There were still a few hours before the sun needed to be raised, so the sisters weren't short on time. The flight home was being taken slowly to continue enjoying Luna's night and to let them keep laughing over their mischief.

"Sister, I'm really happy this idea came to you," Luna said as she magically lightened herself to take some weight off Celestia. "I'm still surprised it would, but this night and the past day were the best I've had with you since my return."

"It... may not be as random as it seemed," Celestia muttered.

"How? You told me earlier it suddenly came to you before you were to begin your duties."

"Luna, do you remember how ill you were at first upon returning?" Celestia asked.

Luna nodded. "It's hardly forgettable. It was rather strange. I initially seemed healthy when the elements washed away the darkness, but upon being brought to the castle, I nearly collapsed. You told me I slept for a full twenty-four hours and when I woke, you couldn't convince me to eat or drink anything. I was in that condition for two weeks, and I still had to stay indoors for a few months until my magic recovered. Why do you mention it?"

"Maybe you don't remember this part, but aside from the celebration on the morning you returned, I didn't see you smile for much of that time you were recovering," Celestia recalled. "But I remember when you finally did."

"When was that?" Luna asked, trying to recall the moment herself. Nothing came to her mind.

"It was one night you slept next to me in my bed," Celestia told her, beginning to daydream as she fondly remembered. "You were almost fully healthy again, but for whatever reason, you couldn't sleep straightforwardly that night. You were waking up every two hours or so."

"I do recall that," Luna said. "That's why you insisted I sleep next to you."

"Yes. We stayed awake and talked about miscellaneous things for a long while until you fell asleep again," Celestia remembered. "I stayed awake for longer to see if you'd wake up again, but instead, you began to talk in your sleep."

"Did I say something that concerned you?"

"I didn't know what you were mumbling about, but it sounded like you were dreaming of our childhood. You were calling me "Celie". Then, you started laughing, and you also said "that's not funny" and "it's my turn". I assumed you were dreaming of when we played silly pranks on each other as fillies so long ago."

"Much to Mother and Father's annoyance," Luna joked. Right then, her memory jogged. "Wait, I do remember this, Sister! You told me about it in the morning after you raised the sun. And you said..." Luna's face relaxed into a serene smile. "...you said you hope we can go back to that someday."

"And that's when you smiled again," Celestia said. "You didn't say anything, but you stayed tucked under my wing for a while and we just enjoyed that moment. Please tell me, Sister, did I keep my word?"

"You always were a mare of your word."

"Yes..." Celestia's tone turned bitter, startling Luna a bit. "A mare of my word until it came to the promise to protect my baby sister..."

"Pardon, sister?" Luna questioned.

"Did I ever tell you I wasn't happy at first about becoming a sister?"

"You, Mother, and Father," Luna answered. "Yes, when Mother was pregnant, you didn't like the news. You came around some weeks after I was born. But you were a filly. You can't chastise yourself for that."

"I don't, but it's amusing now because I can't remember not loving you. I can barely remember that small amount of childhood without you. It was the first time you had a nightmare and woke up crying. I "inspected" your bedroom that night to make you feel better, but we slept in my room together anyway. That was when I promised to always protect you. Sure, it was about imaginary childhood monsters at the time, but when I said "always", I meant it. Even as a filly, that was a serious promise."

Luna knew exactly where this was going, and she stopped Celestia right there.

"Sister, I appreciate you're apologetic, but please, let's not discuss that tonight."

"I didn't intend to kill the mood," Celestia explained. "I'm telling you this because you think of Nightmare Moon as purely your sin alone. And that is not true. I also changed for worse and it was you, Luna, who knocked me back down. Whether my actions were out of ignorance or naïveté, after your banishment, I swore to never give up on you again."

Luna was at a loss for words. Celestia had said earlier she was remorseful about what ultimately led to Nightmare Moon, but this was when Luna saw she and her sister truly shared a similar pain. Their flight was silent again for a short while, both having many thoughts running through their minds and wanting to break the silence, but unsure how. Finally, it was Luna who spoke up.

"Sister, do you forgive yourself for that?"

"I know you have forgiven me, but I'm not sure I have."

"I can say those same words. Perhaps we've both forgotten something."

"What would that be, Luna?"

"It is over. We forgave each other because it was so long ago and we only want to be together again. But if none of it matters and we can forgive each other, we should try to forgive ourselves too. I forgot to tell you my cuts are all almost healed."

Celestia smiled brightly. "That's great news. You are right. Beating ourselves up over it now is pointless. If you will try to forgive yourself in time, I will try to forgive myself. As long as-"

"I don't hide my pain from you anymore. Promise."

If smiles were light, the sisters would've shone as the brightest stars in the night sky. They dropped the matter and returned to joking over their night of mischief. No words needed to be said to know that was the last time they'd speak of that part of their past. As Luna said, it was over.

It was all over.

The sisters returned home and reverted from their disguises as "Celie" and "Violet" as soon as they were indoors. The energy spell was almost fully worn off and Luna felt so tired, she couldn't stand up straight. Celestia walked her to her bedroom and helped her climb into bed. There were now only two hours before Celestia was to raise the sun. Luna worried about Celestia going about her duties with so little sleep, but Celestia assured her it wasn't nothing she couldn't handle. She wouldn't change a thing.

Unable to fight sleep any longer, Luna said one last thing before she drifted off: "Thank you so much, big sister. I love you."

"Thank you. I love you too."

Celestia pulled the blanket over Luna as she fell into her much-needed deep slumber. Celestia decided against taking herself to bed since, with only two hours until she had to raise the sun, she'd surely oversleep. She left Luna's room, quietly closing the bedroom door as she walked out, and headed to the kitchen. She glanced at the broken microwave for a moment and shook her head in amusement before putting it away in a cabinet. She'd send it to be repaired later.

She pulled out the ingredients she wanted and started on making blackberry pancakes. She also wrote a small note and stuck it to the fridge for Luna to read when she later discovered the breakfast.

"Heat them up with your horn!" - Celestia

"If she messes that up," Celestia thought to herself, "I'm placing guards at all the kitchen supplies!"

- The End