Seven months later... at the defeat of Discord
Canterlot Palace
Celestia smiled as the element bearers were cheered on by the multitude of ponies in her throne room for their victory over Discord. While the ruling mare felt happy for her loyal element bearers, she also felt a little hollow inside. The surprise release of her old flame had left her shaken, yet she did what she did best and put her mask on and smiled radiantly for the benefit of her subjects.
As the cheering subsided, Twilight cast her gaze up at her longtime mentor and gave her a special smile, "thank you, Celestia."
The elder mare could read by her protégée's expression that there was more to the sentence, somewhere along the lines of; 'thank you for leading me to my friends. Thank you for your guidance, without you, none of this would have happened.'
"It has been my pleasure."
Canterlot Gardens
One lone alicorn's horn flared slightly as she carefully placed a rather frightened looking statuesque form of Discord back where he belonged in her garden. Her heart tore at the fear on his face from his final moments when he realized his trickery had failed him. That moment before the magic of friendship consumed him and returned him to his stone prison.
As soon as the stone creature was secure, the pure white alicorn turned and hurried off, afraid that somepony might catch her with her mask broken by pain.
That Evening...
Canterlot Gardens
In a private corner of the moonlit Canterlot gardens, there was a small stream that meandered from a water fountain, through the grove then disappeared through a hedge. A pure white alicorn lay with her hooves in the cool water. Her eyes were closed as a trickle of tears ran down her cheeks. The river of sadness dripped off her muzzle and peacefully joined the running water that passed through the white hooves, void of their golden horseshoes.
"Sister, We came as quickly as-" A darkly armoured hoof carefully entered the stream at the edge of the royal mare's vision. "Sister?"
A shuddering breath was drawn from the alicorn then slowly released. All the colours of the rainbow entered the water and swirled slowly around as Celestia's head dipped lower till it rested in her forehooves, her mane almost entirely in the water.
The intruder, dark as night and armed for battle, took a single step closer then lent down a bit to examine her grieving companion. "Cele?"
The big white mare shook her head and turned away from her companion.
"Celestia?" Luna stood tall in her imposing steel midnight armour as she examined her sibling. After a moment of quiet sniffles, she used her magic to remove the leather fastenings and with a clank, the set of armour was tossed to the side. The dark blue alicorn knelt down at her sister's side, then placed a wing carefully around her back and drew her close.
The pair sat with only the trickle of the stream to break their peace.
After a few moments, Celestia, at last, spoke; "he showed no signs, Luna. None. It was as though I meant nothing to him at all."
"What?" Luna withdrew slightly to gaze at her older sister.
"He made fun of me for being so boring but that was about it. He then made a silly riddle for the girls to find the elements then left. It was like this game was more important than I was to him."
As the younger alicorn processed her sister's words, Celestia continued softly; "I had hoped ...that- if ever he broke free that maybe ...he might remember. Or- or care. Yet when he put on his game face and I wore my mask it almost felt as though we had only ever been enemies."
Luna found herself wishing she had been there to support her sister, or at least challenge the master of chaos and attempt to break his facade.
"Putting him back there- as a statue this afternoon hurt Lulu. I wish I had been brave enough to go after him myself, yet I failed to leave my castle. I watched from my throne room, safe while Canterlot fell to his madness. I should have done something. I should have tried to help my little ponies. But- but..." the tearful alicorn's tone dropped, "But I just sat there in the hope that Twilight and her friends would save the day. And they did..." A wet white hoof whipped at her muzzle as she turned to face her dark sister.
"Oh Cele..." Luna trailed off as she embraced her sister.
After several moments, the two sisters withdrew.
"Shall We take over for a few days? Give thou a chance to recover?"
The sunny mare turned her gaze to the beautiful surrounds once more, "I will be fine."
"But thou art not fine."
"Do not worry about me, dear Luna. Once I get a good night's sleep, I'm sure I'll be fine. This is not the first time Discord has broken my heart."
The younger alicorn scoffed, "do not try and brush me off. I know thou art skilled at hiding your pain from your little ponies, but we can see through thee, sister."
Celestia wiped her muzzle with a wet forehoof and turned to face her sister. "I'm serious Lulu. I think I feel a bit better already. Having you by my side once more does wonders when times are hard."
"Then we shall stay here till thou art fit for duty once more."
"Thank you."
Luna once again gave her sister a tight hug then the duo relaxed a bit, to share the remainder of the evening together.
