Can you fix the broken?

by Odes

3: A close call and a deal

Author's Note:

Apologies for the late chapter, hope the size compensates for the wait!

Celestia’s P.O.V

Celestia was not in the most clear state of mind at the moment. She was fighting too many emotions as well as the panic for her sister’s sake. She cannot, and will not falter in her mission to find her sister. She herself would not allow it.

She can still hardly believe that her Lulu was back. Oh if she wasn't afraid for her sister she would have been jumping around like a filly out of joy. It was a dream come true, finally, she could make amends for her mistakes, and finally, she could see her sister smile and laugh again! They can be happy again! It just felt so good to know that she was not alone anymore. Neither she nor her sister will be alone again. Such a curse loneliness was, but they will finally have each other and be together forevermore, as it was intended by the world. As it always will be.

Well, that is when she finds her sister. She did not expect Luna to have enough magic to teleport away after being blasted by a fully charged harmony blast. She did not blame her sister for teleporting away though, oh poor Luna must have been so confused to see everything be the same after the blast of harmony. Her poor sister must have thought she was going to be banished to the moon again. Okay, to be fair, even Celestia thought that to be the case, although she was ready to go for drastic measures to ensure that her sister would not be alone this time. No matter the consequences.

It always ate away at Celestia knowing that she had imprisoned her sister in the manner that she did, she wished that she was not afraid, she wished that she wasn't so scared that she didn't just command the elements to ‘get this thing away from everyone!’. She wished she could say that she was young then, but that was another excuse she would give herself to make the guilt soften.

For the longest time, the sun princess tried to convince herself that she banished this ‘Nightmare Moon’ and not her sister. But it was all for nought, Nightmare was her sister, there was no denying that. She still had her cutie mark, her passion, her love for the night, and as she saw her first hoof today, her compassion and honour. ‘Never fight a defeated foe’ was practically her mantra for a while.

Celestia secluded herself away from the world after that realization, which didn't take long, really, all it took was a quick visit to her sister’s old room and after a bit of exploring, she found all the reasons and the desperate ways used to deal with them. She kept herself in the castle for the first 400 years after that. She almost became a legend if it wasn't for the Sun celebration. It was the only time of the year that the public saw her for centuries, and even then it was almost filled with regret. She celebrated her sister’s banishment of all things! Cruel is what she thought of it as, even barbaric, but she had to make that celebration to please the public and ease their worries! Of course, she also kept no records of her sister as both Nightmare Moon or Luna so no one would question why she was gone or worse, ask if her being gone was the reason for the celebration to exist in the first place.

While it is technically true, she still didn't want others to spread heinous stories about her sister and she had to calm the populace after the sun returned for the first time in a week. With things possibly going out of hoof she had to come up with something for when her sister’s plan ended. So a celebration came to be, a celebration that ponies loved across the globe…and one she dreaded and hated more than anything else.

How could she not hate it? It was a reminder of her failures as a sister and as a friend to Luna, she failed her sister and then banished her to the moon! In all honesty, it did feel good to be thrown away by Luna earlier today. She deserved to be hurt like that for keeping that celebration going after the first decade or so. It was her punishment, and she was fairly sure there was more to come.

Oh, buck she was getting distracted by her thoughts about the past again! `focus Celestia focus! You have a Lulu to find for Faust's sake!` she thought as she flapped her wings harder to boost her speed, she was never as fast as Luna considering their origins and expertise, but she was still faster than most Pegasi out there.

Staring at the vast expanse of the Everfree forest below her, she found out that she was glad that she accepted the help of her student and her little friends. She just hoped that she was the one to find Luna first. After all, they had nothing to do with this, and Luna might view them as enemies as they were the ponies that defeated her. Of course, she was as big of an enemy as them if not bigger but unlike them, she could handle the other alicorn’s offence and aggressiveness (in all honesty she felt like she deserved to be attacked some more).

She knew accepting their help was risky but they were more or less beacons that would summon her before they got seriously hurt. She was proud of her student for finding such good and kind friends in a single day. Sure it was meant to be considering the plan but she didn't expect them to face her sister so early. She meant to meet her student and tell her of a plan after awakening the elements of harmony, it didn't occur to her that her sister would go to Ponyville out of all places in the kingdom. But even then she was still proud of her student. Twilight has been her second attempt at taking a student ... or well they were more of what can be called companions rather than students. Sure she taught them but they were suggested for company that made her calm, happy, and ‘lively’, whatever that meant.

During her time without her sister, the loneliness just got too much and as much as she enjoyed staying alone and hiding from the population that hurt her sister so much (it was the only one of the 2 causes that she could get away from after all), she still desired an actual and honest regular social interaction. Now admittedly her first attempt went poorly, unfortunate events made by mistake that were both done by her ‘student’ and herself.

