I stared at the time on my phone as the day faded away. It was 9:43 PM right now. Not early, but not all that late, either. It was almost the end of the second day since Celestia shared her feelings with me. Nothing had happened so far.

She said that all we would have to do was wait. I was already convinced that she was right. That's how these things worked, right?

The choices she had were still haunting her and it hurt that I couldn't do anything to help. We both knew what had to be done. She didn't want to admit it. Not yet.

As the night slowly crept along, I watched her. She didn't try to hide her misery. Her special smile wouldn't show itself.

If she wanted me to do something, I didn't know what it was. The longer it took, the more time I could spend with her... and the harder it would become to do so.

That night, as we laid together, I was awoken by a sudden squeeze to my hand. Her hand was gripping tightly onto mine and she wasn't letting go. Her body was trembling. Was she... having a nightmare?

I couldn't remember what someone could do to relieve a person of their nightmares. I heard waking them was bad. Maybe that was just sleep walkers.

She let out a gasp and started to breathe deeply. I gave her a small squeeze to reassure her.

"Phil?"

"Mmm?"

"Are... are you awake?" she asked quietly.

"Mmm-hmmm..."

"Did I wake you?"

"Dunno. Maybe."

"Sorry about that. I... had a bad dream, is all."

"Are you gonna be alright?"

"It was nothing to worry about. Just a dream."

"I wasn't talking about that. I meant with everything. Is this alright for you?"

"I don't know."

"It's not alright with me. I don't like seeing you like this, Celestia."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. You know that."

She sighed.

"So, what was your dream about?" I asked her.

Her grip on my hand tightened. "It... was about you and... my sister Luna. The three of us were in your house, speaking to each other, but our words meant nothing. After talking came shouting. Shouting at each other at first, but then..." As she spoke, her words became rushed and panicked. "The two of you turned your attention to me and kept shouting and shouting and shouting and you wouldn't stop and I felt like I was shrinking and..." She took in a shaky breath. "And after that, I woke up."

Her heartbeat was rapid and her breaths were deep. The grip she had on my hand had tightened further.

"Would... Would Luna really do that?" I asked her, lost for words.

"No... At least, she wouldn't shout at me like that."

"We both love you very much, Celestia. Neither of us would do anything to upset you."

"I suppose."

"You know, Celestia... I'd like to meet Luna, someday. I owe her an apology."

"An apology?"

"I don't like speaking for others, even when I know what I'm saying is true. Your sister, from what I've seen, and heard, is a very kind pony. I'd enjoy a chance to meet her."

I could feel her grip relax, but she didn't release my hand. "That would be quite the interaction... If you ever do happen to meet her, you'll have to watch what you say."

"I always watch what I say."

"Sometimes it feels like you don't."

"Well, if it isn't bothering you, it's fine, right?"

"Of course it's alright. You always act freely with me."

"I don't always act freely."

"What do you mean?"

"Like now, for example. I normally sleep in my underwear."

"Oh..." She sounded a little confused, as if she were expecting something important. "I usually sleep completely naked."

"Oh, that's right."

"We don't usually sleep with our clothes on, anyways." She turned a bit. "Why do we have them on now?"

"Well, it's an emotional time for us. I'd rather just talk."

She chuckled.

"Hmm?"

"Oh, nothing." she said, "It's a strange though. What man chooses talking over making love?"

"Well, would you prefer it?" I asked her.

"No... No, I don't think I would."

A short silence came before what I said next. "You know, I had a dream too."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. I was eating carrots in a room, somewhere."

"What?"

"And they were really sweet, too. It was pretty nice."

"Carrots?"

"Yeah."

"You had a dream about eating carrots?"

"Yeah."

She giggled as she said, "That's wonderful." I could feel her cheer enter her voice once more. I managed to make her smile again, at least for a brief moment. "Do you think your dream meant anything?"

"Do you?"

"I think it does."

"Then I do, too."

"Do you really?"

"Yeah."

"Then what does it mean?"

"What is this, high school? I'm not exactly the best at interpreting symbolism in dreams."

"Try."

