From the Eternal Love of a Sister

by Scootareader

A Night Together

At night, we are at my greatest—and also at my worst.

What has pushed me to such action? Is this a lust for power? A lack of restraint? Pride? Jealousy? Fear?

I am weak. There is no we in this matter, only I. The night is the only thing which can be depended upon anymore.

I have always been the little sister, after all. Celestia has always been the dependable one.

That, perhaps, is some consolation as my hooves clack upon the cool tiled floor beneath us, my body no longer listening to our mind. We must see my sister and make this right.

The guards standing outside her door snap to attention as we round the corner. They are unicorns, ill-suited to night duties; we would have preferred bat ponies, ourselves. Still, it is my sister’s own safety that she is compromising, and we shall learn to bow to her judgment, whether it be superior or inferior. It is better than surrendering to the dark will ever be.

Dare we say there is even some merit to what Celestia said in her dreams. Perhaps something still may be salvaged from this, but we must speak with my sister before we are to know. We want to believe that what she said in her dream is true, but... we know from experience that my sister will lie for her own benefit, even going so far as to believe what fabrications she may weave. The only thing that keeps my hooves from staying themselves is the hope that she may have learned something in my time away as well.

We lift a hoof and tentatively turn the handle, the door swinging open to admit us, its watchful gaze ensuring we bear no ill intent.

Within, it is dark, but we sense my sister’s eyes shift to watch my entrance. She is awake.

“Hello, sister. We see that thou art having trouble sleeping tonight.”

“I am. I had a particularly... graphic nightmare.” Her voice is almost pleading. “I’d very much like to talk about it with you.”

My eyes, always having been more accustomed to the darkness, have adjusted quickly to my surroundings. Celestia is sitting upon her bed, seeming as if she expected company. She is not wearing her royal regalia, which lies on the floor nearby, the cold metal which belies her station discarded as if of no consequence to her.

She nods to a spot beside her, on her bed.

There is something... that has not been lost upon us. If my sister were expecting company, she would have worn her regalia. It is no good for royalty to be seen outside of their formal attire. Perhaps... it was on purpose?

That is what this is about. She is not coming to me as a princess. She is coming to me as a pony quite like myself. The crown slips off my head as I shake it briefly, then the horseshoes come off as easily. Now, like my sister, we are no longer Princess Luna. We are just Luna. As we have wanted to be for a long, long time.

There are no words spoken as I jump onto my sister’s bed. My body makes an audible whump as I lie myself onto the feathered mattress next to her. We gaze into the darkness a short while, the silence revealing nothing, but assuming all.

Finally, Celestia speaks. “I’m so sorry.” We can tell already that she is crying.

“For what purpose?”

“For... being so foalish. So uncaring. So... cold. As I always have been.”

“And why should we believe that anything has changed?”

Silence replies to us for several long moments. We wait for her to say something, knowing she must. She always has a reply for us. She always will.

“I don’t know. I can’t make you believe me.”

This... is uncharacteristic of my sister.

After another lengthy pause, she continues. “Tonight, for the first time in my life, I dreamed of the Moon.

“For the last thousand years, She has done what I have asked, not because I am Celestia, She Who Commands the Sun, but because I am Her subject, and She deigns me just important enough to take my requests into consideration.

“Yet, every time I humbled myself before Her, I asked Her to return my sister to me. Even the Moon, in all Her love and wisdom, could not simply bring back the only pony who kept the light inside me.

“For a thousand years, I shielded a dying flame. I hoped its strength would hold. I donned mask after mask of a dictator, a ruler, and a monarch to keep Equestria intact, all in the hope that my sister would keep my flame from going out, that she may someday come home and we rule together, as I have always dreamed we would.

“Then, one day, my sister did return to me. She breathed life onto the dying flame—only to discover that it had burned out long ago.

“The light inside me never flickered, nor did it go out. Not once did it show any sign of weakness. That is because I never had a light in the first place. For over a thousand years, I have lied to myself, and my sister has been made to suffer for it.

“Tonight, I dreamed of the Moon, not because I wished for the light to return to my life, but to feel the love of my sister once more. I have never cared for politics, or a nation, or the common pony, more than what I feel for you, Luna. I cannot see inside me any more than I can see the Sun when it disappears below the horizon, but at least now I can see you.

“The light has gone out inside me... but perhaps it still resides within my sister. Is there still a light in your eyes, Luna?”

I can think of no words to describe how I am feeling. It feels as if my mind is tearing itself apart, not with humility, as we expected... but surprise. Never, in all this time, did we ever believe these words to be coming from my sister.

And, for the first time... I believe her.

Celestia continues. “We are no longer little foals, to be swayed by nursery rhymes—yet, perhaps one that we remember still holds true. Mother disappeared, and we were still fillies, but I had to become a mother. Now, you are no longer a filly, and I am no longer your mother. It is time for you to assume your duties, truly, as the Princess of the Night.”

My sister turns her head away from me and looks at the ground. “I hope you still see the light in yourself, Luna. I know I can’t see the light in anything anymore.

“All I’ve wanted all this time is to see you again, and now I have. I need you. I can’t do this anymore. Not alone.”

A light smile comes across my face. “Then thou shall not have to do this alone. Not anymore.”

My sister’s smile mirrors mine as the weight of countless lifetimes unburden themselves from her, the tears of an eternally lonely sister finally being shed when she feels the love she once thought lost. She embraces me, sobbing into my shoulder as she holds me closely.

It seems like only minutes ago that the hooves of a pony not unlike myself strangled the life out of my sister. Now, she weeps upon my shoulder. Do I possess the strength to do such a thing?

No, and I never will. Luna is no murderer. I am not Nightmare Moon, nor will I ever wonder if I may be again.

Perhaps I am still a little jealous of Celestia—but I love her. That will never change.

This is the only truth which guides me on this night, as I hold my tortured sister close. Tears of my own stream from my eyes and splash into her mane, and I let out a loud sob.

There is no grief this night, nor is there regret, nor pain for the 1000 years we have lost. There is only joy.

For eternity, we are together.

I do not know how long my sister and I lie upon her bed, our manes slick with moisture and our bodies locked into an embrace. I only know that, eventually, we both fall asleep on one another.

Comments

[PaulAsaran]

Okay, I gotta admit that was a pretty good, 'proper' reunion. I find myself wondering, though: how long has Luna been back?