Parting Ways
For the next few days, Princess Celestia was overseeing the recovery efforts of the attack in the castle. Surprisingly, despite the numerous guards in the castle under Nightmare Moon’s control, they barely damaged it. The white alicorn was walking down the corridor and passed by an open room below her. She looked down and saw Princess Twilight, along with all her friends were busy cleaning up some rubble in the castle. Spike used his colossal strength to pick up two boulders and carry them away. Fluttershy and Rainbow swept the floor of the dust and pebbles. Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie were pulling some carts full of tools for Big Mac and ther other repair ponies to use.
Princess Celestia smiled a little as she saw Twilight look up to her and wink. She proceeded down the corridor again, heading for the library since it was partially damaged by Nightmare’s forces. She hoped that none of them destroyed some of the old tomes kept in-
CRASH!
The sound of a window breaking and something landing on the floor pulled Celestia out of her thoughts. She looked to the ground and saw a brick lying there amongst the shattered glass. She picked it up and on the brick, she saw a crude drawing was etched onto it with a crescent moon and a big red X through it. The white alicorn heard chanting and yelling from outside and carefully looked out the window, making sure not to be seen.
“DOWN WITH LUNA! DOWN WITH LUNA! DOWN WITH LUNA!” A large group of ponies chanted.
Celestia got a better look outside the castle and saw several things that filled her heart with despair. A large group of Canterlot citizens had gathered around the castle and had been chanting for Luna to be brought to justice. Many of them were carrying signs such as a moon with a red X across it, while others had words on it such as, “BANISHMENT, NOW!”, “THIS NIGHT WON’T LAST FOREVER”, “LUNA MUST GO!”. To make matters worse, Celestia saw several ponies hoist what looked like a scarecrow that looked like Luna onto a pole and set it on fire, causing several protesters to cheer.
The white alicorn stepped back and a tear rolled down her cheek. “If only I could’ve found a better way to keep this all a secret,” she said sorrowfully.
“It’s not your fault Princess,” a voice said.
Celestia looked up to see Silver Storm standing nearby. “Oh, forgive me Silver, I forgot you were released from the dungeon,” she said. “These past few days have been hectic for me and this only makes things worse. I can’t send anypony outside the castle, or else they’ll be attacked by the protesters.” She looked back out the window and saw something that made her gasp.
“What is it Princess?” Asked Silver.
She looked back at the grey unicorn and said, “I just saw some guards out there that are loyal to both me and Luna.”
“What about them? Are they hurt?”
The white alicorn shook her head. “They too are protesting and calling for my sister to be exiled.”
“I was afraid of this…” Silver trailed off as he furrowed his brow. “There must have been a guard of two who let loose about Luna’s transformation into that dreaded Nightmare Moon.”
If words could petrify a pony, Celestia was a victim to the words spoken by Silver. “This is terrible…” Celestia’s eyes were becoming moist as she bit her lower lip. “This is not how it should end! She does not deserve any of this.”
“I understand your plight Princess, but the ponies will want somepony to take the fall for what has happened recently…” He sighed as he closed his eyes, lowering his head. “And my guess is that they want Luna to be punished. Either by banishment,” Silver gulped as he looked to the Princess’ eyes. “Or death.”
With her ears flattening as she tried to expel the roaring of the mob, Celestia felt a tear run down her eye. “I cannot allow such a thing…” She trailed off, closing her eyes slowly as she scrunched her lips. “There is something I can do though.”
“Princess?”
“Silver,” Celestia walked away slowly from her guard, turning her head over her shoulder to look at him with a soft smile and teary eyes. “If anything happens to me… make sure my sister is safe.”
“I love you.”
Hearing simple words from her stallion was all it took for Luna to remain calm in this hour. She too heard the outrage of the ponies outside, only to be muffled by Pip’s embrace as he stroked her mane softly and held her close in his forelegs.
“I love you too.” Luna whispered, her eyes close to flooding as she sniffed and buried her muzzle deep into his shoulder. She felt Pip bring her face away from him, where she was now looking into his eyes. On instinct, she closed the gap between their muzzles and connected her lips with his. It felt like a blessing given to Luna, even though she deemed herself unworthy of this.
But almost as quickly as the kiss came, Luna broke it off and hung her head down. Pip saw her expression and asked, “What’s wrong Lulu? You should be happy that this is all over and that I’ve been here for you since I recovered.”
“It’s not you Pippy,” she said in a sad tone. “It’s just that . . .” Her voice trailed off as she looked away.
“It’s just what? Luna, you know you can trust me. Are you afraid Nightmare Moon will come back again?”
“No Pip, it’s not possible for her to return after you destroyed her spirit forever. It’s just well . . . ‘them’.”
Pip’s heart sank as he realized who Luna was referring to. He pulled her in for a hug and said, “Luna, I know you’ve been hearing those ponies out there since the protest began, but you got to remember that this wasn’t your fault.”
“It was Pip,” she said. “I should’ve kept my emotions and anger under better control, not let it get the best of me. It’s my fault that I gave in and let Nightmare Moon’s spirit control me for so long and hurt so many ponies.”