"Alright, alright... Well... I was sitting on an old, dirty wooden chair, in a cold, empty room with nothing but a single dim light hanging over me. The table was dinged up and a little purple bowl of carrots sat on the table. It didn't seem to get any emptier. An unlocked door was the only thing on the brick walls. I was just sitting in the room... eating carrots."

"So what does it mean?" asked Celestia.

"Yeah, yeah... I... think it was about us."

"Us?"

"The room was dark and falling apart. Everything inside was either breaking or dirty or both, and I knew that the door would let me leave any time I wanted, but I was sitting in the dark, desolate room to enjoy a light snack." I gave her hand a small squeeze. "You're the sweet thing in my life, and even though I know that I don't have to be here, I choose to be with you."

"I'm... surprised."

"I doubt it really meant anything." I said.

"But you just said..."

"It could just mean I really like carrots."

"Why carrots? Why couldn't I be candy or cake?"

"You're my carrot, though."

"I don't wanna be a carrot. I wanna be a cake."

"Spoken like a true five-year-old."

She smiled at me. "I like cake."

"I like cake, too."

I gave her hand another brief squeeze before I snuggled up against her. She had finally calmed down.

"I would never dream of leaving you."

The next day, we had our group gathered in the front room. Celestia and I had taken the couch. The other two were wandering around aimlessly. Towards the end of it, it seemed like one of them had a destination before Celestia suddenly stated, "I feel something strange."

"I feel it, too." said Soulfire.

"Do you think it's a spell?" asked Shining.

"Possibly. It feels like it." she replied, "Something's coming..."

He nodded.

For a few minutes, there was nothing. The three of them seemed very on edge. For those few minutes, I didn't feel anything at all. Not that I expected to, though. Then, I actually did feel something. It was almost like a buildup of static electricity throughout my body.

Suddenly, a large, white sphere appeared in the center of the room. Dazzling sparks of yellow energy flowed along the surface. We all stared at it. Shining and Soulfire backed away from it. Was this magic?

The sphere itself was rather large. It hovered about two feet off the ground and was about four or five feet in diameter. Big enough for a person to fit into. Wait a minute...

We heard an unfamiliar yelp of surprise, and just a second later, the sphere vanished, revealing a small woman, sitting on the ground.

The first thing I noticed about her was her long blue hair. Princess Luna... another one.

Briefly after I looked to her hair, I noticed a large book on the ground next to her. It was brown and had an intricate circle design on the front of it.

"Oww..." She groaned as she rubbed her bottom with a hand. Looks like she had a tough landing.

"S-sister?" Celestia started.

Luna jumped in surprise, then looked to Celestia. A small smile formed on her face.

She grabbed her book and rose to her feet, wobbling a bit as she did. Soulfire quickly grabbed her to make sure she didn't fall.

"My thanks." she said to him.

"Of course, Princess."

"Wh-What are you doing here?" Celestia asked, the surprise very evident in her voice.

Shining was staring right at her with his mouth open in shock. It's almost as if he was trying to speak, but was stopped before he could.

"I've come to return you all to your homes." she said. She turned to face her sister.

I leaned slightly to the side to get a better look at her. Her face was beautiful, but her body wasn't as 'full' as Celestia's was.

That wasn't my main concern, though. I didn't care about what she looked like, I just wanted to know what was going on.

Part of me wasn't surprised that another pony-turned-human had been transported into my house. In fact, I had almost expected it. I had no words for what was happening.

She noticed my curiosity towards her and turned to face me. "You must be Phil." she said coldly.

"How do you..." I stopped myself. It wasn't important. "Yeah, I am. And... And you're... Princess Luna."

She slowly nodded. Her gaze was powerful.

"So... I take it that you were watching us?" I asked her.

"That's correct. We found a way to observe you in this book." She displayed it to us.

"Forgotten Magicks?" I read the title of it. It looked so old. It wasn't a normal book. And the title was blatantly misspelled. Or maybe that's just an older spelling. Archaic, was it? "May I?"

"If you must. Handle it with care."

