Celestia lurched sideways into a tree. “I’ll n-n-never get used to that,” she muttered to herself. Jumping across timelines disoriented her. It felt like teleporting while on a torture rack, like her body stretched and broke as she stood in a single place. She took a deep breath.
She looked up. The sun and moon had shifted, of course. She focused on them, and their position and the stars confirmed the date and time. She looked up. The Everfree Forest smelled the same as always. Her old castle loomed ahead of her.
She shook her head. Even if she had the timing right, she needed to focus. She cast a vision spell, and looked towards the window that she knew must be Luna’s bedroom. She inhaled sharply.
Luna was there. Nightmare Moon stood next to her. They were talking, gesturing. Luna cast a spell, and a lash of magic cut across Nightmare Moon’s chest.
Celestia looked away. “Too m-m-much magic might draw attention to me,” she told herself. She waited. She knew what was about to happen, but that didn’t mean she had to watch it.
Seconds passed. Minutes followed. The sun’s position ticked slowly, but surely, ensuring she knew exactly how much time had passed.
She winced. The scream sounded faint, even to her magically enhanced hearing. But it wafted out the window and down to her spot nonetheless.
She waited again. She recast the vision spell. Nightmare Moon had left the room, blue flames licked at the corners. Now was the time.
She teleported into the room, right next to Luna’s side. She winced at the sight. Luna’s blood had already coated the floor, her eyes had rolled upwards, her wings and legs poked out at odd angles.
Celestia took a deep breath and knelt down. A minor spell would keep the flames away. And no doubt her alternate self and Nightmare Moon would be too distracted by each other to notice her magic.
It took a while. Celestia had to coax air back into Luna’s lungs, fix all her broken limbs. She had to straighten every bone, every tendon, every vein and capillary that had been damaged.
She leaned down, gingerly lifted up Luna’s head. Luna’s lips still felt warm, the heat of life still clinging to her body.
Celestia kissed her. She poured magic into Luna’s body. Her lips and horn tingled as they rubbed against Luna’s. It only lasted a few moments, but for once, Celestia ignored her connection to the sun and let herself lose track of time.
Luna screamed. Her eyes snapped open and she screamed again. After all that, Luna lay there, sucking in breath after breath. Finally, once she had enough strength and air, she screamed a third time. Each one sounded so quiet, so fragile.
Celestia embraced her sister. She leaned down, put her mouth right next to Luna’s ear. She used the gentlest, most comforting tone she could muster. “D-don’t worry, s-sister. I’m h-here. Now let me t-take you home.”
They disappeared in a flash of light.