“There’s still time though to fix this Luna. I think maybe we should go talk to Princess Celestia about this and get this all straightened out before more ponies call for your banishment. I know your sister did start this really, but maybe she can help you out. We both can’t just keep hiding away because this certainly won’t blow over until something is done.”
Luna pondered for a moment about what Pip said before nodding slowly. “You’re right, Tia has got to have some idea about what to do. After all, she was the one who removed my time as Nightmare from history, so maybe we can think of something else.” She pecked Pip on the cheek and said, “Thank you for those words of encouragement.”
The spotted stallion smiled and said, “You can thank me after we come up with a plan and hope it works.” He got up with Luna and the two of them headed out the room.
“Princess Celestia, are you sure you want to go face them?” Asked a blue unicorn Royal Guard. “They haven’t exactly been cooperating with us and there’s no telling what will happen.”
The white alicorn stopped trotting down the hall and said, “I understand your concern Sergeant, but this has gone on long enough. If somepony doesn’t do something soon, this protest will get grow and it may eventually come to them storming the castle in an attempt to kill my sister.”
The Sergeant bowed and said, “General Armor has ordered us to be on standby in case of any attacks. We’ll be ready to defend you and your sister to the last guard.”
“Very well, now move out and wait for the General’s signal.” The guard saluted and galloped away. Celestia let out a sigh as she turned back to the doorway leading to the balcony and prepared herself.
When she opened the the doors, the muffled sounds became clearer and sharper as they were fueled by outrage and animosity. Animosity aimed towards an innocent. Celestia approached the edge of the balcony, furrowing her brow and spreading her wings. This seemed to work, as they crowd became silent when they saw the monarch of the day looking down upon them.
“Citizens of Canterlot!” Celestia called out to the ponies using her Canterlot Voice, which was not as loud as Luna’s but still had an impact on the ponies around. “Today we have yet again stopped Eternal Night from happening to our beloved Equestria,” she told the crowd, who cheered triumphantly at her words. “And I know all of you want to see justice done,” Celestia was against met by a thunderous roar. “But my dear subjects, the one who is to blame… is me!”
The silence from the crowd was so intense, a pin could be heard from the background from where the ponies were standing.
“Yes…” Celestia trailed off as she spoke, lowering her head a little in shame. “It was all my fault that my dearest sister succumed to the darkness again,” Celestia said as she looked down upon the ponies whose jaws were agape. “For my sister, my dearest Luna… finally found that which had search for since she returned to us over a decade ago. Love.”
Whispers could be heard from the ponies down below, as they were looking at each other before turning back to their princess with dubious eyes.
“I know this may sounds ludicrous, but believe me when I say that my sister found a blessing in her life… that I treated like a curse.” A tear escaped Celestia’s eye as she bit her lip. “I was consumed by fear, fear that my sister’s heart may be broken because of ‘foreseen’ circumstances… I refused to listen to reason from the ponies that mean the world to me… I was the one to ultimately break my sister’s fragile heart and nearly ruined the life of her lover.” Celestia began to choke at her words as she felt her chest hurting. “I was the one that nearly had doomed Equestria…” Celestia closed her eyes, not daring to open them to see the look of her subjects faces. “And I say to you now, do not blame my sister who is innocent…” She opened her eyes again to reveal them to be red rimmed. “Rather blame me for what has transpired.”
Silence fell upon the entire city of Canterlot. The only movement from some of the ponies were jaws dropping as their eyes widen in shock and disbelief. Celestia hung her head in shame, but at the same time, felt like a great weight has been lifted off her shoulders. She waited for the protesters to start throwing things and calling her various names. However, only a voice rang out in the crowd.
“Your highness!” One of the protesters called out. “You . . . you can’t be serious, right? Princess Luna’s obviously making you cover for her-”
“SHE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE!” She boomed in her Royal Canterlot Voice. The crowd of ponies screamed a little and were shaking in intimidation. Celestia’s glare quickly turned to an expression of remorse.
“I apologize my little pony, but what I am saying is the truth. My sister didn’t become Nightmare Moon to overthrow me because of jealousy towards me, but because I broke her heart and took somepony very special away from her. I . . . I broke her spirit and I nearly lost her, this time almost forever.”
“Where could Tia be?” Pondered Luna. “She should be around one of the restoration areas of the castle.”
“I don’t know Luna,” said Pip. “Maybe we should ask one of the guards here about her. There was one around-” Pip abruptly stopped talking as he and Luna passed by a window, he saw something unusual. He looked out the window and saw the protesters around the castle all had shocked expressions on their faces. “Hey, what’s going on out there?”
Luna stopped walking and looked out the window to see the strange sight. Suddenly, her ears picked up something. “I . . . I think I hear somepony talking outside.”
“Who is it?”
The blue alicorn pressed her ear against the window and heard the voice, but it was still muffled. Her eyes widened as she recognized the tone and gasped. “It’s . . . Tia.”
“Your sister?” Asked Pip. “What’s her game now? If she’s trying to cover herself for this foley, I’ll-”
“Hold on Pippy,” said Luna. “I think we may be jumping to conclusions. I better get to the balcony and see what’s going on. I need to talk to her anyway and finally resolve this.”
