I Could Never Live Without You

Chapter 3

         “At the Edge of Everfree”

Princess Celestia flew further and further away from Canterlot as Luna watched in amazement of her sister’s sudden departure.  Seeing that she was flying towards the Everfree Forest, Luna once again left Canterlot and was desperate to follow her sister if her life depended on it.

“Why are you going to the Everfree Forest, sister?” Luna thought to herself as she flew.  “The Forest was where Discord held us prisoner.  You are not planning to surrender yourself to him, are you?”

Just up ahead, Celestia continued to fly faster and faster, knowing that her sister was right behind her.  Celestia couldn’t face the truth of what happened on that fateful night where she had to banish her sister to the moon.  She then saw the location of the tree of harmony and dived down towards it, but something else caught her eye.  At the base of the tree, Celestia could see a light purple alicorn at the base sobbing into the tree.

“Princess Twilight,” she thought to herself as she saw the familiar alicorn.  “Why are you here at the tree?”

Seeing that it was Twilight, Celestia dropped her guard and flew down towards her faithful student, although Twilight wasn’t technically her student anymore.  Celestia landed and trotted over to Twilight, her face buried in the tree’s base.  Celestia knelt down and place a wing over Twilight’s head.  Twilight then turned to see Celestia and threw herself into her arms, sobbing loudly.

“Shh, shh, my faithful student,” whispered Celestia, trying to calm Twilight down.  “It’s okay, I’m here.  What’s wrong?”

Twilight tried to speak through her sobs as Celestia continued to hug her like a mother figure would.  After a moment, Twilight calmed down slightly as Celestia released a little bit of her grip.

“Princess,” cried Twilight, her breath ragged.  “I had a nightmare…of when I saw you banish…Luna…to the moon.”

“Yes, yes, go on, it’s okay,” whispered Celestia.

“I thought…Luna…killed…you,” sobbed Twilight, as she let her emotions get the better of her once again.  Celestia’s heart sank upon hearing those words as she once again lowered her head at Twilight, trying to calm her down.  Up until that moment, Celestia did not know that Twilight had seen her use the Elements on Luna the night she was banished because of Zecora’s potion.

“Twilight,” said Celestia, raising Twilight’s tear filled face towards hers.  “Whatever happened that night was something you didn’t need to see, but sometimes we need to face the truth sometimes.  Back when you were my faithful student, I had hoped to one day show you the history of our struggles, but I guess you had to learn that for yourself.”

“I didn’t know I was in the past, Celestia,” replied Twilight, her eyes red from crying.  “I thought Luna had become Nightmare Moon again and finally succeeded in killing you.  It wasn’t until you got back up that I knew you were all right.”

“Then why did you come here?” asked Celestia, getting back to her feet as well as Twilight.  “What does the Tree of Harmony mean to you, Princess?”

“I thought I could get the Elements of Harmony back and my friends and I could use them to protect you and Luna,” confessed Twilight, staring at Celestia, expecting her to be cross.  Instead, Celestia looked towards the chest that had emerged from the Tree of Harmony when the Elements were returned.

“I want to show you something my faithful student,” said Celestia, beckoning Twilight over to her side.  “Look at the chest.”

Twilight looked at the chest and was confused to what Celestia meant by looking at it.  For all Twilight knew, whatever that was inside was a complete mystery to both her and Celestia.

“What about it, Princess?” asked Twilight, still breathing ragged breaths from all her crying.

“Whatever inside that box is mysterious,” replied Celestia.  “You and your friends are the only ones who can open it, but I want you to remember that I will still be here to help and guide you.  Even if you are not my student anymore, you will always be my most faithful student to me.”

Twilight smiled slightly upon hearing this for a moment and her fears were seemingly banished for a slight moment.

“The truth is,” said Twilight, trying to confess her fears.  “I could never live without you, Celestia.  Ever since that day we met at your school for gifted unicorns, you have become an important part of my life as well as the lives of my friends.  And, I don’t know how to say this, but…”

“Yes, my faithful student?” asked Celestia.

“I could never live without you…ever,” replied Twilight and both student and teacher stared at each other with tear filled eyes and embraced, both of them crying silently as Luna flew in and saw what was happening before her eyes.

“What have I done?” she thought to herself as she saw her sister and her faithful student tearfully embracing.  It was here that Luna realized her grave mistake from that fateful night.  “Twilight Sparkle thought I became Nightmare Moon again and killed my only sister.  It was because of my actions that I have changed my outlook and here I am, realizing what I tried to take away from Equestria.”

Luna fell to her knees and lowered her head in shame and relief at the same time.  She could not believe that by nearly destroying Celestia, she almost took away the chance to have ever known Twilight Sparkle and her friends.  Had it not been for them, she would have let her darkness take over Equestria and Twilight would never have made her into the pony that she was today.  It was a hard lesson for all three of them, but it needed to be done.

Sometimes the best way to heal wounds is to open to others and maybe that was what Luna should have done 1,000 years ago.

But, what was done was done and it was time to move forward, as the rest of the main six and Spike arrived on the scene and watched as they saw their best friend and leader hug her mentor and mother figure.

The nightmare was finally over.