A week later
Canterlot Palace
With the moon freshly in the sky, the two sisters stood for a moment at the balcony where they often performed their celestial duties. The sunny alicorn cleared her throat and spoke up. "Remember Nightmare night?"
"Yes," Luna responded uncertainly.
"I have been thinking... since it is coming up, why don't you take a trip to Ponyville for that evening and visit your special friend." A bright smile appeared on the sunny mare's muzzle.
"What makes thee think my friend is in Ponyville?" The younger alicorn answered defensively.
"I have my sources." Celestia's look became all knowing and cheeky. "Something tells me she would like to see you too, especially now that you have been restored to your full power."
Luna shot her sister a guarded look, did Celestia know? Surely that was impossible?
"As thou wishes. I suppose it is time for us to at last show thyself to our subjects once more." The dark alicorn sighed, this was going to be tough.
"I know you can do it, I believe in you."
"Thanks, Cele."
"Lulu... Should I write to your friend to inform her of your visit, or would you prefer to make a surprise entrance?"
The dark mare shot her sister a warning look. "We shall arrive when and where we shouldst chose, thankee very much."
A pure white hoof booped the dark blue snoot. "Then remember, have fun and don't be late to your own event."
"We shan't." Luna headed for the exit but paused as her sister shifted as though she wished to say one last thing.
"No, I shouldn't," Celestia smiled brightly as though she had the full set of aces and knew it.
"Shouldn't what?"
"It will be more fun for you this way, just go." The sunny mare waved her sister playfully off.
"What?" Luna stood her ground, certain that her sister was simply teasing her.
"Today I have received a very excited letter from my student, Twilight. Her costume is right up your alley."
Luna decided to play her sister's game. If Celestia somehow knew about her connection to Twilight, she may as well have some fun with it. "Pray tell, what does Twilight's costume have to do with anything?"
"You see... This friend of yours." Celestia's hoof coyly drew circles on the stone underhoof.
She does know!? A tingle of panic shot up Luna's back.
"I fully approve of you two, by the way," the sunny ruler met her sister's eyes and continued to smile with delight.
"But we haven't even done anything! We have not had so much as a chance to send her a letter this whole month."
"Ah, so it is Twilight then," Celestia's smile grew victorious. "You know Luna, that explains a few things. But I've said too much already. I should let you discover this on your own."
"Thou wouldst pair thy student with thy sister?"
The elder mare shrugged. "What the two of you decide to do to with your relationship is not my business. But I can see how she might be the mare you have been seeking all these years."
Luna huffed.
"Good luck." Celestia waved at her younger sibling, "and please, don't chicken out, you might find you enjoy both the festival and her company."
"We shall see."
"Oh and Lulu."
The younger alicorn once again paused, about to exit once more and shot her sibling a guarded look.
"I trust that should you ever take her for a roll in the hay, there is no need to share the details with me."
"Why!?" Luna exclaimed, hardly able to believe what her companion had just said. "Sister, how could you even say such things about a filly you put so much effort into raising?"
The pure white alicorn relaxed against the stone railing, "I only remember how you never enjoyed me sharing my stories."
"Yes..." Luna deadpanned, "Still. Remember what I said when we were younger?"
"Yes I do," Celestia nodded, "you told me that if I ever caught you kissing a mare, that I was to begin planning your wedding."
"Well. Since thou remeberst that, surely thou knowst that there is no need to worry about what thy sister may or may not be doing with her student in bed. For we are not even betrothed."
Celestia grinned, "well then. I assume that should I ever catch you kissing your special mare that I shall begin planning the wedding of two mares of the night.
"Don't get thy hopes up," Luna warned.
"Why not? I can put in a good word for you."
"Sister, if we are to make an honest attempt we shall do so without thy intervention."
The sunny mare shrugged. "My offer still stands. Goodnight, Lulu."
"Goodnight, sister." The door closed behind the dark blue alicorn.
Celestia turned her gaze to the magnificent night sky above and couldn't help but grin to herself.
A weeks later
Ponyville, Twilight's library
Twilight collapsed onto her bed with a massive smile upon her muzzle. What an amazing Nightmare night that was!
And she had the opportunity to bond with Princess Luna!
While it had come as a shock to her that the pretty, small alicorn had transformed into a much bigger, more intimidating alicorn, what had surprised her the most was how Luna herself had acted. She had never expected the full form of an alicorn to come with the royal Canterlot voice, something she had only ever read about in old stories. But on top of that, despite her position of power, Luna had continued to be highly awkward around other ponies. It almost reminded her of well... herself when she first came to Ponyville. Although the way the princess dealt with foals was totally adorable! Who knew that such an imposing mare could be so gentle and timid. It brought a big silly smile to Twilight's muzzle and she hugged her pillow joyfully.
