Moonfall

by Mist Twister

Addendum: The Night's Sister

The trip back to Canterlot seemed to be over in an instant, since Luna had spent the entire time musing about her new companion and all of the friendships she had forged. Over the course of a single Nightmare Night, she had rebuilt relations with the townsfolk of Ponyville and gained the favor of the new Elements of Harmony, who had each agreed to help her in their own way. And it was all thanks to Twilight Sparkle; the unicorn had seen her through the night, sticking by her through thick and thin. If anypony had given Luna a new lease on life, it was her.

“There certainly is something Magical about her…” Luna muttered absentmindedly.

“Hmm?” Eventide, who had been riding in the chariot next to Luna, turned to her with a smile.

“N-nothing!” Luna averted her blushing muzzle.

“O-oh.” Eventide quietly turned away. “You know, it’s kind of nice to not have to fly, and instead just be flown somewhere.” He smiled.

“HEY! I heard that!” Vesperus - flying in line with Noctus for once - shouted back at him. “We’re only doin’ this cuz Luna said so, but once you’re all healed up I’m still kickin’ your flank for this!”

“Just shut up and fly straight!” Noctus commanded at a still-sneering Vesperus, as they began their descent toward the landing zone.

Luna and Eventide looked to one another and stifled their giggles under their hooves.

The chariot slowly began to descend, and finally settled gently on the stone landing pad. The sun was still only just rising, but Luna felt exhausted. She sat up weakly and climbed out of the cart, turning to envelop Eventide in an aura and lift him out after her. She gently sat him down on the stone, allowing him to gain his balance before he stood up.

“T-thanks Princess Luna,” Eventide mumbled quietly. ”You d-didn’t have to do t-that though.”

“Think nothing of it, Eventide - and please, just ‘Luna’ is fine. I did not wish to see you come to any further harm. You have already endured enough.” Luna smiled. “Tell me, though: why did you need leave with Aurora? I was quite certain you had already left, until I found you waiting for me in Ponyville...”

“O-oh, well…” he stammered, beginning to blush, “s-she had to go on guard duty, and I guess I s-stayed to do mine...”

“You remained in town to watch over me? Even after what I did to you?!” Luna blinked in astonishment.

Eventide stared down at the ground for a moment, deep in thought. “...That thing wasn’t you,” he finally said, lifting his head and fixing his eyes on Luna’s. “It wasn’t then, a thousand years ago, and it isn’t now... It never will be you, Luna.”

“Eventide...” Luna fell silent, unable to find a suitable response.

“Hey... uh... yeah!” Vesperus interrupted as he removed his harness, drawing their attention. “So... I’m goin’ to bed, folks. Laters!” He trotted off.

“Please excuse us, Princess.” Noctus bowed before chasing after his companion.

“I s-should be going too. I w-wanted to catch Aurora on her p-patrol routine. Good morning Luna.” Eventide also bowed, before heading in the same direction as the other two Duskguards.

Once she was alone, Luna started in the opposite direction, and trotted through the dimly lit hall. The soft orange glow of the rising sun began to cascade through the widows, each individual beam casting its soothing, warm rays on the alicorn and illuminating the hall. Luna paused to peer out of each passing window, smiling at the sun as it began to peak over the horizon. She had almost forgotten how exhausted she was, but the higher the sun rose, the more she felt her energy draining away.

Wearily, she approached the heavy doors to her chambers and nudged them open. She crept into the welcoming darkness of her room - courtesy of its heavy drapes - when the creaking door allowed just enough room to squeeze through, and then turned to slowly nudge it closed. It shut with a soft clack that still managed to echo through the quiet room.

“Hello Sister. Enjoying your evening?” a familiar voice softly called out.

“Sister?!” Luna spun around to find Celestia lounging on her bed. “Wh-what are you doing here?!” She backpedaled in surprise.

“Just came over to say ‘hi’!” She flipped over and hopped off the bed and trotted toward Luna, stopping just short of her. “You’ve been avoiding me for quite some time, after all,” she said, maintaining a smile as regal as ever.

Luna’s face flushed with embarrassment. “Y-yes, well, about that...” She coughed dryly in an attempt to compose herself. “I originally believed I was the source of the disaster at this year’s Grand Galloping Gala, but recent, um, developments have taught me otherwise. Everything has been cleared up, and I’ve even managed to instill a renewed sense of faith into the citizens of Ponyville, as well as regain the favor of the current Elements of Harmony.”

Celestia said nothing for a moment, before trotting further back into the room. She was facing away from Luna as she spoke, looking toward the thick blinds that hid the rising sun and only allowed a thin beam of light to trickle in. “...And what of the damage you have caused to Ponyville?”

“I... I informed the citizens that I shall personally oversee the reconstruction efforts, and I was planning to coordinate all the necessary financial compensations with Twi--” Luna froze, her eyes widening when the realization hit. ”Wait, how do you even know about that?!”

“You have eyes and ears all over Equestria, too, do you not? Just as I have my own. They may have been watching you,” Celestia said, her tone conversational and calm.

Luna stopped glaring for a moment and averted her gaze, her mind going wild with accusations.

Has she been having us followed this whole time? Does she still not trust us? We have done nothing underhooved since our return; what possible excuse could she have for her actions? She still thinks of us as the selfsame foal we once were?

“Then you have still not quite forgiven me, I suspect,” Luna said, staring at her sister, who remained unmoving while she peered out through the thin slit in the blinds.

Celestia finally turned to face Luna, wearing a slight frown on her face. “I have, Luna... I would not have renewed our friendship if I hadn’t. I was only concerned for our kingdom!”