Well, Celestia likes to think that she learned from those mistakes and also learned that cake is a fabulous snack to eat to drown your sorrows. The sugar intake did wonders that ice cream couldn't even dream of achieving.
It really was a miracle food and she regretted not hiring that wondrous grey mare that made those oh so wondrous Strawberry jam and cream cakes!

…aaaaand she was doing it again wasn't she? Ugh, why can't she focus like usual? What's so hard about finding and talking to your little sister? Before now this was all that she could think about! The little sister that she wronged and dearly missed. She has to and will fix this, she will get their relationship to be better than before and she will find Lunariana ‘Selena’ Hurricane even if it's the last thing she'll ever do in this life!

Twilight's P.O.V

To put it simply… Twilight regretted a lot of actions in her life. She regretted not solving the problem of language barriers, she regretted not learning how to bake butterscotch cookies, but most of all, she regretted venturing into a dark cave in the middle of a magical forest alone while also searching for a magical princess that controlled the moon! The moon of all things! Couldn't she have been the princess of flowers instead of the old symbol of all things magic? Oh, wait…that probably had a reason. She should note that down later.

Now that she thought about it, this princess was probably there when the moon was considered the symbol of magic…most of all she controlled it. Now Twilight was hit with the terrifying thought that Princess Luna might be the very reason why the moon is the old symbol of magic. It made sense for it to change when she was gone but oh boy does her cutie mark feel odd to her now. Was it even magic? Or did Luna change the symbol of magic during her reign and go back to what it was before when she was gone?

Agh! She was getting off-topic! She had to get rid of this habit sooner or later. Seriously, it caused her so many troubles that are much worse than it's worth.

She groaned before she shook her head and refocused on her search. The cave ceiling wasn't that high so it's most likely not a home of a very big creature…and even if it was, the Princess probably took care of it. You know, unless it's not the princess that's waiting for her inside, which will be a really unideal situation or so to speak. Many things were unideal now that she thought about it.

Shaking her head to focus again she continued walking further into the cave, she cast a quick spell to muffle her hoof steps so she was least likely to get noticed…well if you ignored the horn light that is.

Still, even then she was nervous and her approach was slow, she didn't know how long she walked and how many dead ends she reached in the cave and didn't bother to count, she memorized the paths that she took so she was not afraid of getting lost, what she was afraid of is not finding the princess here…okay she might also be afraid to find the princess as well. Who can blame her?

Nonetheless, she eventually reached a dead end with a body silhouette near it. Holding her breath, Twilight approached the figure as slowly as she could and hoped to not lose focus and trip. As she approached she saw toned and slim hooves and legs in front of her and with a small push of extra magic she increased the light from a safe distance so she could get an actual look at the princess.

Twilight didn't know what to expect but the princess was….exotic to say the least. Her body was smaller than Celestia's (that one is obvious), and her coat was mainly dark blue but there were these..weird yet beautiful sets of black lines that spanned across her body, from her barrel to her neck, even her wings had them. After taking a step to get a closer look she noticed the details. It also became apparent that her lines extended from some black splotch on her flank where the moon cutie mark was.

Leaving that to return to later she focused on the princess's face and horn, by all means, it was very impressive. Of course, it was not as tall as Celestia’s horn so the precision was not going to be the same but it was definitely denser and thicker, it was obvious that her spells, even the weaker ones, would be extremely powerful.- It explains why her magic was returning at such a rapid pace. Her body uses more magic and makes even the simplest spell that much more intricate and so her body compensates by generating magic insanely fast! That has to be it!

Her mane and tail on the other hand, it was as if she was staring at a reflection of the night sky, from its flow and colour to the subtle silver shine near the edges to indicate what she can only assume to be the moon. It brought into question the nature of Celestia’s own mane but that is for later.

Going back to the topic of the wings, they were certainly bigger than that of the average pegasi and the muscles in them were strangely showing. She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. The lines on her wings spanned across it whole, it spread and branched like a tree between and on every feather and pinion. It almost looked like a set of veins or as if a forest was drawn on her wings. Looking past them she saw that the lines continued over her back and went down to her legs and hooves. They went down in a spiral manner that ended touching one side of her slightly larger hooves. Then there was the front section which wrapped around her neck as if it was a necklace of sorts, that part was the only section that made her wonder if this was natural or not.

It was…well unique is one way to put it, but yet it also feels off as if it's incomplete. She couldn't help but feel like something was missing but yet she was also sure the lines shouldn't exist. The abstract displays of the princess of old or even the images in the stories book bore no mention of such lines or markings on the Lunar Monarch's body.

In her wonder, Twilight failed to notice the pair of turquoise eyes staring at her. A pair of narrow confused and enraged eyes. It's safe to say that Twilight didn't even get time to react before she found herself tackled and before she could even try to cast a spell, she felt Luna's horn jam into hers and send a small surge. Whatever that was, it was obviously not a good thing as the light spell had faded away and she couldn't get her horn to channel her magic anymore. Oddly enough though it did not hurt, not that she was paying enough attention to notice that. Not yet at least.

