NaNo2014: Shadows of Friendship: Part 26

“How can she?” Luna demanded, staring at her with wide, slightly wild eyes, “How could she ever forgive me for what I have done?”

“It wasn’t you, darling.” Rarity built up the courage to reassure her, looking a little nervous though it was hard to tell if it was because Luna had been a raving lunatic just a few minutes ago or whether it was because the Princess was, after all, a Princess and deserved some respect. “It was that beastly Shadow thing we drove out of you.”

“Tha’s right,” Applejack agreed, “Yer sister’s gonna know that, jus’ like we do. I bet she can’ wait to see yer again.”

“And we’ll be there, so it won’t be so scary.” Fluttershy offered, giving her a shy smile as she spoke, “Things are always less scary in a group.”

“And I can always make her laugh if she’s too mad. Though I need to reload the party cannon…” Pinkie Pie’s comments did not entirely help. In fact the mention of a ‘party cannon’ made Princess Luna stare at her in confusion, still she started forward, guiding the others down to the dungeons.

Without the Shadows embedded in every nook and cranny the castle did not seem as foreboding. The black stone was actually a marbled grey that actually looked rather pretty in the shimmering moonlight and the silver detailing looked a lot less menacing with nothing casting horrid and terrifying shadows up the walls.

Luna’s head sank further and further as they went and it took Twilight a moment to realise what was wrong. When she did she felt like she could kick herself. All those stories she had been told had taken place here. This palace had been her home. She had lived and played here.  The last time Princess Luna had walked these halls, the castle had been whole and glorious and she had ruled alongside her sister.

The time she had spent on the moon had ravaged the palace, aging the stone and allowing the Everfree Forest to take it over. Now she could see clearly, the crumbling brickwork had plants growing up it and in several places she could see where animals had made their homes amongst the rubble.

It was a worrying reminder that poor Princess Luna would have a thousand years of Equestrian history to catch up on. She would have to adjust to a country that had changed drastically in her absence and find her new place in the system.

Twilight turned to look at the alicorn at her side, letting out a sigh when she saw that she seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. “Princess Luna?” She asked gently.

“Yes, Twilight Sparkle?” Luna did not look up, but she sounded relieved about something, probably for being dragged out of the mire that her thoughts had become.

“If you need any help…adjusting.” The unicorn hesitated to offer but she remembered what Celestia had told her about Luna often feeling lonely and that she had fallen to the Shadows because she had felt alone. She knew that problem. Until she had met the others, she had felt like she did not really have any friends except for Spike. “You know, to the modern era, I’d like to help.”

Luna’s head shot up and she watched her for a couple of seconds, pausing to consider her properly, “If you’re offering for my sister’s sake I don’t…”

“No!” Twilight shook her head rapidly, backing up slightly and bumping into Pinkie Pie, “No, I just…I’m different, I don’t fit in easily. So I know what it’s like to need someone you can just spend time with at the end of a difficult day. If you want to just talk, or just need somewhere to escape from the pressures of your day…night job…”

Luna looked honestly surprised, then she smiled, a bright smile that lit up her features and chased away some of the worries that Twilight had had. “Thank you, Twilight Sparkle. I will think on it.” She looked around, “I think it’s this way.”

She headed down the nearest stairs and led them down a set of partially eroded stairs into a dark, dank corridor that was lit by the occasional hole in the ceiling that let light through. They navigated the rubble carefully as they headed past what had clearly once been a guard post and along a row of cells that whose bars were partially rusted or worse.

Twilight was relieved to see a light coming from one of the cells, the glow from within cast the shadows of the bars across the corridor and she darted up the corridor to find her teacher led on the floor, looking exhusted, her horn glowing with a bright golden light, allowing the unicorn and the alicorn to see each other clearly.

“Twilight! You’re safe.” Celestia breathed, her entire body relaxing as she stared at her student, “You need to be careful, Nightmare Moon…why are you smiling like that?”

“Princess Celestia.” Twilight bowed and backed up slightly as Applejack pushed Luna forward, “May I reintroduce Princess Luna.”