I hesitated for a moment before taking it. I didn't want to ruin something important like this. It felt kind of like holding a baby. Kind of. I probably put more care into holding the book than I would've had it been a kid.

She turned to her sister as I looked to the book. It even felt old.

Luna's gaze turned to her own body. She examined her hands, opening and closing them a few times.

I sat down next to Celestia and placed the book onto the table in front of me, silently examining it. I looked at the first few pages for a publish date, or any date at all.

The text was printed, so it wasn't exceptionally old. After a little more searching, the year 1859 showed itself to me. I couldn't tell exactly how old it was. Pony years might be different than ours, but then again, maybe they're the same.

They were talking to each other, but none of it seemed important. Luna spoke of Equestria. She gave off a number of problems that had arrived due to Celestia's absence, then her voice softened as she talked about how Celestia's friends had missed her.

This book was interesting. The table of contents listed a variety of different types of magic.

There was a string in the book, near the end. I gingerly opened it to that page and read through it. This particular spell allowed the user to transport themselves to and from a different world. In other words, a way for them all to go home. It must be what she used to get here.

It required the use of an incantation that was provided on the page. Interesting. Not a whole lot of details on it though. Some of the other spells took up a few pages to explain their origin and uses, but this one seemed rather empty.

"And that brings me to my next point..." said Luna, gesturing to the book, "A spell capable of returning you to your rightful place in Equestria."

I briefly looked to her, then back at the book. The spell was simple. All one would have to do would be to place their hand, or hoof, onto the book, and recite the short incantation. Easier than it could've been. The only thing that I saw that would set it apart from a typical spell, I guess, would be the massive amount of energy it took to cast.

"So, was this spell used to send those two here?" I asked, making sure she was finished speaking before I began.

"We've assumed as such. Discord wasn't very forthcoming with the information he had concerning it."

I nodded and continued reading. Discord again. He kept popping up. From the beginning, I assumed that this was his prank, but maybe something else was going on here. Or maybe not.

"Do... do you think that this spell can be used again?" I asked her.

"It may be possible, but I don't have faith in it. It's as you said, this is a different human world than the one Twilight Sparkle visited."

No faith.

"Sister..." I heard Luna start, "We all know that you've been conflicted about coming home."

I looked up again. This was important.

"And... I've seen the way you two act towards each other." She grumbled something under her breath before continuing. Her expression changed afterwards. "Your kingdom needs you. I'm sorry to say this... but you have to come home."

Celestia looked down, then to me. Sadness had filled her eyes.

"I know. I know what has to be done... I've thought about this for so long. To stay or to go. What the right choice really was..."

Luna looked to me. She seemed angry. I nervously looked down. I couldn't help but feel that she was angry at me. She scared me. I didn't want to make it worse. She was nothing like her sister.

Celestia's nightmare was burning in my memory. That's not going to happen here. I'll make sure it doesn't.

In the midst of them speaking, I had placed my hand onto the book and recited the incantation aloud. Everyone in the room was staring at me. I couldn't feel anything happen. Nothing seemed different.

"I'm not surprised." said Luna.

I looked down in disappointment.

"Shining, Soulfire." Celestia suddenly let out.

"Princess?"

"Your Highness?"

"Both of you are to return home immediately." she commanded.

They looked to Princess Luna, who nodded.

"As you wish, Princess." Shining said to her.

I turned the book and slid it across the table to them. They both studied it. Not long after, they placed their hands onto it and recited the chant that had been written on the page.

Another strange white shape appeared in the middle of the room. This one grew to be about seven feet tall, taking on an oval shape.

They both took deep breaths.

"That took a lot." said Shining, pausing for a small while.

Soulfire nodded.

"I guess this is goodbye, isn't it?" Soulfire said, turning to me.

"It was nice to get to know you while we were here." followed Shining.

"Yeah, it's been a real adventure, huh... Take care, you two." I said to them.

"Yeah."

"Same to you."

Shining Armor stepped into the shimmering light, followed close behind by Soulfire. As soon as they were through, it disappeared without a trace.

Luna looked to her sister. "Do you really want to stay with him?"

"I do."