“What are you doing here? How did you find me?” Twilight heard the princess say but she was too shocked for the words to actually register, let alone respond to them. She was shaking and the pony on top of her was snarling with anger. It's safe to say that Twilight was never more afraid of her, she was stripped of her magic, the Princess can probably kill her in one spell despite the protection spell and Celestia will have to— wait! The princess!

Suddenly finding her courage she opened her mouth to speak while hoping that her voice won't betray her more than the rest of her body. “Princess wait! If you attack me you'll break the protection spell and Princess Celestia will be here!” The words had the desired effects as she saw the body above her stiffen. Soon enough the princess lifted her head and took 2 steps back, she was still on top of Twilight yet not as much as before.

“You didn't answer my questions, and do you think I'm afraid of her for that to be a warning of sorts?” She asked with irritation and slight confusion, which in turn confused Twilight. Wasn't she afraid of the princess when she first showed up?

“Um….yes? I mean…you did sorta of kinda panic when Princess Celestia showed up earlier” Her response immediately earned Twilight a glare. Well apparently she said the wrong thing “or totally not! I could be entirely mistaken, it would obviously make more sense if you weren't afraid of her but it was the only explanation at the time-” that caused the glare to intensify “or I can just ask you what caused you to panic of course!.... Please don't turn me to dust and spread me across the night sky as an example for ponies or lock me up in the dungeons..”

The princess just stared at Twilight for a second with confusion in her eyes, she then raised an eyebrow as she stared at Twilight as if she was trying to judge if she was serious or not. The princess eventually came to her conclusion and took another step back.

Twilight got up and it was her turn to be confused about why the Princess let go of her. Why would she do such a thing? Sure she couldn't use her magic and probably couldn't outrun- oh it all makes sense now. Twilight realized that she was simply not a threat at all to the night princess. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

“Why would it make sense to fear my sister when she was obviously panicking? I might not have registered what she had said at the time but it was clear that she was not in an ideal state to do anything but panic.” Luna said as if she was stating the obvious, and now that Twilight thought about it…well she indeed was saying the obvious.

“B-But Why were you panicking then?? I saw the look in your eyes, and it was pure Primal fear! If not Princess Celestia then…then what was it that scared you?” Fear and nervousness were coming back full throttle towards the young unicorn. She did not know if she wanted the answers to her questions, just what could have made Princess Luna so…so scared. That was the most fear that Twilight had seen in anyone's eyes before, and now it is scaring her even more because there had to be something ELSE that scared the princess like that.

“WE-” The princess suddenly stopped her outrage as soon as it began, Twilight blinked as she didn't have time to do anything but flinch at the volume. Before Twilight could inquire about why she stopped or why she used the term ‘we’, she was interrupted by the princess who decided to continue talking, though it was different. Her tone was hurt and sad this time as she spoke.

“I was not panicking, I was simply shocked….yes shocked, after ... after you used….You..You…YOU” Twilight stiffened at the growl-like tone, but before she could even react. The princess already tackled her again and pressed her against the wall with rage, hate, and…wait was that sadness? The princess was CRYING Now????

“YOU, YOU ARE THE ONE THAT GATHERED THE ELEMENTS, YOU ARE THE ONE THAT ACTIVATED THEM, AND YOU ARE THE FOOL THAT KILLED HER” Princess Luna screamed with magic boosting her voice, it did not help at all that they were in a cave with a lot of Echo, nor did it help that the voice sent enough vibrations through the walls of the cave that she made the whole cave start to shake.

None of that caught Twilight's attention, it was the hate and rage in the Princess's voice that caught her attention, it was what she said that caught her attention, it was the last part that shook Twilight to her core. “K-k-killed?” Twilight spoke with a whimper. She…she couldn't have killed anyone, could she? All She and her Friends did was destroy Nightmare Moon and free Luna. Suddenly it clicked in Twilight's head, though she still did not understand the reason.

“Nightmare Moon?!” Twilight almost yelled herself at the piece of information. She didn't have much time to think about it though. “Don't you DARE say her name you piece of filth!” The princess's voice was less angry than before but the biting hatred was still there…and so was the princess's sorrow. Why was she sad, Twilight could not know. It made no sense!

With fear forgotten as her need to rationalize took over, she talked back and asked questions that while sensible, it was not the time for them. “But why would you not be happy? S-She’s not even a person! She's just your negative emotions taken form!” upon further thought, she really should have closed her mouth.