“What about me? I have some choice words for her as well.”
“I’ll let you talk to her later. Besides, I know Tia’s going to want to have a talk with me alone and she’ll probably do the same with you too. Go wait in my room and I’ll be there in a little bit.”
Pip grimaced a little and nodded hesitantly. “Alright Lulu, but only because you think you know what’s right.”
“Trust me Pip, I hope I’m right in this.”
The crowd would not calm down, no matter what Celestia said. “My subjects please!” Celestia called out to the ponies. “Luna is innocent! I am the pony who is guilty here, not her.”
“That’s a lie!” One mare shouted out frantically with her eyes wide and her teeth chattering. “There’s no way that our beloved Princess Celestia would say any of this! Nightmare Moon must have corrupted her!”
More ponies stomped their hooves as they nodded their heads, agreeing to what the mare was saying instead of listening to Celestia’s words.
“Listen to me!” Celestia raised her wings and her volume, but it was of no help at all. “My sister is innocent!” No matter what she said, Celestia’s words fell silent to the roars of the crowd below her. She started to sweat profoundly, looking to every corner for any kind of support.
“Sister!”
Hearing another voice from behind, Celestia turned around to see Luna coming from behind her. A small smile edged on Celestia’s face, but it soon vanished when the voices of the ponies redirected to Luna.
“There she is! The traitor!”
“Monster!”
“You will never be our ruler!”
“Banish her Princess!”
“Exile!”
“Hang her!”
“ENOUGH!” Celestia roared in her loudest Royal Canterlot Voice. The sound was so great, it not only silenced the entire crowd at once, but the echo caused several windows to crack and shatter, and the city shook like it was in an earthquake.
The crowd looked up towards Celestia and saw she had a livid expression on her face. Nopony in the crowd had the slightest courage to speak to their primary ruler as she glared upon them. Some ponies even turned tail and ran off screaming for their lives.
“YOU ALL HAVE NOT LISTENED TO ME!” She boomed. “LUNA HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG HERE! NOW QUIT BLAMING HER AND LISTEN TO ME!”
The whole crowd quickly nodded in agreement and fell eerily silent.
Celestia took a deep breath and let it out before opening her eyes. “Ever since my sister returned, I looked out for her and kept her under my watchful eye. I wanted to make sure she was safe, happy, adjust to her new life, and keep her out of harm’s way. I wanted to ensure she was satisfied and that I would do everything to make sure nopony hurt her again.”
“. . . Tia . . .” Luna said.
“However, when I learned Luna had started dating a guard, I became so overprotective of Luna, that I didn’t want anypony to be with her. I not only knew that one day, they’d pass away and die, but I was afraid that whoever dated Luna would try to hurt her. I just couldn’t deal with the fact that my sister was dating somepony else and I grew so worried for her.”
The whole crowd couldn’t believe what they were hearing, with some of them pinching themselves like this was a dream.
“What I was so afraid though was that when that pony passed away, my sister would not only be heartbroken that she lost him, but she would also turn into . . . her.”
“Celestia, I wasn’t keeping con-”
“Luna, please . . .” pleaded Celestia. “It’s time I owed up to what I did to you and put Equestria in jeopardy.”
She turned back to the crowd and continued on. “I let my own fears get the better of me, which caused my mind to spiral out of control and I saw images of none other than Nightmare Moon mocking me. It got so bad, that I accidentally sent my sister’s lover to the Frozen North, where he nearly died of hypothermia because of me.”
The protesters gasped in shock and murmured amongst themselves.
“Tia! This has gone on long enough!” Cried out Luna. “I told you, I gave into my anger and I let Nightmare Moon control me.”
“You know full well that I was the one who drove you into darkness though Luna.” Celestia turned back to the crowd and said, “While I did help take out Nightmare Moon, the real heroes are my sister and her coltfriend. Luna was only an innocent mare who wanted to feel true love, but instead I pushed her too far and I nearly lost her again. Almost forever, this time though.”
Having finished her sentence, Celestia saw the ponies in the crowd looking at her in disbelief and shock. There were no violent outbursts, only silence met the Princess as she stood on the balcony. With a sigh, Celestia walked back into the castle. A stream of tears started to leak from her eye as she sniffed.
“Tia! Wait!”
The words of her beloved sister made her ears perk and so Celestia turned to see Luna running towards her. Celestia only lowered her head, turning away and walked onwards.
“Don’t you ignore me Celestia!” Luna yelled out, using her wings to jump into the air and landing before Celestia. “Sister…” Luna trailed off as she replaced her glare with moist eyes. “I’m to blame too for what has transpired,” Luna spoke as she stared into Celestia’s eyes. “You were not at fault here Tia, I--”
Before Luna could finish, Celestia raised her hoof to cover Luna’s mouth. “No Luna, this is my fault.” Celestia said as she raised Luna’s chin with her hoof, caressing Luna’s cheek and held onto Luna with her wing draped over her. “All of this would not have happened if only I had faith in you and your judgement.” Celestia nuzzled Luna’s cheek, her tears staining Luna’s coat.
