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     Forgiveness

By Dark Side of the World

Disclaimer: The author doesn’t own My Little Pony: FIM or anything related to it

Yeah I like the series. I’m man enough to admit it. It’s got so much potential and I love this show to death. I honestly say that people should watch this show and then head over to fanbase sites like Equestria Daily or Ponychan.

While this isn’t my first fanfic, it’s still my first FIM fic and I’ve gone through a few revisions on this to make it right.

Read on.

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She never got tired of looking at it.

Even after being trapped in it for a thousand years, the moon’s emanating light would always hypnotized her with its wonder. It had been her source of power for so long, even back in the beginning, when she and her sister first created the balance of light and darkness.

She had taken much pride in her work and life seemed so simple back then, even if she was always busy with her royal duties.

But like the moon itself, a darker side had emerged over time. She began to notice that the ponies whom she gave her guidance and love every night didn’t appreciate her work. Instead they focused more on her sister, Princess Celestia.  They would always praise her or thank her for good weather, good crops, a sunny sky to play in, and more.

She never got any praise.

She never got any thanks.

She was barely even known.

At first this bothered her only slightly, but over time she grew more and more depressed, seeing how few even cared about the work and effort she put into her duties while her sister was always in the spotlight. Desperate, she tried to make spectacular sights during the night. Each night she would make constellations with the stars and carve faces on the moon for all to enjoy, but still nopony gave her any thanks or praise.

She would soon give up and spend many nights crying, wondering why she wasn’t appreciated. Had she done something wrong?

Her sorrow soon turned to hatred. Hatred at the ponies who never appreciated her, at the day itself for always taking her night’s glory, and finally at her sister, who got all the love and attention. Her hatred corrupted her and she lost control of her powers. She was Princess Luna no longer; she had become a pony fueled only by hatred and anger. A pony filled with darkness and a desire to end the daylight once and for all by casting Equestria into eternal night.

A pony named Nightmare Moon.

She had used her powerful dark magic to spread pain and suffering all over Equestria. Anypony who refused bow down before her was tortured and even turned into a mindless slave. Many rose up to strike her down, but all failed.

At last she made her attempt to overthrow her sister; they battled atop of Canterlot itself for supreme rule over the kingdom. They clashed over and over again using their strongest spells and abilities, but they were too evenly matched. Suddenly, Celestia summoned the most powerful magic in Equestria to her aid.

The legendary Elements of Harmony.

Celestia could have saved Luna from her darker side, using the power of the Elements to purify her. But the battle had weakened her, so she used what little magic she had left to banish and imprison Luna inside the moon for a thousand years. As soon as the deed was done, Luna had regained control of her body and the realization of what she had done suddenly hit her full on.

She didn’t know how long she cried and cursed herself. Not just for losing control of her powers, but also for what she had done to Celestia and the ponies who trusted her. All the loneliness, the guilt, the darkness, they continued to make her suffer for what felt like an eternity. Death would have been a more merciful punishment.

Luna was constantly haunted by her past actions as they plagued her conscience over and over again. All the destruction, the panic and frightened faces of her subjects, and the sad, betrayed face of her sister… it was too much for her to bear.

Her will grew weak, allowing Nightmare Moon to gain dominance over her mind once again. Luna tried to regain control and fight her evil side, but it was too strong.

A thousand years passed, and the spell that trapped her finally ended. Nightmare Moon, still in control, had planned to rule Equestria with eternal night once more. But the nightmare had ended before it could begin, thanks to the efforts of her sister’s apprentice, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends, who became the new bearers of the Elements of Harmony. They purified Luna and at last, Nightmare Moon was gone forever.

Luna was free, completely free to breath the air and be in control of her body at last.

At first she was overcome with joy, but it was replaced with fear and regret when she realized what her other side had tried to do once more. Then came her sister and she watched as she stood before her, like a judge looking down upon a criminal.

Luna was afraid. She knew that her sister would punish her in some way, not only her actions before but also what she had just done now. She had betrayed Celestia’s trust and love and was ready for whatever punishment she would be given.

Yet such a thing didn’t happen.

Celestia forgave her.

Despite all that Luna had done, Celestia asked her to once again rule side by side with her, as sisters.

Luna, overcome with emotion, ran and embraced her sister, with tears in both their eyes. At last the two of them were reunited.

So much happened soon after.

The celebrations.

The announcement of her return.

And going back home, to Canterlot.

She had been given her old room and her own servants to help her adjust as she took back her duty of controlling the moon. She also had to adjust to the new society that had developed during her 1000 year imprisonment.

It had been four months since her return. Everypony treated her like she was never Nightmare Moon, they were even thanking her for her duties this time. They still loved Celestia more, but they were starting to notice her work as well. Maybe it was because during her time in the moon, society developed and more ponies were more accustomed to living a night life.