“What?! How dare you! What fool has told you that? She's not my negative emotions, she's everything to me! And YOU, alongside the other elements have killed her!” The princess was all but shaking with anger now. She pressed her hoof against Twilight's neck and the unicorn was almost crying now, it wasn't hard to breathe or anything thanks to the protection spell. No, what made her almost cry was the anger and sorrow that the princess was showing, did Nightmare Moon mean that much to the princess? And…and then they just went and destroyed her?

Now that she thought about it, Nightmare Moon and Luna were alone together for 1000 years. They had no one but each other for all that time, and it made sense for her to care. If what Celestia said is true then Nightmare is… well was part of Luna’s emotions for a long time, so it only made sense that she must have found the capacity to care about Luna and vice versa during their banishment. Oh Faust what have they done?

With the realization setting in, Twilight did actually cry. She felt horrible for what she did. She felt like she was the monster if anything, despite the nature of what happened. If what she did was good then it certainly did not feel like it. How could she when she killed someone? As bad as they were, they were still cared for deeply by someone, and she killed her just like that. This was the Princess's only friend! Only companion for 1000 years of Isolation while the world moved on without them, she was part of the Alicorn in front of her for Faust's Sake! Just thinking about what she and her new friends did made her feel sick.

Finally, after sorting her thoughts, Twilight gave up and relaxed her body, letting her fate be in the hooves of the Alicorn princess. Whatever it may be, it will be deserved. She just hoped it wasn't painful. Though before whatever judgment the princess made would be cast on her, she gave a final barely audible whisper.

“I'm sorry…”

Luna's P.O.V

Luna froze and stared at the crying mare that she was pinning, her ears twitched and flapped a bit as the princess made sure that she heard correctly. Did the mare that led the charge and attack that killed Moon really just apologize while crying?

It… it made no sense yet, here she was. Giving up on survival and simply apologizing for what she has done… Why did this runt have to make this hard? She sounded so honest in her apology that it was hard to even tell herself that she was lying. This could’ve been so much simpler if Moon took—… stop that, Luna, not now.

She let go of the mare before taking a step back and sighing. She had to get more information from this unicorn after she got her to stop crying of course.

She snarled as she let go of Twilight and immediately wrapped her up and grabbed her with her ethereal tail. The mare looked confused with tears still flowing from her eyes. A quick glare was all that Luna gave her before she gathered herself and started to hold back the sobbing, it didn't stop but it was certainly a start.

“We have much to talk about. You knew about us and the elements, and unfortunately, we lack knowledge about the world due to my lovely sister’s Judgment. Now, tell me what happened to Celestia during the past millennium.”

She saw the confused look on the mare's face…actually now that she thought about it, she should ask the mare for her name. It will be awkward to call her unicorn or mare over and over. “Before that do tell us- do tell me your name.”

Luna couldn't help but roll her eyes as she saw the dumbfounded look on the unicorn's face but at least she was distracted enough that she wasn't crying anymore.

“T-Twilight, my name is Twilight Sparkle. It's an honour to um….meet you, your Majesty.” Luna couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the title used but didn't waste time inquiring about it she didn't have any time to inquire about anything at all as the unic- as Twilight Sparkle talked again. “Well..as far as I know, nothing happened to the Princess…well except the state of panic that she's in, I've known the princess for almost all my life but this is the first time I've seen her so…so worried, I've seen her worried about ponies or whatever happens at court before but never this much… princess you ne-”

“You don't tell me what I need to do Twilight Sparkle, you tell me what I tell you to tell me, got it?” Luna unintentionally slipped into the Royal Canterlot Voice which pressed Twilight harder against the wall. Just how long was her tail to go that far? However, it still seemed like she didn't give up.

“Princess Luna, please! Like I said I-I have known Celestia for almost all my life but it's still relatively nothing compared to her entire life, all I can tell you is that as far as I know nothing happened to her but she's worried beyond anything I've seen, and she's worried for you. You've seen how she hugged you and cried, you should have seen her when she saw the night without the moon!” Luna wondered how a simple question of what happened turned into this but she might as well set things clear so she can continue her questioning … although it did feel good to know that Tia- That CELESTIA still worried about her. I suppose some care remained after all.

“Do you really think that I'm just going to her? She banished me to the moon for the past 1000 years and now that we're back she's acting like a broken coward. That's not the sister I knew and even if she was, what would happen if we talked? Apologize to each other and then go back to living together? As if!”

Luna unknowingly started walking around in a circle while stomping angrily and cracking the floor of the cave with each step. She saw the bits of fear that were followed by defiance and hints of anger at her words in Twilight's face but she did not give her the chance to talk, tightening her grip on her to send the message.

“And even if that whimsical scenario happens, what's next? What will happen next? Does it make up for the time I lost?! Does it make up to the pony that I lost?! No! Once ponies learn about me and my return they will only see the monster that you all viewed us to be! They will always look at her image as if she was a monster!”

