Luna lost a long standing bet to Celestia and now she must pay up. Twilight is not thrilled and thinks that giving Celestia a stern lecture will save her marefriend from a terrible fate.
Princess Luna has finally found love in Princess Twilight but once Celestia discovers this, she reminds her younger sister of a bet they made long ago regarding romance. Luna lost the bet and now she has to pay up. Twilight, not wanting to be parted from her marefriend shocks Celestia with a stern talking to with hopes of changing her mind regarding Luna having to pay up.
After Celestia learned about Luna's relationship with Twilight, she reminded her younger sister of a bet they made long ago. Considering that she is Luna's marefriend, Twilight decided to head to Canterlot and join them. Once they arrived they headed straight to Celestia's sleeping chambers where she promptly locked the door. She smacked Luna's flank with her tail and asked, "Well Lulu, shall we get back to the fun we used to have so long ago?"
Before Luna could reply Twilight asked, "About this fun, what is it? You said on my balcony that Luna liked it, I want to know exactly what it is."
Luna replied, "Twilight, to truly understand it thou wouldst have to understand the close nature of natural born Alicorn sisters."
Twilight asked, "Close nature?"
Celestia began, "Yes Twilight, close nature." She cleared her throat and continued, "Here is the thing, given that there are so few Alicorns in this world, much less natural born ones, pretty much nopony knows about the true nature of Alicorns and the bonds they forge when they are young."
Twilight asked, "So what kinds of close bonds do they forge?"
Luna replied, "Well in the case of Alicorn brothers, while they do care for one another, they fight one another to the death over territorial control. As time passed, their aggressiveness only became worse until they would kill each other. Eventually all the male Alicorns killed one another, leaving only females and thus, nopony to mate with."
Celestia added, "And when it comes to Alicorn sisters, once they come of age, they become very needy and lustful of one another."
Twilight asked, "So natural born Alicorn sisters...."
Luna replied, "Yes Twilight. The moment both sisters come of age, a special bond forms between them. They develop a bond of sexual desire for one another. With some it is only moderate."
Celestia interrupted, "But in the case of Lulu and I, it was extreme. There would be times when we would lock ourselves together in the same room........"
Luna interrupted, "Sister, there is no reason to go into specifics, I'm sure she knows enough already."
Twilight asked, "So incest is natural for natural born Alicorn sisters? You don't see anything wrong with it?"
Luna replied, "Twilight, unfortunately it is part of our biology. No pair of Alicorn sisters was ever known to not develop this bond. It is one of those things that once the bond develops, it is almost always eternal. The sisters will always desire one another, they will always be intimate."
Celestia added, "Even if they do find a mate at some point in their life, they will always desire their sister and find ways to have trysts with her."
When Twilight heard this, she was shocked. This was something that she simply could not wrap her mind around but then she realized one thing, that they weren't like that. She asked, "Celestia, Luna, if that is the case then why aren't you two like that anymore? Why don't you lust for one another anymore."
Luna replied, "We are no longer like that because when I became resentful of the ponies shunning my lovely night, I transformed into Nightmare Moon. In a sense, I became a different pony with a different mindset. Yes we were still biological sisters, but I became something else and that lustful bond was shattered."
Celestia added, "When she became Nightmare Moon, her desire went from being me to having full power over Equestria."
Twilight asked, "And I take it that when Luna returned from the moon, the bond did not return?"
Luna replied, "No, it didn't. While I did return to my former self, the bond never reformed and it will never return."
Twilight sighed in relief, "So I don't have to worry about you leaving me for Celestia or even if we were to become a committed couple, I wouldn't have to put up with you having to be intimate with Celestia?"
Luna replied, "No Twilight, you won't."
Celestia giggled, "Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that Lulu."
Twilight and Luna both sighed in frustration over comment. While Twilight knew that Celestia had not so pleasant plans for her marefriend, Luna was bound and determined to not only not allow that old bond to return but to get out of having to pay up in the way Celestia wanted her to entirely.