Twilight felt like Luna had come seeking acceptance from her subjects and was glad that with her help, their effort had been successful. Once Luna overcame her inner doubts and reservations for scaring ponies, it was clear that she had enjoyed herself.
The young mare rolled over to gaze out the window to the stars beyond and smiled at the view. What an amazing artist Luna was! It was almost a shame she had to leave so early once the main proceedings were over.
Twilight was glad that she had reconnected with her. Maybe their letter exchanges could become more constant now and if she was really lucky, Luna might even want to spend more time with her in pony.
Oh there was so much she wanted to ask her, about her night sky... and what sort of ancient magic she knew. There were also many things about old Equestria that Luna was sure to remember better than her sister, thanks to having been away for so long. But, there was also something else between them, but it was hard to put her hoof on it and say what that was. Twilight knew it was there and could tell that whatever was between them both was special. None of her friends appeared to have bonded with Luna as she had.
Twilight simply knew that Princess Luna was special. Maybe that's what it felt like to be friends with the matron of the night? After all, neither princess appeared to have many real friends. With that thought, Twilight determined that she would be the best friend that she could be to Luna.
With a yawn, Twilight settled down in bed, a big smile on her face.
Yes, she would love to see Luna again.
The skies near Canterlot
The regal form of Princess Luna sped across the night sky toward Canterlot.
Her wingbeats quickened with excitement. She just couldn't wait to personally tell her sister about the most wonderful experience she just had. Nightmare night had not only redeemed itself, but she had gotten to personally know more about the star student her sister often talked about. The very mare she had tried to talk to over letters while in her lesser form.
Her ...crush.
What a silly name for it. It's not like she wanted to crush Twilight.
Luna barreled through the front castle doors in the most unbecoming of ways, she almost smacked into several startled ponies on night patrol who immediately threw themselves down, bowing to the princess of the night.
She ignored the lot and thundered onwards, her hoofbeats like thunder as she sped around corridors to meet her older sister. The younger alicorn rushed into her sister's room and skidded to a stop in front of the small ornate writing desk her older sibling currently occupied.
"Sister. Thou hast no idea how wonderful my Nightmare Night hast been!"
Celestia smiled warmly at her younger sister as she turned to greet her and abandoned the paperwork she had been attending to. She laughed quietly at her sister's roughed up appearance.
"So I can see. My, my Luna, you look like you fought gale force winds to get back here."
Luna checked her appearance in the reflection and realized how messed up she appeared, wings partly extended, mane split into multiple sections. Wait, wings!? She shuffled them back into their neatly folded positions by her sides and did her best to calm down.
"Did Twilight and her friend's treat you well Lulu?"
Luna turned to once again face her sister. A smile stretched all the way across her midnight blue face.
"Well… at first, twas horrible. Everypony was frightened of us. But Twilight Sparkle was amazing. She took us under her care and refused to give up on us. By night's end, even the foals were not afraid of us. Twas more fun than we have had in millennia!"
"The others helped too, I would guess." Celestia couldn't help but smile at the exuberant display before her.
"Yes. Though it was mostly thy gifted student who showed us the way. She's amazing."
"Yes, she is." Looking at the dark, star-studded face before her, Celestia decided that maybe introducing more Twilight into Luna's life would be a good thing after all.
The following Day
Canterlot Palace Throne Room
Morning in the castle brought with it the usual sight of the princess on her throne. However, her morning was disturbed by a light red wonderbolt stallion as he rushed in, out of breath, escorted by two royal guards.
"Princess Celestia." The Wonderbolt stallion almost faceplanted as he bowed in the face of royalty.
"Arise. What is the matter?"
The light red stallion arose and with a slight shake, stood tall. "We... wish to inform you that our unit responded to an incident last night. Some ponies on the road outside Baltmare were found dead last night. They were still dressed up in their Nightmare Night costumes. The wounds they bore were clearly caused by a mix of claws and blunt trauma weapons such as might be sustained by maces or a thick club."
Celestia was shocked at the news, but did her best to hide it. "You mean to say that some creature attacked these ponies?"
"We strongly suspect it was a unit of griffons acting with intent to kill."
At this, Princess Celestia straightened and her serene attitude shifted to one of guarded anger. "That is a serious accusation. Are you sure the perpetrators were griffons?"