“I-....I cannot deny any of that, and I can't say that what was gone will be returned, but princess, times have changed, ponies have changed…a-and you're not alone…I-I want to make up for what I've done…I owe you way more than I can pay so please…allow me to help you, allow me and Celestia to help you. She's your sister, she'll understand, she'll help.” Oh my oh my, this one might as well be asking for her teeth to be knocked inwards. She got her motivation of guilt but did she have to involve Celestia every bucking time that she spoke?? It really grates on her nerves.

“Girl, who am I speaking to at the moment? You! I'm speaking to you, and not Celestia. When you talk you talk about yourself and what you'll do. Stop talking about what she will do. I'll be the judge of everything involving her. Got it?” Luna allowed a slight smile to grace her lips at the quirky curt nod that she got from Twilight. “Now, the idea of you helping me is intriguing, and honestly the only option you have other than getting obliterated, but that still ignores the matter of the other 5.”

“NO! Princess please, let them be, I gathered them, I told them what to do and I am one that activated the elements in the first place. It's no fault of theirs, princess. I'm the only one deserving of punishment.” Twilight all but cried out, it was an impressive display of loyalty while also making her job easier but still felt like it wasn't enough

Luna sighed as she sat down to think and considered her options. She can take the path of ‘fixing’ her relationship with her sister but so many things can happen and most of them damage Moon's legacy in one way or the other. The only saving grace out of all of this is that both Celestia and her student are now guilt-ridden. She can use that to her advantage but the thing is, was it worth the risk?

In all seriousness, just what would she get out of fixing her relationship with Celestia? People will still hate her, and most of all they will still hate Nightmare Moon. Sure it will help when their lovable ‘goddess of the sun’ tells them to not hate the Moon but even then, not all will listen. Even she knew that such a scenario would be just wishful thinking and nothing more.

Hmm, it leaves nothing much to do as well, there is a course of action that will bring the most ease towards her but it would be rather…unpleasant and disrespectful to her origins. She'll revise this plan and see if it is indeed the best course of action…who knows? This might as well work. It's certainly better than anything else she came up with till now.

She took a deep breath and sighed again before turning towards the squirming Twilight “Listen here Twilight, I'll leave your friends on one condition,” She paused to see if Twilight would talk and avoid getting rudely interrupted. “A-and what is the condition princess?”

Luna was decently surprised by the eagerness in the lavender unicorn's tone, not enough for it to change her own tone though. “You will become my own personal servant that will attend to me 24/7. You will be given the time needed to do other duties should it be required, but other than that? I cannot risk you getting away from my side for long periods, if you ask why I'll tell you now already. You need everyone for the elements to work, and you are the main link for the other elements and with you by my side, there will be little to no chance for you to use the elements against me.”

She stared at Twilight to see her reaction throughout her whole explanation, first came shock and what seemed like a will to protest but that was soon gone and replaced by a thoughtful expression then a nod of understanding. It was amusing now that she thought about it. She began to see why her sister apparently kept her….and then there would be making her sister agree to this, hopefully it wouldn't be too hard.

“I-I understand, I'm sure the princess would understand as well…thank you,” Luna blinked and her ears twitched to make sure that she was hearing correctly, what was she thanking her for? “Thank you for giving me a chance, and thank you for leaving the others be. Though um…can you let me out of your tail, please? It's quite cold in here.” Twilight said a bit sheepishly before she found herself suddenly plot first into the ground.

Twilight got up and stretched before turning back towards the princess, she wanted to say something but was interrupted by Luna suddenly shoving her horn into Twilight's own at the same spot that she hit before. Luna saw Twilight's eyes widen before she suddenly froze as the feeling of her magic definitely rushed back at her.

Luna then cast a repair spell to fix the chipped parts of her horn left by her attack. She then turned around and motioned for the shell-shocked Twilight to follow her. “Well, since it should be obvious that I settled for a chance of peace, you might as well take me to your friends and my sister. I'm sure that the lot of you agreed to have a meeting point to report after a certain amount of time right?” Luna smiled to herself at the nod she received. “Well then, what are you waiting for? Lead the way.”

Twilight nodded once again and sped up so she could walk in front of the Lunar princess. Luna couldn't help but wonder about what was happening inside her young little mind.

Celestia’s P.O.V

2 hours have passed and just as agreed, the Princess returned to the castle grounds, a smile adorned her face as she saw the other ponies there and unharmed, though that smile soon turned into a slight frown as she saw a lack of a certain lavender pony “Where is Twilight my dears?” Celestia knew her student almost better than anyone else, even Twilight's parents knew her less than she did, so it stood out to her that the most punctual pony that she knew was the one late.

It did not calm her nerves or soothe her worries when the other ponies all gave varying shrugs or words of ignorance, Celestia was getting worried. She knew Twilight was safe and sound due to the protection spell she placed still being active but it was not like her at all to be this late. Maybe she got lost? Yes, maybe that was the case.