Despite Luna saying that nothing would cause that sisterly bond they once had to return, Celestia had other ideas. Twilight certainly hoped that nothing would cause the bond regarding Alicorn sisters she learned about to return. After contemplating exactly what she was going to do for a couple of minutes, Celestia pointed one wing at Luna and the other at her bed and ordered, "Lulu, lay down."
Luna knew that the bet was still valid but this was something that she was not about to engage in, she was not about to do what she amounted was betrayal. She stood tall and said, "No big sister, that is something that I will not do."
Luna had not been stern like that with Celestia since her return from the moon and this did not sit well with her. She stood taller and asked, "What?"
Luna then approached Celestia and continued, "No big sister, I will not do that. That bond is broken and it will not return." She then stood close to Twilight and continued, "And I will not betray Twilight like that. She has won over my heart and cheating on her is something I will not do."
Celestia was not thrilled but would be even less thrilled when Twilight stood up to her, "Princess Celestia, I mean no disrespect but can't you see what you are doing? You are trying to force Luna into doing something that she is very much against." She motioned for Celestia to lean down and whispered, "If you try to force this bond again something not so pleasant may happen, she might turn into Nightmare Moon again and you certainly don't want that, do you?"
Celestia stood there in shock. She never once imagined that the pony who was her faithful student would stand up to her. After a minute of silence she sighed, "Very well then but that doesn't mean that Luna won't have to pay up in one way or another." She approached Luna and continued, "Sister, while I will not try to make that bond return, I do have plans."
Luna felt a sense of relief but was still nervous about what her sister wanted out of her. She asked, "What is it big sister, what is it you want me to do to 'pay up' as you are calling it?"
Celestia pointed her wing towards the kitchen and ordered, "You are going to make me a cake and if it is the absolute best cake I have ever had, I will forgive the rest of the month. If it is not however, you will fix my meals and bake me cakes for the next thirty days" She saw Twilight's eyes light up before continuing, "nor will you be allowed to visit Twilight."
Twilight flew up between the two and yelled, "Princess Luna is a GROWN MARE, you can not tell her who she can or can't see!"
Again Celestia was shocked but even more so this time as she did not expect Twilight to yell at her. Celestia stood there in a state of shock before continuing, "I am sorry Twilight but this is how it will be. It is either this form of repayment or the less pleasant one."
Before Twilight could say anything Luna interrupted, "Very well big sister, I shall make you a cake and it will be by far the best one you have ever tasted."
Luna headed off to the kitchen leaving a relieved Twilight and a still stunned Celestia. Once Luna was out of earshot Twilight ordered, "Celestia, we need to have a good talk."
Celestia, despite being far more powerful than Twilight, gave her a nervous nod, "Ok Twilight."
Celestia, despite being the most powerful pony in all of Equestria, was a bit nervous. She knew how Twilight could be when she was upset and that if she were angered, things could go downhill in a hurry yet. Despite knowing this though, she was still going to try her best to make Luna pay up, even though it would only be fixing her meals and baking her cakes.
Once Luna was out of earshot, Twilight decided that she was going to do something that at one time was unthinkable in her eyes, lecture Celestia. Twilight pointed her wing towards Celestia's bed and ordered, "Sit down."
Celestia did as ordered while Twilight sat down on a chair in the bedroom. Twilight gave her a glare and began, "Princess Celestia, I want to know something. I want to know why it is that you would want to do this? Why is it that you would want to hurt the two ponies closest to you?"
Celestia stood up and replied, "I wanted to do this because Luna lost a long standing bet. I can see where you are coming from but I do not find it very respectful to try and get out of a bet, especially one this old."
Twilight too stood up protested, "But the two of you were fillies back then and fillies sometimes make silly bets! I made silly bets with my brother all the time and when one of us lost, we never made the other one pay up! Granted it was simply things like the loser cleaned the winner's room but still, don't you see anything wrong with it?"
