than admitted her guilt. You show great force of will to know that you would have put that aside for the planet, but from how I see it, my sister is no less than wholly responsible for our current situation. Everything, from the effects of the loss of the sun, all the way back to my return from the moon, and even back to the time she made you her student. Looking back in light of this letter, it is now apparent she has made many mistakes over the years." she paused, "But do you truly regret what has been done? "Can you truly say, that in light of all her misguided manipulation, that you truly would have had things gone differently? Change the past as we now see it? Would you trade the life you have lived, the experiences, the triumphs and all the good you have done, for any other path?" Luna looked her at her firmly. "...no..." Twilight croaked between sobs. "You may think less of her, but you must remember that even she was merely equine. Do you really believe that the special moments you shared were lies? That there was no truth to her love for you?" Once again her eyes pierced the tearful mare's own. "No..." "As well you shouldn't! This letter itself proves how much she loved you. She wrote it not to me, but to you, as not a command, but as a plea, as not another lesson, but as a whole-hearted cry for forgiveness, one that I would not say was even for her, but was instead penned to give you closure. She wanted you to not be plagued by doubts, but rather to know the truth, at the cost of her immortal image in your eyes." "She loved you. She loved you so much and was so proud of you that she would trust the continuation of life itself to you." "But I-" "Twilight Sparkle." Luna said firmly, "Do you believe my sister's love for you was real?" At first with frantic confusion, and then slowly with collected definitiveness, she cleared her eyes and answered. "Yes." "Would you change anything about what she did? Knowing what you know now?" This time the pause stretched much longer, a deep turmoil rising within her. "Well... yes... Yes I would!" "Such as?" "I would have trusted someone with this information!" she nearly shouted into Luna's face, only tuning down as eye contact reminded her of her only listener's proximity, "I mean, she... If I were in her shoes, and had... done... all this... Then I would have trusted if not me than at least you with all this! I mean I've nearly killed everypony by keeping this bottled up!" Contrary to expectation, Luna was smiling broadly. "Perfect!" "How is that-" "First, you just said that "I", that is to say my sister, was responsible, not you Twilight Sparkle. Remember that. Second, it is good because it shows that you recognize the fundamental flaw in my sister's actions that led us to this point. Do you see it? "I hope you recognize that despite our actions, we are only equine. That is the fate of all beings, mortal and immortal alike, we are all fallible. I fear my sister may have lost sight of something so fundamental, so base, that your answer reflects, but even you do not see it. "She trusted nopony to bear her burden with her, not even so much as a shoulder to cry into. She had no support for fear of involving or harming the uninvolved, but that is precisely how she has hurt you. Not by her actions, as I have no doubt you would have done everything just the same, even knowing her intentions. No, she harmed you by trying not to harm you. "The anger you feel is not for how she manipulated you, nor for how you feel she may not have trusted you. No, instead it is for how she didn't open up and share her pain, how she didn't allow you to bear more of her burden. The anger you now feel is betrayal, but no longer is it from her betrayal of you, but rather her betrayal of your friendship. "She didn't follow a key tenant of friendship. One that was among the first that you yourself learned." Luna began looking around the room, stopping to focus on Celestia's desk. The sound of a sliding drawer preceded the rise of a cluster of scrolls from behind the desk. She gave each a quick glance before pulling one aside. "Twilight, do you remember this?" she said, levitating the scroll over to her. Twilight caught it and unfurled it to reveal one of her friendship reports. "Dear Princess Celestia, My friend Applejack is the best friend a pony could ever have, and she's always there to help anypony. The only trouble is, when she needs help she finds it hard to accept it. So while friendship is about giving of ourselves to friends, it's also about accepting what our friends have to offer. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle" "Twilight, she knew she was flawed. She knew that there was only so much she could teach you. Allowing you to go off on your own, away from her guidance, has only made you more fit to fulfill your new role. More fit than even she." Luna prepared to counter any arguments, but as the silence drew on, none came. "I will do better." Twilight said suddenly, quiet at first but growing firmer, "In honor of her sacrifice, I will do better. For her, and for everypony and everything that needs me." Luna smiled. "Then you know what you have to do," She said as she placed a wing across the smaller alicorn's back and they proceeded out onto Celestia's balcony together.