“Tia--”
“No Luna, it is true. If only I had given you the benefit of the doubt, you would not have succumed to the sorrow again. Instead, I only followed my belief that I knew better,” Celestia said as she let go of Luna and walked on past her.
“Please Tia, can’t you just--”
“No Luna, I never should have gotten in the way of you and Pip’s love. You were only following your heart and instead of me giving you the blessing you deserved, I cursed your love and nearly doomed Equestria for that.” Celestia replied as she sniffed, more tears landing on the ground. “Hence why I am not worthy of wearing this crown,” Celestia used her magic and took off her tiara, levitating it in front of her. “My place as Princess has hurt many ponies, too many I cannot look them in the eye anymore.”
“What!?” Luna stepped back. “Sister, don’t you think you’re going too far with this?”
“I’m not Luna,” she said. “For far too long, I’ve been only seeing things in my own way. I always thought I knew what I was doing, and everything that I did I thought was for the good of Equestria. Instead, I tried to push my own views about dating being forbidden on you. Now with everything that’s happened, I think I need to go into exile.”
“But Tia, you can’t just leave me like this! What if other ponies still think I’m a traitor or something? What about all the huge workload as well? I can’t do it all on my own. Please sister, we’ll work things out and everything can go back to normal.”
Celestia looked at Luna with a solemn expression. “Back to normal you say? What would happen if things did go ‘back to normal?’ I could easily revert back to my ways of imposing my will onto you and start this whole mess all over again. No Luna, I will not put you, Philip, or all of Equestria in danger again because of me. The best thing for me is to go into exile and see the world from the perspective of other ponies. From the richest of pegasi here to the poorest of griffons in their kingdom, I want to see the view of the world from other ponies so I can understand what they’re feeling, what they’re going through, and how they handle everyday life.”
“ . . . Tia . . .” Luna said with a few tears rolling down her face.
“There’s no convincing me otherwise Luna,” said the white alicorn. “I need to do this before my ways ruin somepony else’s life, possibly forever. After everything that happened and the near fall of all of Equestria by my actions, I can’t just go back to my routine and act like it was nothing at all.”
“And you won’t go alone,” said a voice.
Celestia felt a shiver run down her body. She let out a sigh and said, “How long have you been there, Stealth?”
From right behind Luna, Stealth Sneak’s cloaking field went down to show he was leaning against the wall. “I’ve been here long enough to hear everything.”
“Pray tell Stealth,” said Luna. “Why were you listening in on us?”
“I was just passing by to help with rebuilding the castle when I heard Princess Celestia talk about going into exile. If she wants to go around the Earth and see other livelihoods of other ponies, I think it’s only fair that I accompany her.”
“Stealth, I appreciate the gesture of friendship, but I can’t let you come,” said Celestia. “You’re needed here to help protect my sister from danger.”
“And who will be there to protect a pretty princess such as you?” He inquired with a wink.
“Stealth…” Celestia’s cheeks brightened a little before she blinked rapidly. “Please Stealth, you are needed here by my sister’s side and--”
“Your sister already has a bodyguard of her own, one who will never leave her side.” He cut her off as he closed in on Celestia. “You though have no pony to keep you company if you plan on doing this.”
With her breathing becoming faster, Celestia looked into Stealth’s eyes. “Stealth, I--” Her words were cut off when he pressed his lips to hers, catching her off guard. Her pupils shrank as she was petrified in place by the kiss she was being given. Instead of pushing Stealth away from her, Celestia’s eyes slowly closed as they were becoming more moist and she pulled herself into the embrace of the stallion as they kissed.
When they finally separated, Celestia looked at Stealth again who was smiling softly at her. She returned the smile as she leaned to press her forehead against his. “How long have you felt this way about me?”
“Since I met you,” he answered her plainly, hearing a giggle from Celestia. “You always were beautiful in your own way and you were a funny mare from some of the stuff you pulled like that tea incident in Ponyville. You’re just too serious though and I think you need to feel somepony love you as well. A princess as smart, funny, and beautiful as you shouldn’t be alone forever. So what do you say? Will you let me come with you and learn to feel what it’s like to have a special somepony?”
Celestia nuzzled his cheek before letting go of Stealth and looking at her again, with a wider smile. “Alright, you may accompany me…” she trailed off as she saw his grin appear. “But with this, I want to take things slow…”
“Say no more,” Stealth told her as they were both walking off. “Wonder what your beloved student will say?”
“YOU, WHAT!?” Screamed a worried Twilight. “Princess Celestia, pardon my language, but what in the name of Faust were you thinking!?” She felt several ponies, along with a certain dragon, put their hooves around her. She turned her head and yelled, “Let go of me! I need to talk some sense into Princess Celestia!”
“Twilight, I know you’re upset about this,” said Celestia as she backed up a little. “But I’ve already confessed to what happened to all of Canterlot. I wouldn’t be surprised if right now, the news has spread across the rest of Equestria. What you need to understand though is that for so long, I’ve seen the world through only my perspective and that my ignorant ways nearly cost me everything.”