Celestia approached Twilight and countered, "Twilight, what you and your brother did were bets between regular, non-royal unicorns and what Luna and I did was a bet between Alicorn sisters and any kind of bet Alicorn sisters make is one that simply can not be broken. Just as dragons have their dragon code, Alicorn sisters have their code and trying to weasel their way out of paying up on a lost bet is a violation of that."
To Twilight, this was not a good reason for what she tried to do. She again countered, "But the bet was that she would have to make you happy in any way you wanted. I know that cake makes you happy and wouldn't her simply baking you cakes be sufficient?" She flew up to where she was at eye level with Celestia and continued, "I want to know something, what if the roles had been reversed? What if it were you who had developed a relationship with somepony and Luna caught you?" She became more intense as she continued, "And what if Luna was going to take you away from the one you loved? What if Luna wanted you to engage in activities that would amount to cheating?"
Celestia was in such a state of shock that she did not even know what to think. She had always thought that Twilight would simply go with the flow over anything she would want to do but not only was Twilight standing up to her, she was challenging her and bringing up situations that really made her think.
After nearly five minutes of silence and an intense glare from Twilight she replied, "Well I would probably do what you and Luna are doing." A tear ran down her face as she continued, "I'm sorry Twilight, I'm sorry I tried to do this."
Twilight was unsure as to whether she could believe her or not and asked, "Really? Are you really sorry or are you simply saying this to placate me?"
This was another thing that Celestia did not expect and it hurt her, Twilight doubting her. She began to sob, "I'm so sorry Twilight. I'm going to admit, I'm jealous. I'm jealous that Luna has a special somepony and I don't." She looked into Twilight's eyes and saw the same scowl. She continued, "I know I shouldn't have done this and I'm going to admit, I've had crushes on mares since then but I didn't act on them because of this, because of the bet."
Twilight was still having trouble believing what Celestia was saying. She flew up to where she was nearly muzzle to muzzle with her and asked, "I know you are jealous and wish you had a special somepony but I want to know this. I want to know if you understand how the two of us felt when you were going to do this?"
Celestia could tell that Twilight was dead set on getting an answer out of her and knew that she had to be honest. She replied, "Twilight, I'm going to be honest and you are not going to think highly of me after this." She took a deep breath and continued, "I didn't even think about it, I did not think about how the two of you would feel. I was just dead set on making Luna pay up and I will admit, I wanted that bond back."
This only angered Twilight further, "What, all you wanted was that bond back? You didn't care one bit about our feelings?" She turned her back towards Celestia and continued, "That says a lot about you as a pony, you put some ancient bond ahead of the feelings of the two ponies you are closest to."
Again Celestia stood there uncertain as to what she should say but then something crossed her mind. She realized that not only was she in the wrong with what she did but that old bond and the ways of those ancient days were just that, ancient. She realized that such things were no longer socially acceptable and that as a princess of Equestria, such behavior was no longer acceptable.
She tapped Twilight on the shoulder and asked, "Twilight, could you please turn around? I really need to tell you something."
Twilight turned around and before she could say anything Celestia continued, "Twilight, I know what I did was wrong and I know that you and Luna neither one will likely forgive me anytime soon. I have come to the realization that Luna did not want this and I should have respected that. I also realize that those old bonds of the past are just that, things of the past and that there is no place for them in modern Equestria."
Twilight asked, "So, are you still going to force Luna to basically be your chef for the next month if that cake she is making is not the best you ever had?"
Despite Celestia thinking that this demand would be considered acceptable in modern Equestria, she realized that the whole situation was wrong. She replied, "No Twilight. Looking at things now I realize that trying to control her in such a way is very disrespectful."
Twilight asked, "So when do you plan on telling her this? Do you plan on telling her before you eat the cake or are you going to keep her nervous and wait until after you take a bite?"
