//------------------------------//
// 15 Sisters 
// Story: Moon's shadow 
// by Znegil 
//------------------------------//

As I entered the hut, I was surprised to find my sister crying before me. She was always the strong one. I never had seen her cry since we had been fillies.

"Tia... what...", was all I could say.

She looked up to me.
"I'm so sorry for what I said. I knew you never had bad intentions doing it. I have to think about my subjects for every decision I make. I made so many sacrifices for them... it just felt not fair to me when you just chose the thing you wanted. I'm sorry that I had not been a better sister to you."

I felt so much sympathy for my sister. I sat next to her and wrapped my wing around her body.
"Is all right, you always look out for me."

Tia was still crying.
"I could have prevented Nightmare Moon if I had understood your feelings better back then."

"I hid my feelings and didn't want to talk about them. It wasn't your fault.", I replied to her.

"I never wanted to banish you Luna, if it had been just about us back then, I had rather died that day then to banish you, but I had to protect all of Equestria that day. I am so sorry."

Her head was resting on my front hooves while she cried. I stroked through her mane when I suddenly realized what she wanted to hear, what she was waiting for more than a thousand years.

"I forgive you, Tia. You had no choice and made the right decision. I forgive you."

She looked up to me with her eyes still full of tears, but her eyes showed something happier now. Her body relaxed as she pulled me into a hug. It must had been a huge burden that my words now lifted from her. I looked at Alex who had a warm smile on his face and tears in his eyes. I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the warmth from my sister's body and the happy sounds she made.

After some minutes I broke the embrace. Tia kissed my cheek and whispered "thank you" in my ear.

Alex spoke up, "We should get some sleep to get our strength back, we have quite some distance to travel before we reach Canterlot."

Celestia stood up and wiped her eyes using her wings.
"Your right.", she said.

I looked at Alex and coughed.
"We... we could share our body heat again... just to be more comfortable."

His gaze wandered from me to my sister, blushing a bit.
"I would like that...", he finally said and laid next to me. I noticed Tia's big grin and blushed a little. I spread my wing over his body after he laid his arm over my back. He lightly rubbed my coat, and I sighed happily while I drifted to sleep.

-----O_O-----

As I opened my eyes, I saw Luna's face right before mine, sleeping peacefully. She looked much more relaxed than I ever saw her before, her face was so beautiful while it showed a happy smile. I carefully brushed aside her mane so I could study her face even better, I felt her soft fur under my fingertips, and she hummed happily in her sleep.

"You two look cute together."
Celestia's voice surprised me. I had forgotten she was there.

"But if you ever hurt her in any way, I will send you to the surface of my sun."
She said this without anger in her voice, it wasn't a treat, it was a promise for something to happen.

My hand rested on Luna's cheek.
"I understand.", I answered without looking away from Luna. "I will do my best to keep her from any harm."

The room was silent for the next few minutes.

"If you want to go to a date with her, she likes to eat in the 'silver horn', because you can sit under the night sky there."

I turned to look at Celestia.
"I'm very thankful for that."

"She deserves to be happy. She had enough sorrow in her life.", she said with an encouraging smile.

Luna started to move, and I quickly withdrew my hand from her muzzle. She stretched her wings and feet.
"Mmmmhhh... that was a lovely nap, maybe I should sleep on the floor by default."

"I think it was more about your company then your place to sleep.", Celestia teased.

Luna blushed for a second before she blew a raspberry.
"I think someone is jealous.", she teased Tia back.

"What? I'm not... how...", Celestia stopped herself and smiled. "I guess you won this round."

I had seen the two sisters tease each other like this before, when they walked through the royal gardens, away from all their subjects. This time it felt a bit more serious, but I was smart enough not to get caught between the two most powerful beings of this world. I was very relieved as both of them seemed to calm down.

"Well then...", I started, and both turned to me. "I guess we should move on."

Celestia nodded.
"Yes, you're right. Everyone in Equestria will worry why the sun doesn't rise. They could draw the wrong conclusions from it."
She made a great effort NOT to look at Luna.

If Luna noticed it, she showed no sign of it. She secured the saddlebags to her back and walked out of the hut.
"Let's go then."