In her deep moment of thought she almost missed the rustling of bushes and cracking of sticks. Almost. She jolted and quickly turned her head to look at the source, and what she saw made her jaw drop.

There she was, Twilight slowly walking forward with her head a bit down as if she was deep in thought (which she probably was) and behind her was Lulu walking forwards calmly with a stone face that portrayed zero emotions.

What shocked her the most was how her sister looked. She didn't get a clear look of her sister before in the castle so she didn't notice much of the details except Luna being younger. The lines and broader wings are what caught her attention the most. Unfortunately, she didn't have enough time to dwell on her thoughts.

Celestia found herself in front of her sister, right there and right now, she was face to face with the person she wronged the most in her immortal life. Staring at her with cold indifference that stung and hurt more than the ice age or the magic downpour of falling meteorites.

Celestia didn't think, Celestia didn't hesitate, she didn't even realize that she wrapped her sister in another hug until she felt her sister slightly and ever so subtly lean in. Before she knew it, Celestia was crying once again.

What's worse is that she didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to say or what to think. She had 1000 years to plan for this but how was that supposed to matter? Even if she did plan, even if she did have a set course of action, she wouldn't have listened to it, she would have given up to her emotions and let them take control.

After what felt like an eternity (yet it still felt too short) she felt herself getting pushed away by the stone-faced Luna. Oh now did she want to grovel and beg for forgiveness at the moment, how she wanted to abandon all sense of self-respect so she could properly convey how sorry she was, how much she regrets her actions…but she can't. Not only were they not alone, but Celestia knew that whatever respect Luna had for her would fade away if she did do such things, she knew her as the strong leader, not the grovelling mess.

Celestia took a step back and did her best to do some breathing exercises to calm herself before she addressed her sister again. “Welcome back Luna, I'm glad to see you again.” She said with the warmest smile on her face, even then, Celestia sincerely doubted that it conveyed a fraction of the happiness and joy she was feeling.

Luna in turn only raised an eyebrow at Celestia before she spoke “See me again? Have you not seen our Visage every day on the moon every time you beckoned it to rise against its will?” Luna's tone was cold and accusing, there were also hints of irritation and anger in her words but that was to be expected, it is hard to say such a thing without her emotions seeping in. Not that she blamed her, Luna has every right to feel the way that she did, but it still hurts.

“Luna I'm-” Celestia didn't get to finish before she felt a hoof press against her mouth and shut it. “Save it, Celestia. We have more important matters to talk about at the moment. Your feelings and rationalizations can wait for another time. Now before you ask, yes I will be coming back with you to Canterlot. But things will not be the same, I wish for you to send the ponies here home, except Twilight. The less they know the better it is.”

Celestia just stood there stunned for a moment. Her sister was coming back? Just like that? J-just what happened? What did Twilight say or do that caused her sister to agree to return? Oh, she will reward that mare with the strongest hug that she could muster (that is nonlethal of course) after this is done. Nonetheless, she had to return to the matter at hand and she had to question the last 2 parts.

“And why is that Luna? They are the new holders of the elements-” Celestia found herself unable to finish what she was saying for the second time in less than 5 minutes and she was interrupted by the same pony. She couldn't get mad though and just allowed it to happen. “That, dear sister, is precisely why I want them sent away and why it would be better for them. The matter at hand only concerns the 2 of us and Twilight.”

Celestia blinked and she could already hear a set of protests around her from the other bearers of the elements (unfortunately she didn't get a chance to know their names yet). She quickly lifted her right wing up to silence them before she nodded to her sister. “Dear little ponies, please do so and return to your homes. I'm sure your families and other friends are worried sick about you and would prefer to see you again. You'll get news of what will happen soon. Till then you can safely tell everyone that the threat has been dealt with and that I'm safe and sound.”

Celestia only waited for a couple of moments to see if the ponies would leave by themselves but it seemed that they refused. She sighed before turning towards them. “I am sorry for this, my little ponies.” in less than a moment, her horn glowed and a bright golden light enveloped the area and the 5 element holders were gone in an instant and back at Ponyville.

She turned back towards Luna and gave her a slight nod with a small smile, Luna simply nodded back before getting back to business. “On our way here, I asked your student about the nature of the world and recent history, and of course, the topic of myself came into the conversation and imagined my surprise at finding that I was practically erased from history. Now before you go on a tangent and try to explain, I'll have to say that I'm thankful for it. It makes what I have in mind that much easier to accomplish.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her student who was standing at the side nervously and digging her hooves into the ground. She then turned back towards Luna and motioned for her to continue.