Luna let out an irritated sigh. Her face lightened as her expression changed from anger to... curiosity? Maybe sympathy...

"Would you rather live in this world than in Equestria?" Luna asked her.

Celestia hesitated before answering. "I would."

"Why?" she let out softly, almost sadly.

"I want to stay with the one I love, sister. Is that so much to ask? I've grown rather fond of this simple life I've been given."

"What if something were to happen that would separate you?" Luna asked, "Would you want to return then?"

Celestia and I looked to each other. We both knew that what she was talking about wasn't likely to happen in the near future, but she gave an appropriate response regardless. "If that happened, sister, then I would return. There would be no reason to stay."

Luna looked at me again. "I've watched the two of you grow closer to each other with every passing day. The thought that you could find love so quickly... I'm happy for you sister, I truly am." A pleading tone entered her voice. "But you need to come home. I miss you. I miss my big sister."

I looked to Celestia. This was just putting more pressure on her.

"I'm not proud of this." Luna continued, "I would never want to hurt you like this sister, but it must be done."

"Talking about it like this isn't going to get us anywhere." I said. Nothing was going to change from talking. I stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

I don't think Luna respected me. Even Soulfire and Shining Armor had at least a little respect for me, but Princess Luna did not like me.

Nothing I wanted to say would ease the burden on Celestia.

I heard someone enter the kitchen after me. It was Celestia. I knew it before she said anything. I didn't turn to face her.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her voice quiet.

I silently shook my head.

"Can't you say something? Anything?" she pleaded with me.

"Say something?"

"Don't let this go. I don't want to go back. If you could convince my sister that..."

"It's not my job to convince her of anything." I said, cutting her off.

"Your... job?" She was starting to become angry.

"I don't have any say in the matter. I'm not the one that can make this decision."

Even through her anger, she kept her voice quiet. "If you just said something, then maybe I wouldn't feel so hurt!"

"If I... said something..."

"It's like you've given up on this already."

"I have given up, Celestia. I've always known that I wouldn't have a say in the matter, even before our relationship turned into this, I knew that I would have no control over whether you left or not."

"You... Just like that? No fighting it? Nothing?"

"What can I do?" I turned and took a step towards her. "What can I possibly do to stop the woman I love from leaving my life?"

It was painful. This whole ordeal was just getting worse and worse.

She looked surprised, as if she had expected me not to react at all.

"Could you tell me what to do?" I asked her, "Could you, really?"

"I... I don't know."

"I don't want this, Celestia. I don't want this. You've changed my life like this and now you're just going to leave... It's not fair."

What will I say... I knew. I knew what I could say. I've always known. In my heart, I knew it would work. I could say something that carried so much meaning that she would have to stay.

I could ask her to marry me.

The idea briefly lit up in my head, but was quickly pushed away. Not just because the concept was terrifying to me, but more importantly, because it wasn't right. She wasn't meant to be here. She had to go back home. Her staying here would just end up causing problems for both Equestria and me. I can't say it. I couldn't even make myself say it.

She was still expecting me to say something. She needed me to say something. Anything.

I sighed and shook my head. This was the only thing I could say. "You have to go back."

She looked away. "I know." she said almost silently.

I stared at her for a few moments. Was this it? Was this the last of us? The reality of the situation crushed me. I was tearing up.

"Home..." she quietly said.

"Where you belong."

She gave a slight nod.

I hugged her. She returned it. Her body pressed against mine.

"Celestia..."

Her arms squeezed around my back. I felt tears start to run down my cheeks.

"I-I'm not the type of person who can... hold back tears for long..." I said to her, burying my face into her shoulder. I sniffed. I couldn't stop now. "I k-knew I would break down... when it c-came to this. I'm not gonna pretend... that I'm not hurt... that I'm a strong person... B-because I-I'm not. I never have been, I never will."

Her hand rubbed my back. "I know."

"Now... you're just going to leave... and it hurts so much. You'll b-be gone and I-I'll be alone again."

I didn't try to keep myself from crying. It would hurt too much. I just couldn't do it. All I could do right now was cry on her shoulder. I didn't know what else to do.