“Princess, there has to be another way around this,” said Twilight. “I wasn’t happy with what you did, but there has to be something else we can do. You don’t need to go into exile and leave us all behind.”
“My mind is made up, Twilight. I already discussed this with Luna, and while she may not be happy with this at first, I do believe it’s time I got to see the lives of other ponies and learn about them. Besides, I have chosen you to help my sister with royal duties while I’m away.”
“WHAT!?” Twilight and all her friends shouted.
Big Mac stepped forward and looked unhappy. “Pardon me yer highness, but what about my wife?” He asked. “I don’t want her to be cooped up in this castle for the rest of her life. I understand she’s needed to help with royal duties, but she’s got a family as well.”
“Mr. Macintosh, you don’t need to worry about that at all,” said Princess Celestia. “Twilight won’t be held here in the castle and kept away from you and your foal. She’ll be mostly working at the farm with paperwork and only be summoned to the castle in case of meetings or emergencies.”
Big Mac’s frown softened a little and turned to his wife. “Well Twilight? Are you sure you can do this?”
The lilac alicorn looked deep in thought for a minute before taking a deep breath. “Princess Celestia . . . if you really want to do this for yourself, then I’ll support you.”
The white alicorn gave a small smile and nuzzled her student. “Thank you Twilight. I promise you that when I come back, I’ll be a better and wiser ruler then I already am.”
“How long are you going to be gone Princess?” Asked Spike. “If you’re going around the world, that means you could be gone for years, if not over a decade.”
“I can assure you Spike that I won’t be gone forever,” she said. “The journey will be long and tough, but I will return one day when I feel that I’ve learned all I need to. I know you’ll all miss me, but for the good of Equestria, I must go on this path to better myself.”
The group looked at each other with uncertain looks, but each pony, and dragon, gave a nod.
“What about your appearance Princess?” Asked Rarity. “Surely somepony like you can’t go around as a tall alicorn princess. You’d be sticking out like a sore hoof. Um . . . no offense, your highness.”
“That’s quite alright Rarity,” said Princess Celestia. “I do believe though that I have a spell to help me with that. Let me just try to do it to show you all.”
Taking a step back from the others, Celestia lifted her head and raised her wings. Her horn started to glow brightly, with the light slowly covering her entire body. When she was completely surrounded, her wings started to diminish into nothingness and her height was becoming shorter by the second. The light dimmed until it was gone, and Celestia stood there not as her alicorn self anymore.
Before the other ponies in the room, Celestia was now a regular unicorn. She had a similar colour coat, yet it was darker toned. Her mane was now a flaming red, with her cutie mark changed to a rising sun and mountains before it. Celestia opened her eyes and smiled as the transformation was now complete.
“What do you all think?”
The ponies in front of Celestia were stunned, all of their jaws were agape as Celestia waited for a response.
“Oh oh oh! We totally have to throw you a ‘Farewell Party!’ Princess!” Pinkie bounced to Celestia, beaming as she came close to the princess.
Smiling softly at Pinkie, Celestia rested a hoof to her shoulder and shook her head slowly. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that Pinkie…” she trailed off as she let go of Pinkie, seeing the Element of Laughter becoming silent as her smile was fading. “When I return though, you can throw a ‘Welcome Back Party for me.”
Almost immediately, Pinkie wrapped her hooves around Celestia’s neck. Celestia could feel her shoulder becoming wet, knowing that Pinkie was crying into them.
“Just don’t take too long to come back to us, please…” Pinkie whimpered, feeling a tender hoof stroke her mane.
“I won’t…”
Slowly, all the mares in the room were brought into the hug, with each mare crying and having something to say to Celestia.
When the group dispersed, Celestia wiped her own eyes that were becoming watery and sighed before she looked up again.
“There is something else I must do.”
“What is it?” Inquired Twilight.
“. . . Something I need to do right this time.” Celestia trotted off before anypony else got a word out.
“189, 190, 191, 192,” Pip said as he stared at the ceiling.
He let out a sigh and shook his head. “How long is Luna going to be gone? I can’t just lie here and count all the stars painted on her ceiling forever.” He got up and made his way to the door. “That’s it, I need to see what’s keeping her. If Princess Celestia is trying anything funny with her, she’ll have me to answer to.”
He opened the door and jumped a little to see a white unicorn standing in his path. He stumbled back a little, but quickly regained focus. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
“Philip, relax. It’s me, Princess Celestia,” she said.
The spotted stallion raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Very funny of you. Now tell me who you are before I throw you out of the castle.”
Princess Celestia let out an exasperated sigh. “I am one of the co-rulers of Equestria. I know my sister likes to call you Pippy. I sent Stealth Sneak to spy on Luna to see what she was up to. I accidentally caused Nightmare Moon to return.”
Pip said nothing as his jaw went limp.
“Convinced now?” She asked with a small smile.
“How . . . what . . . who?” Pip said in a small voice.
Celestia chuckled to herself. “Have you ever heard of transformation spells?”
Pip almost wanted to hit himself in the face as he remembered Luna used a similar spell on their first date.