“What do you mean? You still consider me a threat?!” Luna could feel hatred slowly boiling up from within, a certain, horribly familiar darkness pulsing through her being. Her cutiemark burned with anger.

“N-no! It’s not that...” Celestia winced with what seemed like frustration. “Sister, I know that, after your long absence, reintegration has not gone smoothly. And while I thought that restoring your powers would help you regain your original form, it has instead led to further atrophy...” Celestia closed her eyes briefly, and then continued. ”Everypony I’ve sent to help with your recovery, every treatment, every spell... they all turned out ineffective, and I’ve been far too busy myself to-”

“Be there for your sister...” Luna interrupted disappointedly. “The one who always stood by you. Who always loved you, and admired you most of all, in your days of glory. Who only asked you to help her teach appreciation of the night to the denizens of Equestria, when they all began to shun her. Who comforted you when our mother finally faded, and even helped you through your own Rending! And when the time came, when I truly needed you most, during my own Rending... you banished me!” Luna was shouting now, and was left panting by her outburst, yet still stood tall before her sister, fueled by righteous fury.

Celestia stood in shocked silence, unable to reply. Slowly, she hung her head and, with a deeply-heaved sigh, responded quietly: “You’re right. I haven’t really made time for you, since you returned; perhaps I never have... I lacked the power to help you, all those years ago, so I just... sent you away. I spent everyday thereafter wishing for another chance, wishing that I’d done things differently, but now that my wish has been granted, I’m just making all of the same mistakes all over again... It would seem even a thousand-year absence hasn’t taught me anything about caring for the one who matters to me most...”

“Sister...” Luna murmured. She sat down weakly, utterly surprised by that heartfelt response. Her own anger instantly subsided; her cutiemark’s heat cooling just as rapidly.

“I love you, dear Sister,” Celestia said, stepping closer to Luna and gazinginto her eyes. Her little sister was, once again, shocked to find that normally impenetrable regal composure fading. Her eyes, gradually starting to fill with tears, were as soft and innocent as they had been when they were only foals. “But you have already been shown more love and compassion by Twilight Sparkle - a pony you have only just met - than I have given you in, perhaps, all of our long years of existence together... I have failed you... I-I’m sorry...”

Celestia hung her head in shame, obviously disappointed in herself. The tears lamenting her folly were well-hidden beneath her vibrant, pastel-colored mane. She slowly began to trot past Luna, heading towards the door, but stopped when she found her path blocked by a dark blue wing. She looked over at Luna in surprise.

Luna glared at her. “Sister, we have been apart for many years. During that time my anger grew, and Nightmare Moon only became stronger. But we were shown the error of our ways, and as such, we were saved from making the same mistakes again. Tonight I have learned many lessons about love and friendship, but now I must learn another one, it seems, about that which I have sought for most of all: forgiveness.”

With that, Luna smiled, wrapped her forehooves around her big sister and pulled her into a hug. She held her tightly, embracing her crying sibling to the fullest, even wrapping her wings around the other alicorn. It was like they were fillies again...

Celestia sat there, her mouth agape in awe, as a stream of tears steadily trickled down her face and around her muzzle. Her forehooves were simply left dangling, until she willfully fought to bring them up and hold her sister. She slowly broke into a smile, and pressed her face against Luna, softly sobbing into her shoulder.

“I’ve missed you so much, Tia,” Luna whispered, whilst her sister’s ears pricked forward to hear.

“L-L-Lunabelle, y-you haven’t called me that since we were foals!” Celestia whimpered with delight.

“Nor have you called me by that name in ages.” She grinned, petting her sister’s mane. “You know how much I dislike being called by my full name.”

“I-I’m sorry, I just-”

“It’s okay. As they say: old habits die hard,” Luna spoke softly.

The situation was indeed reminiscent of how they used to act when they were small. All those countless times when Celestia would come crying to Luna, wailing about a bruise on her hoof or how she’d lost her doll - and Luna would always be there to comfort her. It was, at times, easy to mistake which one of them was actually the big sister. But Luna didn’t mind; she cared for her sister unconditionally.

“Mother instilled many valuable traits in you, dear sister, but it was I who had to learn courage first... You may be the strong, confident ruler of Equestria now, but deep down inside, you’ll always be my Tia...”

---

Author's Note:

Okay, so it was a pretty short addition, but something I really wanted to add none the less. I hope everypony enjoys this while they wait anyways! As always, tons of thanks to editor Aurora for making even the shortest scenes so much more awesome!

Comments

[The Lone Shadow]

D'awww....

[Mossflower]

that was so adorable!

[Yourbannywrote]

This has all been so very cute but um can I please have some twiluna :3 ?

[Mist Twister]

1787352>>1787606

1792503
Of course! It's coming

[Midnight Sky2]

for a moment there it got all NLR vs SE but then it went right back to pure awesomeness

[Mist Twister]

1799619
Haha, if only you saw the original draft...

[dormagio]

Yessss! Luna comes out on top! Well done. I am ecstatic that you didn't go the route of, "this was all a plan by Celestia to reintegrate Luna." I love it when an author makes Celestia fallable. You lose points for Pinkie Pie breaking the fourth wall, but it is still a good story.

[Mist Twister]

1807919
Ugh, I hate omniscient plot devices like that! Feels so cheap and unsatisfying. Glad you enjoyed the take of it! I can't stop Pinkie from breaking things though !

Hope you continue to enjoy the story as it progresses !

[campercz]

Hey, good adition! Waiting for MOAR :D