There was even a city now known as Manehattan which was said to never sleep and was always busy even in the night.

Or maybe they felt sorry for her and wanted to let her know that they appreciated her just as much as her sister now?

Either way she looked at it, all of it seemed to go to her favor….but did she really deserve it?

Did nopony not know of her deeds a thousand years ago? Did they not know the pain and suffering she caused all of Equestria because of her jealousy? How could they know how close she was to ruining everything they loved so much? Granted, it was a thousand years ago and the events had become the stuff of legend, but still it didn’t answer her question.

“Why am I being forgiven so easily?” She asked herself. Upon her balcony, her eyes gazed at the full moon she had only raised a few hours ago. Since then she had spent much of her time wondering and thinking. Her sudden forgiveness had been on her mind since she had returned to her duties. Certainly there were those who didn’t trust her  at first or were suspicious of her actions, but Celestia quickly quelled those rumors and soon enough, those thoughts were gone.

There were times when Luna wished they were still there.

She wished she was hated for what she had done, she wished that her sister would stop looking at her with those twinkling eyes, and she wished….she wished that she just get some punishment for everything.

She didn’t deserve forgiveness or happiness for what she had done, her sins were too great.

Tears threatened to run down her face when she then felt her sister’s presence nearby.

“Luna…may I come in?” Celestia’s voice came from the other side of the door.

“Umm…sure.” Said Luna who opened the door with her magic, allowing her sister into her room.

“Luna? Are you okay?” Her elder sister asked as she walked forward and wrapped her wing around her.

“I’m fine.” She replied quietly.

Luna tried to avoid her sister’s kind eyes, but she couldn’t and cursed when she saw them look down upon her.

Oh how she hated those eyes…She was unworthy of the love and kindness that they showed.

“How are you adjusting? It’s been a few months and I’ve know it’s taken you awhile to get use to the times and changes of the last thousand years.” Said Celestia who turned to watch the moon. “So much has happened…weather control, alliances with dragons, and even indoor plumbing.”

“Yeah…” Luna replied, avoiding her sister’s gaze.

“I bet you’re all ready for the Winter Moon Celebration. Ponyville has been working non stop in preparation. My favorite student Twilight has been telling me that her friend Pinkie Pie has been more energetic than a chipmunk on coffee.”

“I see…”

Celestia went quiet and Luna knew that her sister had sense that something was wrong.

“Luna…if there is something you want to say…”

Luna turned around and tried to walk away. She felt her sister’s hoof grab her shoulder, stopped, and held her breath.

“You can tell me anything, little sister.” Celestia said in her kindest voice. Luna shook with rage and confusion. She couldn’t take it anymore!

She turned around and screamed, “WHY DON’T YOU HATE ME?!”

Celestia maintained a calm expression as she watched her sister’s outburst.

 “WHY!? Why don’t you hate me!? After everything I did as Nightmare Moon you still forgave me! Why!? I hated you! I hated everypony! I wanted to take control and rule on my own! I wanted to kill you, sister!”

Tears fell from her eyes as every bottled emotion poured out in her words, “I wanted the ponies all over the land to worship me and bow before my might! I would have destroyed any of them if they didn’t! I burned lands! I ruined villages! I forced ponies to fight in my name! I turned them against one another! I betrayed you, Equestria, my duties, everything and everypony because I was so stupid that I got jealous and lost control, becoming that...that horrible me!”

Luna’s stared deep into her sister’s eyes, which looked calm and gentle in spite of the outburst.

“I wanted an eternal night! I wanted to see the sun never rise again and damn the consequences! I just wanted….I just wanted somepony to look at me…and love me like they did with you…but all I did was cause pain and suffering for everypony.”

“And now….after all this time…you’ve never once yelled at me, never once looked at me with shame or hate, and you’ve done everything to make sure I felt back at home, like the past never happened. Sister, why don’t you hate me? Why does nopony hate me!? I don’t deserve this! I deserve to be trapped in that moon forever! I don’t even deserve to live!”

SMACK!

Luna felt a stinging pain on her left cheek as she turned to face her sister, who slowly put her hoof down.

“Don’t….ever say…something so stupid again, Luna.” Said Celestia with her eyes filled with sadness and anger, “Don’t ever say you don’t deserve to live.”

“Celestia….”

Celestia moved forward. Luna wanted to step back, but she was frozen in fear as her elder sister stood over her like a tower. “Do you really want to know why I don’t hate you? Why I don’t punish you? Why I don’t do the worst things imaginable to you? Why I was willing to risk so much to see you return to the pony you are now?”