“So, why do you look like this?” He asked.
Celestia explained about everything that happened. She told him about the speech she made to all of Canterlot and how she confesse about how she was the one who caused Nightmare Moon’s return. Then, she explained about how she was going into exile to get a better grasp on the different kinds of lifestyles other ponies have. By the time she was done explaining, Pip couldn’t find a single word to say. His expression was that of both shock and confusion.
“Are you okay?” Asked Celestia.
Pip closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Yeah . . . it’s just a lot to take in right now.” He looked at her in the eye. “So, going into exile, huh? Part of me wants to say that after what you did to me and Luna, you should be banished, but another part says I shouldn’t be so harsh on you.”
“I’m not asking you for forgiveness,” said Celestia. “I know I hurt you and Luna so much after what I put you both through. I only ask of you two things. One, will you please take care of my sister?”
The spotted stallion gave a firm nod. “You know I will Princess. I’ll look after her and always be by her side. Now what’s this other thing you want?”
Walking towards Pip, who was now taller than her, Celestia inhaled before she exhaled again. She looked into Pip’s eyes before speaking.
“I wish to grant you a proposal…”
“Yes?”
“Do you wish to become an alicorn?”
Pip blinked before tilting his head. “Excuse me?”
“Pip,” Celestia began to speak, smiling a little at his confusion. “I have the power to transform you into an alicorn like Twilight and Cadance, who are in a sense ‘demi-alicorns’... seeing as they do not share the longevity that Luna and I do.”
As the words sunk into his head, Pip lowered his gaze from Celestia before looking at her again.
“That is a generous offer, Princess…” He paused for a moment and cleared his throat. “But I cannot accept it.”
“I’m sorry?”
“I can’t take your offer.”
Celestia looked baffled. “Pipsqueak, surely you’re joking, right?” She wondered. “You showed extraordinary bravery, saved my sister and all of Equestria from an eternity of darkness, and showed me the error of my ways the hard way. You’re being given a great honor to join my former student, Twilight and Cadence. Don’t you want to rule alongside my sister as a prince?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to always be by Lulu, but it’s because of something you told both of us. Something that I think you were right about.”
Raising an eyebrow, Celestia asked, “What was it?”
“Luna and I should’ve talked about what would’ve happened if I died.”
Celestia remembered the same conversation she had with Luna. When she tried to talk to her sister, Luna shrugged her off.
“Although it’s your fault that Luna turn into Nightmare Moon, you showed me, and possibly her, about what could’ve happened should I have been killed. We should’ve thought about this sooner instead of waiting until we ‘came across that bridge’ as she put it. Even if I did take up your offer, it’d be only delaying the inevitable that eventually, I would die and she would never see me again. I don’t think it would make her happier, I think in the long run, it’d make her sad to know that although I live a little longer, I would eventually be dead.”
Celestia looked down and took the words in.
“But it goes beyond that as well.”
The white alicorn raised her head again. “How so?”
“I wouldn’t want to change myself at all for Luna’s sake. She loves me for who I am and I know she wouldn’t want me to look or act any different for her. She loves me not just because I called her my favorite princess, but because I showed her how it felt to be truly loved by somepony. What I was doing for Luna wasn’t for glory, but it’s because I was protecting her, like any lover would do for their mate.”
Princess Celestia couldn’t help but smile softly and let a few tears out. “That . . . that was truly inspiring Pipsqueak. My sister truly was right in choosing you as her coltfriend.”
“And I’m very proud as well.”
Pip and Celestia turned their heads to see a smiling Luna. The spotted stallion galloped over to her and embraced her.
“Lulu, how long have you been there?” He wondered.
“Long enough to hear your speech,” Luna said, walking up to Pip and wrapping her hooves around him. She smiled softly, nuzzling her lover’s mane before letting go of him.
Celestia looked to the pair and decided to give them a little privacy. She walked out of the room, closing the door from behind. She sighed, closing her eyes and bowing her head a little before looking up again. Celestia yelped when she was greeted by Stealth’s face.
“That was quite a speech by that colt,” he smirked as he saw Celestia regaining her composure.
“Well yes, it was.” Celestia dusted herself off as she stood up from the ground. “Now I must go pack for the journey ahead.”
Stealth’s grin lowered as he heard her speak. “Want some help with that?”
“It’s quite alright, thank you,” Celestia answered him as she walked forward. As she was walking past Stealth in her new body, Celestia felt herself being turned around and she was greeted by his lips pressing against hers. She stood there for a moment, melting into the kiss before she let go of him. “I thought I said to take things slow…”
Stealth shrugged, grinning again as he dusted his hoof and inspected it. “You look like you needed it. And you enjoy it too.”
Celestia only groaned.
When Luna let go Pip, she blinked her eyes as she was looking deep into his. She caressed his cheek and planted a kiss to his forehead before speaking again. “That was beautiful Pippy…”
“Well it’s the truth.” Pip assured her, pecking her cheek. “I don’t want to change myself and I don’t want you to change yourself either.”
“I won’t, I’ll never change.”
“Good.”