“Since the world forgot about it, it can be easily said that after the defeat of the mare on the moon, harmony saw it fit to bring forth a force to represent the moon and the night on earth and fix its tarnished image. Yes, I am proposing that we say that I'm a newly made Alicorn who's here to ‘fix’ the ‘wrongdoings’ of the mare on the moon. It's also more believable since I made the moon disappear and kept the night. It can be said that it was because I was ‘born’ at that moment. It will make my introduction to the public that much easier and should prevent most of the negative theories and conspiracies of the public from forming for what is hopefully enough time for me to adjust.”

Celestia simply smiled and nodded before walking closer to Luna and resting her head on top of her neck. She saw nothing wrong with this plan and as odd as it might be, it still made sense AND also allowed her to be Luna’s older sister once again.

She still had questions though, she stepped away from Luna’s unmoving body and turned to look at Twilight. “May I ask what Twilight has to do with this?” Luna simply nodded before she stared at the young unicorn.

The mare in question shrank from the attention of both princesses and looked around nervously to avoid eye contact from the two of them, very interesting.

“She agreed to become my personal servant and my aid in the modern world as a way to pay back for what she and her friends did,” Luna said simply and plainly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Celestia on the other hoof stared at her sister as if she had grown a second head. “What. What do you mean by that Luna? She's my student and not some servant or whatever it is that you're thinking of! She may help you, yes, but she's not a servant.”

Luna simply stared at her with a raised eyebrow before speaking again. “Don’t worry, she will remain as your student and you'll be free to call her for her studies. I am afraid that the other parts are non-negotiable and she already agreed to them. I am simply stating the state of things to be soon. Now ignoring that matter, do we- do I have your support on this plan sister?”

Celestia simply stared at Luna with a dumbfounded expression, was she being serious? Did Twilight agree to this?! She quickly turned to her student to look and found her, staring at the ground nervously as she continued to avoid her mentor's gaze.

“...I know you said it's non-negotiable but we will talk about this later on Luna,” she said while staring at her sister with a stern and serious face for the first time since her return. She didn't know exactly why but Luna simply rolled her eyes at her this time.

“Whatever the case may be, it will be for another time. I do believe it's about time for you to confront the masses about what happened. Before then we would like to be transported to the castle that we confronted you on when we first returned. I do believe that this is where your new home is, correct?” she gave her sister a quick nod. “You can keep Twilight to calm the nerves of the others but her element will stay with me and you are to transport her to me as soon as possible.” her sister quickly turned towards Twilight once again. “Twilight, be sure to return to my side before the late afternoon. That is if you want me to keep my side of the deal.”

Luna then promptly turned to the silent Celestia and waited for a moment, Celestia was confused for a moment as she forgot what she was supposed to do. She let out a simple “Oh right.” After Luna introduced her hoof to her face. Luna simply gave her a blank expression while holding the element of magic with her own magic. Celestia simply shook her head before attempting to cast the teleport spell. She blinked in confusion and shock as she felt her spell get interrupted, the magic of it taken and then Luna disappearing in her silver glow of magic rather than Celestia's golden colour. The Sun Princess simply shook her head to focus again before addressing the other matter at hoof.

Celestia then turned towards the sheepish-looking Twilight before she rushed in and gave her the promised hug from before. The mare let out an ‘eeep’ at being hugged so tightly but Celestia still kept it going until it was fully out of her system. With a sigh of relief, she let go of her student and stared at her with the happiest smile she could muster before nuzzling the unicorn.

“Twilight my dear, thank you for bringing Luna with you, I sincerely thank you for that, but I must know what you have done to get her to agree. What is this about you becoming her servant? What is this deal?” Celestia couldn't help but worry for Twilight. Sure she took her to be a friend and a person to interact with but with time, Twilight became more of a daughter for the princess and she cannot let her do something that will harm her.

“It's…” Twilight wanted to speak but couldn't get the words out of her. Celestia looked at her student with worry etched into her face before her eyes widened as her student launched herself forwards and hugged the princess as tightly as she could “P-Princess…I've..I've done something truly horrible with Nightmare Moon…I promised to fix it and pay the price for me and the others, she agreed to let them be on the sole condition that I remain by her side for as long as possible.”

Celestia couldn't help but frown as she hugged Twilight back and kept the girl close to her and her warmth “Why would she do that? Your intelligence and nature in magic is something remarkable, yes, but I can hardly see why that will compel her to keep you like that.”

“It's…it's because *sniff* it's because I'm the connection link…the elements wouldn't work without me. S-So she decided to keep me by her side instead of getting rid of all of us for what we did… please allow it, princess..it's the least I can do to her and I'll also be keeping the others safe!”

Celestia froze as she delved into her thoughts again….sure that plan made sense. Magic requires a lot of magic and an understanding of friendship, and the people who hold the elements for them to work…Celestia shook her head and sighed.