Celestia initially wanted to scare her sister a bit before she took a bite into the cake but given Twilight's scowl, she knew that she should let her know once she returned with the cake. She replied, "I will tell her as soon as she returns."
Twilight's scowl transformed to a neutral expression as she replied, "Good. I do hope that we can eventually put this behind us."
The fact that Twilight's scowl disappeared brought out a sigh of relief from Celestia but she did know that things likely would not return to how they were before between them anytime soon.
After a very unexpected talk between Celestia and Twilight, Luna returned to Celestia's sleeping chambers and almost immediately Celestia began to lick her chops over what she smelled, a freshly baked cake. Luna levitated the cake to her sister, hoping that it would be the best she ever ate.
As Celestia held the cake in front of her, it was all she could do to not just dive in and begin gorging herself on it but she had told Twilight that she was going to tell Luna that regardless, she would not have to pay up. She sat the cake down on her bed which brought out concern from Luna, "Sister, what is it. Why aren't you diving in on your cake like you always do?"
Celestia replied, "I am not doing so because I need to tell you something."
Luna asked, "What is it sister?"
Celestia replied, "Twilight and I had a long talk while you were gone and a lot of things she told me and questioned me about this whole situation made me do some deep thinking."
Luna asked, "Oh?" She then turned to Twilight and asked, "What is it you talked to her about?"
Twilight replied, "We talked about this whole situation, we talked about what she wanted you to do and given that you two made this bet when you were fillies, I brought up all the silly bets that my brother and I would make when we were growing up. I also brought up how that no matter what, the loser never had to 'pay up.'"
Celestia added, "That was one thing that made me realize that this whole thing is wrong. Also, Twilight helped me realize that taking you two away from one another and forcing you into do something that would amount to cheating was wrong as well."
Luna gasped, "Seriously?"
Celestia replied, "Yes, seriously."
She turned to Twilight and motioned for her to continue, "Luna, I love you and I was not about to let Celestia take you away from me, even if it was just for a month whether it be simply being her chef or doing things I'd rather not think about."
Celestia added, "She helped me realize that what I was going to do was not only selfish, but very disrespectful so I have decided that whether this cake is the best or not, the bet is off. You will not have to pay up."
Luna was elated and Twilight could tell it. She flew to Luna and they engaged in a tight embrace. Both broke down in tears of joy and seeing this caused Celestia to realize that they truly did love one another. Gone was the image of them having a heated make out session on Twilight's balcony, what she saw now was a truly loving couple that she couldn't tear apart. Soon though, her thoughts would turn elsewhere, "I'm not sure about you two but I'm hungry. How about we go down to the dining hall and have some cake."
The two broke their embrace and in unison they asked, "Cake? You're going to share your cake with us?"
Celestia replied, "Of course!" She turned to Twilight and continued, "Twilight, you have helped me realize the error of my ways and I think it is worth celebrating with the two ponies I'm closest to."
Luna replied, "That sounds good to me, what about you Twilight?"
Twilight added, "It sounds good to me too."
The three headed down to the dining hall and much to both their surprise, Celestia grabbed plates and forks for all of them. As she cut the cake and gave them their share, she gave the two a smile and said, "I give you two my blessing, may your relationship be eternal and filled full of happiness and love."
In unison the two replied, "Thank you for your blessing."
Celestia then turned her attention to her cake and said, "Now let's eat while this is still somewhat warm. Cake is always the best while it is still warm!"
What seemed to be a bad situation where Luna would be stuck doing something that she had absolutely no desire to take part in wound up being a truly wonderful day for not just her, but Twilight as well. At first both of them thought this would not happen but Celestia wound up giving them her blessing which is what they truly wanted.
For Celestia it was a day of change. That day, especially after a stern talking to from Twilight, she realized that old bets are just that, old. She also finally saw how much Luna and Twilight meant to one another and couldn't help but be happy for them.