Almost immediately, their lips fused together as their hooves wrapped around the other’s neck. Luna’s wings came to life as she stroked against Pip’s torso and she let out a moan when she felt Pip’s hooves brush off against her flank.
Nightfall soon came for all of Equestria. The protesters were long gone now, but were instead replaced with signs dropped onto the street, bricks, and the burnt Luna scarecrow. Two white unicorns dressed in gray janitor uniforms were sweeping the streets and had frowns on their faces. Behind them, a blue Royal Guard pony was standing behind them and had a scowl on his face.
“After you two finish sweeping this area, there’s one more street to clean up,” he said. “Maybe this’ll teach you and those other traitorous guards for leaking about what happened to Princess Luna and putting her in danger.”
“Yes captain,” they said in monotone voices.
While that was going on, Luna looked out the window and smiled to herself. She was about to proceed down the hallway, but was greeted by Silver Storm instead.
“Silver, so good to see you,” she said. “I thought I gave you some time off to spend with Teal.”
“You did your highness,” he said. “Princess Celestia, or I should say, Sun Rise, wants to see you before she takes off.”
Luna gave a small smile and nodded. “Then I guess it’s time, isn’t it?” Silver gave a nod. “Then let’s not waste any more time.” Together, the two of them galloped down the hallway.
As they entered the main entrance to the castle, Luna saw Spike, Twilight, her friends, and all their respective mates were together. Fluttershy was being held by a somber looking Rainbow Dash. Pinkie’s mane was flat and was frowning, but was being comforted by Braeburn. Applejack and Soarin were cuddling next to each other, but each had a frown on their faces. Spike wrapped a wing around Rarity and pulled her in closely to embrace her. Twilight, however, looked really devastated. Big Mac tried to hold her, but she was letting some tears fall to the ground.
Luna looked in the middle and saw her sister still in her disguise mode and Stealth Sneak together. Stealth was carrying a large backpack on him that seemed ready to explode with how much stuff was in it. She then felt somepony tap her and turned to see Pipsqueak next to her.
“Everypony else has already said their goodbyes,” he said. “I think you better too before she goes.”
Luna gave a nod and trotted over. Celestia noticed her sister and turned towards her with a sad smile on her face. The room feel completely silent as the two regal sisters looked at each other. Everypony, or in the case of Spike, dragon, looked at each other with apprehensive looks on their faces. Luna looked down and tapped her hoof while Celestia took a deep breath.
At last, the white unicorn broke the silence. “So, this is it,” she said.
Luna gave a weary nod. “So it is,” she said. “Do you have everything you need?”
“As much I need for the journey ahead. We got a map of Equestria, some books about each place we plan to go to, food and water, and a tent for me and Stealth to share. That’s only naming a few things though.”
“Hmmm, whatever happened to taking things slowly?” Asked Luna with a smug grin on her face.
Celestia blushed deeply. “Luna!” She yelped. “It’s not like that!”
The blue alicorn let out a small laugh. “Forgive me sister, but I thought a good laugh was all we needed.” She sighed and looked at her again. “Tia, I know things have been rough on us for the past few days.”
The white unicorn nodded slowly. “It’s not helped that I made things worse for you.”
“Yet you helped save me to the bitter end. I know things have been hard on both of us, but we’re sisters after all. You told me when I returned it was time to put our differences aside and rule together. Although you really messed up, it still doesn’t change that you’re my sister and that I love you.”
Celestia gave a tearful smile and embraced Luna. “I’m so, so sorry for what I did,” she said in a broken voice. “I know I’ve said it multiple times, but I really should’ve put more trust in you instead of getting in the way.”
“Please, Tia…” Luna raised her hoof to silence Celestia once more. “That’s in the past, we can only move on and learn from our mistakes for the future.” Being taller than her sister now, Luna reached out a hoof to her chin to raise her head. “This was just a rough patch in our lives, but please know and understand that no matter what, I will always love you my dearest sister.”
“Luna…”
Silence greeted them before Celestia started to sniff and flung her hoof around Luna. Even though she was shorter, Celestia could still nuzzle her sister as tears were escaping her eyes.
Celestia stepped back from Luna and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I promise you sister, when I come back from this, I’ll be become a better mare. No matter how long it takes, I will learn from this.”
“I know you will sister.” Luna suddenly felt something click inside her head. “Wait right here sister, there’s something I must get you.” Her horn glowed and in a flash, she teleported away.
“Princess Celestia,” said Stealth in a rather weak voice. “I mean no offense, but I don’t think this backpack can hold much more. If try opening it, I think it’ll go off like an explosion.”
“Don’t worry Stealth,” she said. “Whatever my sister is carrying, I’ll be sure to carry it for you.”
Before the green unicorn could say anything else, another bright flash appeared before him and the others. Luna was back now and she was carrying what looked like a dark blue book.
“Another book?” Inquired Stealth. “No offense Princess Luna, but we got enough books as it is.”
“This isn’t any book,” she said. The blue alicorn opened in to reveal nothing was written on the pages at all. “This is journal I kept. I had no idea what to use it for, so I think you should have it Tia. You can use it to record everything on your journey and what you learned. You can use it as a means to remind yourself of the lessons you’ll learn along the way.” She levitated the book towards her sister.