This was no time or place for her to go deep into her thoughts. Her student wanted to do this, her student needed her support not some way to get around it. Not yet at least. She sat down and continued to hug the smaller frame of the lavender unicorn while enclosing her wings around her to keep her privacy and comfort. She didn't know what caused the need to pay her sister back to rise within Twilight but Celestia doubted the mare wanted to talk about this at the moment.

Celestia stayed like that with Twilight for the next 2 hours or so, the girl quickly fell asleep on the princess. The night's exhaustion finally caught up to her. To give the mare the time to relax and recover, Celestia decided to simply walk towards Ponyville and go at a comfortable pace.

It didn't take TOO long for them to reach their destination. Soon they reached the town and both mentor and student (Twilight was used to early morning lessons so thankfully she woke up easily thanks to her internal clock) found themselves busy with the inhabitants of the town.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Celestia teleported both herself and Twilight home after a tiring morning that she dealt with without any sleep. She might be an Alicorn but she likes to rest as well. Thank you very much!

Ugh if this day was any more tiring she would have probably forgotten about Luna's whole deal with Twilight. It was a good thing she remembered (as well as the fact that it gave her an early way out) before things got bad and Luna got tired of waiting.

Speaking of the night Princess. She was currently sitting on the bed ignoring its owner and her companion and was just reading a book as if this was just another Tuesday. Honestly…it was kinda fair considering all the things she and Luna faced when they were younger.

Still, she couldn't help but crave her sister’s attention. She missed her dearly and wanted to make up for lost time while also fixing her mistakes. She didn't want it to be all cold like this all the time.

Getting back into topic, she faked a cough to gain Luna’s attention which seemed to work as she raised her eyes to look at her. No words left the darkly coated Alicorn, she just stared at Celestia with an expectant look on her face which left her confused. Oh right, she wanted Luna’s attention so she could say something. She got so invested in Luna's reaction that she forgot what she momentarily forgot what she was doing.

“Well sister, as glad as I am to have you back (she was still holding herself back from jumping like a filly), I do believe that we need to further discuss….your plan.”

Luna simply sighed, setting the book down, it was only then did Celestia notice that the element of magic was nowhere to be seen. “The plan is simple. As you are aware, after I left the castle I made the moon disappear. I have to admit that that decision was out of rage but it gave me an idea. It can be easily said that since the Vanquishing” Celestia felt a shiver of guilt run through her spine as she heard the venom in Luna’s tone. “That the world required balance and so the elements of Harmony saw fit to create a new Alicorn for the Moon. It will also help the populous morale for a celebration of having a second Alicorn princess in Equestria. “

Celestia knew that Luna did not like her plan for what it implied and what it meant, but it was the most practical...except there would be a minor complication. It was no fault of Luna’s that she didn't know about this but Celestia knew that she wouldn't be pleased. From the corner of her eye, she saw that even Twilight came to that conclusion.

“Well that is a splendid plan Luna…but there is a detail that you are unfortunately unaware of. You see um- it will be the celebration of the third Alicorn princess in Equestria.” Celestia winced as she saw the frown form on her sister’s face and the glare she aimed at Celestia. “I beg your pardon, dear sister?” she almost spat the last part out.

“You see Luna…during your time gone another Pegasus ascended into an Alicorn and became the Alicorn princess of love…so uh surprise?” she said with a nervous smile and a slight shrug.

She then gulped as she saw her sister’s eyes shrink into pinpoints and for her magical aura to flare, knowing what was about to happen she immediately clamped Twilight's ears shut to shield her from the stream of profanities that flowed out of her sister’s mouth after a mountain shaking “WHAT!”

Comments

[Doctor_Den]

An interesting development, but it seems to me that Luna believed Twilight too quickly. At least if I were Luna, I wouldn’t consider the apology sincere and would give a lecture about how a destroyed stone doesn’t care about apologies and won’t recover from the words “I’m sorry.”

[Odes]

11874757
Luna does not accept the apology. Not yet at least. She's an opportunistic pony and Twilight is distraught enough to give up on pleading or defending her life. Luna would consider herself a fool if she didn't use that.

Seek the signs of Luna's lack of trust in the chapter.

[DarkSnowGaming]

Well this is ridiculous, how was Twilight supposed to know!? "Oh yeah, I awaken the elements and so I totally meant to kill Nightmare Moon on purpose."

I already hate this version of Luna.

Also you made the acting of Twilight spot on, the way she just immediately accepts to becoming her loyal servant just to make up for a mistake that she didn't even mean to cause is something she would probably end up doing in the show as well if the events that lead up to this situation happened.

[Odes]

11874958
Thank you! Twilight was the character I was worried about not getting right the most so this means a lot to me!

As for Luna, you'll either love or hate her across this story. She is troubled yes, but she'll do inexcusable things. But for this instance, you have to remember that she is talking with one of the killers of her closest companion (if not even more) less than 3 hours after the murder.

[AvoidingFever17]

I can only hear the song