Luna gulped as she slowly nodded. She closing her eyes…waiting for whatever backlash she was going to get….only to feel her sister embrace her with a hug and a whisper in her ear.

“It’s because you’re my sister…I love you and I’ve missed you so much…”

Luna stood agape. she tried to say something, but she stayed silent.

“When I banished you and everypony celebrated in your defeat, I was the only one crying in all of Equestira, because I had lost you. I was so alone and so worried about you being trapped in that moon that I couldn’t sleep or eat for days. I spent most of those early days alone; with most assuming that I was still recovering from my battle with you. But in truth, I was crying in misery for having lost you, my precious little sister.”

Luna felt the guilt return, but also felt shock. Did her sister really feel like that after her defeat and banishment? Celestia had never lied to her before, and it didn’t seem like she was now.

“Because of your absence I had no choice but to take control of the night as well.  It was so hard and tiring back then and there was so much to do. I felt so burdened and it didn’t help that I felt guilty for what I had done to you, both before and after you became Nightmare Moon.” said Celestia.

“Before? What do you mean?” asked Luna, finally finding her voice.

Celestia looked down at the floor with regret in her eyes, “I knew you were not getting the attention you had deserved for all your hard work. I wanted us to be seen as equals, but it was obvious that everypony favored me more. I knew you resented me and I wanted everypony to pay more attention to you, but I did nothing. And for that I am truly sorry, dear sister.”

“But…it wasn’t your fault.” said Luna, trying to comfort her sister.

“Yes it was…if I had said something, talked to you, maybe even try to help you get noticed, then I may have prevented all this. But I failed you. I, your older sister, failed to protect you from yourself and the ignorance of our kingdom. I grew to hate myself after your imprisonment and I even grew to hate the ponies of Equestria as well,” Celestia said darkly, “I blamed them for your turning, seeing as they never treated you as you should have been. I made the weather unbearable at times with heat storms, hurricanes, and tornado's. For the first 200 years after your banishment I was a bitter pony who was harsh and cold in the eyes of many, but deep inside of my heart I was a pony all alone with only with sorrow and regret. Some tried to rebel against me…I ended those rebellions quickly.”

The Princess of the Night couldn’t believe what she was hearing from her sister. She had always known that Celestia despised violence, but here she was telling Luna of her own small of reign of terror she made so long ago, born out of anger and guilt.

“You shouldn’t have felt like that…all of it was my fault! I let myself get jealous and became Nightmare Moon. You shouldn’t have to have felt any anger at yourself or others!” Luna shouted.

Celestia just looked at her with regret and said, “But I did Luna…I made a mistake…just like you did.”

“….huh?”

Celestia gave a sad smile and said, “I soon realized that my anger and sorrow weren’t going to fix the hole in my heart and I realized what I had done. I promised to use my powers the right way and soon, the damaged I had caused slowly began to heal. In turn my subjects began to forgive me and although I was still sad, I was no longer angry and I felt more at ease.”

“And when I learned that you would be free from the spell one day, I made plans to have you freed from your dark side and once again return as my beloved sister. I needed to find representatives who would be truer to the Elements of Harmony than I was. Those who weren’t filled with sorrow and regret.”

“Twilight Sparkle and her friends” said Luna with a smile.

“She is very talented and she has a bright future ahead of her. When I saw her perform magic for the first time I knew she was the one who be able to help us both. She and her friends freed and restoring you to your true self and for that I am eternally thankful.” said Celestia with a smile.

Luna nodded. Twilight and her friends were the first people she had befriended after a thousand years and she to appreciated all that they had done for her.

“When I finally saw you in your true form, my sister. I was overjoyed. I felt a feeling of happiness that I had not felt in nearly a millennium return once more.” Said Celestia as she nuzzled her sister. “Did you not feel the same way as well?”

“Of course I did! “Luna shouted. “I never felt so happy in all my life to see you again! I missed you so much and I just wanted to have you to hold me and tell me that everything was alright! I wanted to be your sister again!”

Luna took a deep breath and looked at the ground in shame, “It’s just that…I’ve done so many bad things…”

“And I as well, Luna.” Celestia as she took her hoof and lifted her sister’s face towards her own. “We both have done things we aren’t proud off. That’s why we have to help each other earn our forgiveness in the eyes of not only our subjects…but in the eyes of ourselves as well.”

Luna felt her eyes tear up again, only this time they were tears of happiness. Nodding, she looked at her sister and said, “Thank you….big sister.”

“It’s no problem…little sister. Now I think it’s time I went to bed.” Said Celestia.

She was about to make her way out when Luna called out.

“Do you think….you can stay a little longer and watch the moon with me for a bit?” she asked nervously.

Celestia simply smiled and nodded as the two of them turned back to the moon and watched in silence.

End

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