☽
Collide
by MidnightDancer
It was late.
The alicorn was used to late nights, especially recently. The coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle had been less a coronation and more a whirlwind of days full of laughter, love, and friendship. By day, Pinkie Pie parties both scandalized and intrigued the nobles; by night, calm cups of tea were shared along with stories, anecdotes, and gentle teasing. Even now, a week later, the newly-minted princess eagerly stayed awake far into the night, asking both royal sisters questions about her new-found alicorn powers.
Smiling fondly as she thought of the little unicorn-turned-demigoddess, all fluffy violet wings and sparkling eyes, the princess once more lamented the fact that Twilight had no sister to accompany her through the ages. So much work had gone into Twilight, and she had changed so much from the awkward little pony the princess had first met all that time ago. Seeing her blossom into such a wonderful mare and savior of Equestria warmed her to her core, knowing the little unicorn had saved her as well. The alicorn wondered to herself if Twilight even realized how much she had helped her.
Glancing out the window, watching the rivulets of rain gently wind down the pane, she felt almost as ashen grey as the skies over Canterlot. Mother above, I know I would not be able to handle this eternity without my sister. I only wish we could grant Shining Armor the same ascension... but then, where does it stop? At the thought of her own sibling, she smiled a wry smile, gently lighting the candle by her writing desk with her magic to banish the darkness surrounding it.
Slipping onto her cushion, she pulled her inkwell and quill to her--old fashioned, but some of the old ways were best, she maintained--and rolled out a clean sheet of parchment before her. Staring at the blank page, she cast her mind back over the ages spent with her sister... and the millennium apart. Biting her lip, she sighed, getting a hold of herself before finally setting quill to parchment.
To my dearest Sister,
I know that this week has been busy and stressful for us both. Cadence and Twilight are princesses too, now, but it is you and I who truly keep our country afloat and our little ponies safe and happy. To do both that and also entertain a week long party has left us both with little time together, a fact I lament now as Twilight's ascension has brought me to appreciate you all the more.
I fear the years have made a monster out of me, dear sister.
Pausing, she glanced outside once more, calming herself with the sound of the rain quietly roaring through her mind. Centering herself, she sat up straight, taking a deep breath through her nose before exhaling slowly. Nothing to do but keep going, now.
The worst sort of monster, to be honest--the sort that is in power. The lives of these little ponies are so frail, so fragile, and they are left in the hooves of us both. Left with those that could destroy them with a mere thought, a simple whim of emotion--and we both know how close I had come, on occasion, to doing just that. A half-second's falter of will, and the earth would be a barren wasteland of scorched earth and frozen glass.
You have always been stronger than your demons, no matter what you may think in your most private moments of introspection. I envy you, my sister, for your grace and power in even your weakest moments. I shall never forget all the times you set aside your own problems, even to your own detriment, to hold this foolish mare in your soft wings as she sobbed through her insecurities. Countless tears I have shed on your shoulder, my sister, and I feel as though I can never do enough to repay you for the times your steady and calm voice has led the ship of my heart through the stormiest of seas.
It was you who was always the smart one--you kept yourself held aloof and confident in the face of everything from Discord to irritating nobles. Even when I foolishly quested out on my own, following my heart instead of my head, you were there to comfort me when I returned. I do not know how you do it. I know I never could. The mortality of our Mother's creations mixed with our ability to grant eternal life to them leaves me with a constant longing, a yearning to do so for all of our little ponies, and not just one exemplary subject every few hundred years.
Even when we fought, my sister--even in that darkest of times in our history together, I never did stop loving you.
Chewing her quill tip nervously, candlelight glinted off her metal-shod hoof as she worried at the parchment, reading down what she had written. Tapping the word "monster" gently, she shook her head. No sense making her sister worry that she was having... another episode.
When we squared off against each other during the War of the Sun and the Moon, I could still see the love in your eyes. I could still sense your care, your sisterly affection even as you did unspeakable things. We both did.
You know that I forgive you, my sister, but I am unsure if I can ever ask for you to forgive me. My crimes, against both our little ponies and against you personally, are too great. So many fell in our honor and defense, all due to a conflict that was, at its core, entirely my fault.
I say now as I did then, my sister--I am sorry. I am sorry to have fractured and divided our subjects as I did. I am sorry that I refused to turn to you when I knew something was going awry. I do not know why I did not. Any other time, I would have, but I merely pushed it down and ignored it and somehow thought that would solve the problem.
It did not. I paid dearly for that mistake. One thousand years without you. One thousand years of the stars refusing to shine as they had with you by my side. And one thousand years of falling with nopony to pick me up. I know, that is selfish of me, and I can't even imagine what you went through on your end, but there it is. You have a selfish sister, and for that, I am sorry as well.
I sang to you, sometimes. I had hoped you had heard me as I heard you do the same. Mother's lullaby, meant for us both from her. It brought me cold comfort in those ageless, frozen nights alone apart from you. And all I could think, through the whirling maelstrom of guilt and pain and anger was how much I wished we could both take that horrible night back. Even then, facing possible defeat, you still held yourself with a dignity and a grace and a knowledge of what you felt you must do to protect yourself, your interests, and your subjects.
Candlelight flickered again as she shook out her wings, one secondary flight feather coming loose and landing gently on the page. She eyed it dumbly for a moment, blinking once before sweeping it aside with a flick of magic. Standing, she allowed herself to stretch, knowing the hardest part of the letter was done. Now, at least, the rest is fairly easy. Plopping back down in a rather un-princesslike fashion, she grasped the quill once more in her magic, scratching across the page.
Perhaps the greatest comfort of all, now that we are reunited, is knowing that across the years, no matter what separates us, we always seem to collide again. It is when that happens, my sister, that we are both at our best--best at ruling our subjects, best at handling our foreign affairs, best at handling our internal affairs. For it is a simple truth, my sister, that sitting down with you for a cup of tea to discuss everything just... makes everything okay again.
For a thousand years, we each had nopony. It is my earnest hope that for a thousand more, we shall always have each other. And I promise this time, my sister, to do my best to be the sister and co-ruler you deserve, not simply one you are forced to deal with. We shall truly be co-rulers, neither in the shadow of the other. I have learned my lesson from that.
Signing off with a slight flourish of her quill, the alicorn gently rolled up the scroll and sent it, with a thought, to her sister's chambers.
A few hours later, a gentle knock came to the alicorn's chambers. Looking towards the door with trepidation, she called out, "Enter, please."
Through the door came another alicorn, smaller in stature but just as regal. Teal eyes met rose ones in wordless sibling communication before Luna spread her soft wings, smiling patiently as Celestia flew to her side. Burrowing into her sister's dark fur, Celestia wrapped her own wide, white wings around Luna.
"Sister..." murmured Luna. "It shall be alright. I am here. I intend to be here. But Celestia," she pushed her sister back slightly, forcing them to look each other in the eyes again. "If I do become as the Nightmare once again, or worse, I expect you to do what you must to protect our ponies."
Ethereal mane bobbing as she nodded, Celestia sniffed. "Of course. I just wanted you to know..."
"Shh."
And so, sister held sister in a hug for the ages, feathers falling to the floor as the two, once more, collided.
Author's Note
Because even the best fall down sometimes.
I have a slightly skewed headcanon of Celestia, yes. And I love Luna, so there's that.
BEST PRINCESS.
Best sisters.
ANYWAY ENJOY MAYBE
Edit: Thank you for the warm reception! Also, most of the comments are about soap now.
I dunno.
ENJOY