“Umm, hello my sister…” Luna looked nervous as she unlocked the cell door, “It’s been a long time.”

“It has.” Celestia towered over her sister as she got to her feet, making every pony there nervous as she gazed down at her sister, “I…Luna, my dear sister…” Luna’s back straightened and she looked hopeful at those words, “Can you ever forgive me?”

“F…forgive you?” Luna’s voice shook as she spoke, staring at the older alicorn in shock, “I am the one who needs to be forgiven.”

“No, my sister. I am the one who should be begging for your mercy. If it was not for my actions, you would not have fallen to the Shadows. I failed you when I let you go, when I had to send you away and again when I could not free you like I had promised. My student, Twilight Sparkle, proved to be stronger than I in more than one way.” She nodded to the purple unicorn who looked stunned at the admission, “Luna,” She turned back to her sister, “I would like nothing more than for you to rejoin me and rule at my side once again, as sisters,” She hesitated, “And as friends.”

“R…really?” The honest, open joy and hope in her tone kind of made the young fillies listening in feel like they were intruding.

“Really, I promise.” Before Celestia had finished talking Luna had pressed herself against the white alicorn and burst into tears.

“I’ve missed… you so much.” Luna sobbed, “It’s been…so dark…and cold…”

“It’s okay, you’re okay now.” Celestia reassured her as the other ponies backed up, giving them some room. Through the holes in the ceiling they could see the night time turning into the day and before too long, bright sunlight was pouring through, decimating the last of the creepy feeling brought on by the shadowy cells.

Above them they could hear the sounds of hooves pounding on the ground, confusing the ponies until Twilight heard someone calling, “Twilight?! Twilight Sparkle! Twily!”

“Shiny?” Twilight breathed, the biggest smile her new friends had ever seen from her gracing her features as she bolted for the exit, “Shining Armour!”

“Who’s Shining Armour?” She heard Rarity asking as her friends followed her up. She did not pause to answer them, instead bolting towards the source of the noise, only to find her brother was there with a group of guards and Spike on his back. Not that the baby dragon was there very long. The moment he saw her he scrambled off of the unicorn stallion’s back and crashed into Twilight, leaping at her and hugging her tightly.

“Twily!” Her brother rushed over before Spike could say anything and the bright smile on his features when he saw she was safe and sound was all she needed to press herself against him and rest her head on his shoulder. The stallion nuzzled her in reply, “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“I’m sorry for worrying you.” Twilight responded, leaning against him. “But I had to…” She felt her brother stiffen and stand to attention and pulled away, turning to see what he was looking at. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had emerged from the stairwell and every guard there looked torn between saluting and trying to arrest the smaller of the two Princesses.

“It’s alright everyone.” Celestia informed them, her regal persona pushing through the exhaustion that was so clear in her stance and posture. “My sister is back, properly. You don’t have to fear, she’s herself again. Thanks to Twilight Sparkle.”

Shining Armour glanced at his sister, shocked, finally noting the fact she was wearing a completed puzzle and a golden diadem, the gem in which glinted with a purple light that was very similar to the purple glow weaving through the cracks between pieces of the puzzle.

“Twily…” Her brother breathed, “What…happened? Some pony told me you’d turned into an alicorn.”

“We can talk about it later,” Celestia chuckled, heading for the chariots, “There’s something that we really should do first. After all, a certain set of ponies worked very hard to set up a lovely party for me and it would be a shame to waste all that effort.”

Twilight grinned and led her brother over to the same chariot as her group of surprised but delighted friends. He hesitated, not quite sure how to approach the group of ponies. “Umm, Twily, I don’t know your friends.”

“It’s alright, Shiny. They’re nice.” Twilight chuckled, feeling a little odd introducing her brother to her friends rather than the other way around. “They don’t bite.”

“I do.” Pinkie Pie protested, bouncing around, “I bite cupcakes and cookies and candies and…”

“Pinkie Pie!” Applejack sounded exasperated but amused, “Tha’s not what Twilight meant and you know it.”

“Shiny, these are my friends, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy.” Twilight pointed to each of them in turn, “Everyone, this is my brother, Shining Armour.”