"We are. All that's left is four earth ponies, two of whom were young. All appeared to have been slaughtered in cold blood. They were less than a mile away from the city, just inside the woodlands. A guard stumbled upon their corpses past midnight and reported it to us. We found no further trace of any griffons in the area. We suspect from the way the family had been dragged off the road that the perpetrators were in the middle of attempting to hide their crime when something chased them off. However, what concerns me is that one of their family photos depicted a third foal. That young pony is missing, presumed dead."
"This is most concerning. Thank you for your diligence and your speed. Rest up. Then return to your unit. I will speak with Spitfire and the head of the royal guard as it appears were are forced to increase security on our borders to keep our lands safe from rogues. Then I shall organize an envoy to visit this griffin lord."
"Yes, Princess." The stallion bowed then made a prompt exit.
Celestia sighed to herself. This was not going to be fun.
That Evening...
Canterlot Palace, Celestia's quarters
"Yes." The regal white alicorn turned her attention back to the landscape outside. "It would appear that being locked away for a thousand years has allowed for certain politics to slip through your hooves dear sister. Are you aware of the unrest within the griffin lands?"
"No." Luna did her best to ignore the part about her locked away. Those were all memories she could do without. "But we have heard rumours. Rogues and the like. Art thou seriously implying that they are true?"
"I fear that some of them are. My guards tell me of a recent attack upon a family of ponies out past Baltmare. None survived and what's more, it appears that a foal from their family was possibly taken. For what reason, we do not know."
Luna could hardly believe her ears, yet here she was, listening to her sister tell of the unthinkable happening in their own lands. "Art thou certain? There has been no such occurrence for generations."
Celestia maintained her vision upon her lands in refusal to face her sister. "I am grieved to say it but I am certain of it. It happened the other evening on Nightmare Night. This evening I received confirmation that the safehouse that contained the dark griffon tail ring has broken into. The artifact has been stolen. My officers suspect it is the griffins, or a strong rogue unit of their kind."
Deep green orbs gazed with cation at the pure white alicorn beside her. "But that... that is impossible. How could anypony alive know?"
"I somehow doubt it was a pony who told our less than friendly friends. We have to remember, the griffins keep their own records too. If they are able to reunite the pieces of the key, I fear the power of friendship will struggle to hold back his power for long."
"But we banished him!" A deep blue hoof slammed against the stone floor of the bedroom.
For a few moments, a shocked silence invaded. A highly indignant Luna stared at her passive sister who lent upon the windowsill. The alicorn of the sun slowly turned to face her sister.
"Both you and I know remember those times. We could not win alone. The power of harmony saved us that day. I am glad that the artifact that you checked on was still safe and appeared to be caved in, for it means that they are unlikely to secure all six talismans of Warbeak. However, should it come to that again, we had better hope Twilight and her friends are up to the challenge."
Luna nodded solemnly. She didn't like the idea of her amazing young mare being forced to face a tyrant such as Warbeak. "Sister, shouldst such a time come... thou know where I shall be."
"Lulu, we both know you are a warrior at heart. I would expect nothing less from you than to stand at your mare's side."
The dark alicorn felt her cheeks heat at the mention of Twilight as her mare and her gaze wistfully shifted to the window and the world beyond.
"Luna." The serious tone of the pure white alicorn drew the younger siblings' attention once more. "I want you to speak of this to no pony."
"Why?"
"Just for now. I will visit this griffon lord and seek answers. In the meantime, I shall require you to rule here, alone."
"But surely, if we went in thy place, fewer of our subjects would have cause for worry!"
"That is true. But you have been absent for many years sister."
A sour look flashed across the dark mare's muzzle. "I can do it."
The two stood, scanning each other's faces in silence for a few moments before Celestia nodded slowly. "As you wish. But take your fastest thestral guards with you and allow me to quickly prepare you a few notes."
Luna nodded and headed out. A few paces from her sister's room two night guards appeared at her side, "Nocturn. Please bring me Swift Strike and Dark Claw. Then I require you two to rest up in preparation for my return."
"Yes, mistress." The batpony commander bowed then slunk off into the shadows.
The dark mare's mind drifted off to the artifact she had found in the caved-in cave. She knew it had been a poor decision to reach out and touch. Yet what could she tell her sister? That she couldn't help herself? That some part of Nightmare Moon was in fact still in her and this artifact called out in such a way that she could not say no?
No.
It was far better if every creature believed that talisman of Warbeak was still in its place in that cave.