"I don't want to say goodbye." she said, "Not yet. I'm not ready for this."

We stood in each other's embrace for a long time. I could hear her softly sobbing. That was what hurt me the most.

She was crying because of me. Because of what I had done. It hurt more than anything to know that I was the source of her misery. Even more than the idea of being alone again, or the thought of losing her, her quiet sobbing was the most painful thing about this.

I had nothing to say, but I started talking anyways.

"C-Celestia... I'm not worth crying over. I know I'm not. But... you're crying because of me... Why did I do this? Why did I let this happen? This could've had a happy ending, today could've gone so well. But I had to love you, didn't I... I had to make you feel the same way I did. I'm sorry... I'm..."

"Sh-Shut up!" she yelled at me, pushing me away so that we could see each other properly. Tears had dripped down her perfect face. "This past month has been the best of my life and you're saying that you regret it?! How do you think that makes me feel? What about me? I felt the same way you did. I thought it was all my fault, that our relationship was a mistake."

She paused, a short series of gasps stopping her speech.

"Celestia..."

"Well, it's not!" she shouted, "It's brought me so much happiness. When I was with you, I felt free. For the first time in years, I had someone who truly loved me. I... I don't... I don't want to go back..."

More and more tears poured from her eyes. She rested her forehead on my chest and began to wail.

We both felt like we had caused the other to suffer. We were both blaming ourselves for the sorrow we felt in this moment.

I didn't care about myself. As long as others were happy, I was happy. She wasn't happy. I wasn't able to hold back my tears, but I could hold back how hard I wanted to cry. It would only make her feel worse.

I gingerly placed my hand on the back of her head and began to stroke her long hair.

Nothing I could say right now would make her pain go away. All I could muster was, "It's going to be alright, Celestia... It's going to be alright."

I didn't even believe what I was saying. It was an empty promise. She knew it all too well.

It seemed to have a calming effect on her. Her howls of anguish slowly turned back into sniffles, but her body still shook every so often. She laid the side of her head against me.

"Th-Thank you..." she said quietly, "Thank you for everything you've done for me... For trusting me... For giving me a place to call home... For the time you've spent with me... For the love you've given me... And for the happiness that I've felt... Thank you. I love you."

"I love you too, Celestia."

We didn't move from where we stood for some time. The longer we could be together, the better. We both knew that it couldn't last forever.

I stopped stroking her soft hair and let my hand rest on her head. I could feel her warm tears on the front of my shirt.

"Why does this have to be goodbye?" she asked nobody in particular, "My heart is breaking..."

I pulled her away from me and stared into her tear filled eyes. I slowly brought her closer to me, then pressed my lips against hers for a brief kiss.

We pulled apart and returned to our previous positions.

It was time, but neither of us would admit it.

The first thing that drew our attention was a soft, "Sister."

We both looked to the doorway. Luna was standing against it, looking to us with a regretful expression. I could see that even she had shed a tear at our sorrows.

"Just a little while longer, Luna... Just a... little while... please."

"I'm going to return home now, sister." she said.

"Alright..."

"And... Phil?" said Luna.

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry... for the trouble. Goodbye, Phil. I'm afraid that this is the last time we will see each other."

She disappeared without another word. A light briefly shone in the front room before fading into nothingness.

"If we only had more time..." said Celestia.

This is the last time I would see her. I could tell her. I... No... It would only hurt even more.

We could've stood where we were for hours and nothing would stop us. But our time was truly up. Dragging it out any longer would only prolong our suffering.

I lifted my arm away from her and she pulled away. We began to walk to the front room.

She picked up the book and slowly began to recite the chant. Each word she said was like a punch to the chest.

Soon, the portal had opened. We both stood facing it, tears running down our faces.

"I'll miss you." she said to me.

"I'll miss you too, Celestia."

We faced each other and pressed our lips together for one final kiss. Our arms were wrapped around each other once more. We gazed at each other until we couldn't take it anymore.

"Goodbye Celestia. I love you."

She closed her eyes and turned away. "Goodbye." Her voice was so quiet.

That was the last thing I heard before the woman I loved disappeared.

End part 1