Celestia took control of the book and gave a warm smile. She embraced her sister again and said, “Thank you sister. I know that by the time I come back, this book will be filled with my lessons.”
The sound of a clock tower rang out, catching everypony’s attention. The clock tower rang nine times before it fell silent again.
“Celestia, it’s time,” said Stealth. “We need to get out of here and get going while the night sky covers us.”
The white unicorn nodded and looked towards all the ponies. “You all mean the world to me and taught me so many things from the Friendship Reports. I’ll miss you all dearly and think of every one of you along my journey to keep myself motivated. Know this though, I will return one day and things will be different. You ponies, yes Spike, including you, are some of my best friends and I’ll never forget you all. I hope when I come back, I see you all again so we can catch up like all friends do.”
“We’ll keep you in mind Princess Celestia,” said Braeburn.
“You and Stealth have a wonderful trip,” said Fluttershy.
“Be careful out there mom,” said Spike.
Celestia looked at Twilight and pulled her in for a hug. “Don’t cry Twilight, I’ll be back and better than ever. You need to stay strong for me, my sister, and all of Equestria.”
The lilac alicorn smiled and wiped her tears. “I’ll do it for you princess,” she said.
Celestia then looked at Luna. “Sister, there’s one last thing I need you to do.”
“What’s that?”
“There’s too many guards walking around town and cleaning up the streets. I need you to teleport me and Stealth on the outskirts of Canterlot.”
“Why not the train station? Surely you can begin your journey by using the train to get to your first town.”
“Stealth and I only have so many bits on us and we want to remain as inconspicuous as possible. One thing in my journey I will try to avoid is luxuries since I’ve been living my whole life as luxury. Now then, teleport us outside the city limits.”
Luna gave a nod and closed her eyes in concentration. As her horn glowed, an aura surrounded both Celestia and Stealth. The group of ponies, and dragon, each had sad smiles on their faces as they waved goodbye. Celestia smiled back and closed her eyes as the glowing intensified.
Suddenly, in a flash, they were gone. The only thing remaining of their presence now was a small burnt area where they were standing. Everypony held onto their respective loved ones and let a few tears out.
Holding onto Luna, Pip leaned his head to Luna’s. “Are you okay?”
Luna sniffed, her eyes red from crying as she shook her head with a somber smile. “No… I’m not.” She raised her head and looked back at her lover. “But as long as I have you, Pippy… I will be.”
Having been teleported outside the border, Celestia and Stealth walked onwards to the east. Stealth insisted on carrying the luggage as a true gentecolt would, which brought relief to Celestia as she was now no longer an alicorn until further notice.
When they came upon of a hill, Stealth finally spoke.
“Well, now that we are out, where should we go? I was thinking Appleloosa first or we could go eastwards to Manehatten and do some sightseeing there--” His words were cut off when he saw Celestia looking back to the grand castle and Canterlot. Stealth blinked before reaching out to the mare, standing by her side. “Are you okay?”
“I am…” Celestia smiled, a stream of tears falling from her eyes. “I know everything will be okay for my sister, and for Canterlot. I trust her fully…”
Stealth nodded as he nuzzled Celestia, who returned the gesture. “Good, now let’s go.”
“Right…” Celestia trailed off as she turned around, not looking back at Canterlot but rather in front of the world before her and to the stallion who would accompany her. “Stealth!” She called out to him, seeing him turn sharply to her. She trotted towards him and planted her lips to his. After a few moments, she let go of him and wrapped her hooves around him. “Thank you.”
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cool
3845152 Thanks.
It wasn't Luna's fault at all, it was her sister Cuntlestia's fault completely. Wow, I was actually expecting her to either try to sweep it all under te rug or just let Luna take the blame.
This is some aftermath to the battle. I must say it was great to see Princess Celestia admit her mistakes and take full responsibility for her actions. Truly a great leader to the end. But, even great leaders should learn about the world outside them. The idea foe exile for Celestia is a good one as it sort of parallels Luna's exile as well.
Plus, you forgot to mention the old Changeling invasion that happen under Celestia's watch as well.
Still, it was a great update and please do keep up the good work upon finishing a great story.
Not bad......
Personally, I'm a fan of the whole 'find a way to make their special-someponies immortal'....but that's just me being a sap. (alicorn amulet?)
But not too shabby at all
3845704 To be fair, Celestia was fooled, along with all of Equestria about the invasion, so I didn't mention that. Not to mention I didn't really think of it.
3846491 Thanks.
I liked it, I guess, but the only pairing I liked was Luna/Pip.
Romance out of nowhere? Eh, I can dig it, happy endings...sort of.....sure why not. Thought it surprised me how Pipsqueak denied immortality. Well, to each their own, here's to seeing the final chapter then
WOW. I am speechless.
What I think of the story pretty good and I hope it's a good ending of the chapter.
PS to the offer In will be a good idea to make a adventure story with princess celestia and her special pony.
It's just a idea.
hanh17 out
I like Stealth.