Factum Est

"Dear sister, you look troubled. Is there any way we may assist you?" Luna's query broke the silence of their private dining room. Celestia forced a smile, looking up from her dessert.

"I'm fine, Woona." This brought a small smile and flushed cheeks to Luna's face. However, the smile quickly dropped as she surveyed her sister's plate.

"Tia, your favorite cake! You haven't even taken a single bite!" she exclaimed, aghast.

Celestia grimaced.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not feeling well. You can have my piece if you want. I don't wish to leave you in the few hours we share, but I'd like to take a quick walk in the gardens. Might I be excused?"

"Of course. But, um..." Luna's gaze flickered to the floor. Celestia stood, moving to Luna and wrapping a wing around her. Luna snuggled into the soft feathers, closing her eyes.

"What is it, love?" Celestia whispered into Luna's ear, nuzzling her gently. Her sister trembled, biting her lip. Celestia put her hoof under her sister's muzzle, lifting it up so their eyes met. "Don't shut me out, please... I'm begging you, let me be here for you... unlike before." Luna's eyes watered, and she let out a soft cry.

"Tia... We feel as if we've disappointed you. Anytime you've needed us we weren't here. The Changeling invasion wouldn't have happened if we had been there to help you-"

"Shhh... Woona, you haven't EVER let me down. I can't even rightfully claim that you owe this land anything... Not after we... I.. treated you so terribly. How could I not have seen you suffering, how could I have neglected you so? Your pain.... Looking back it seems so obvious... and yet I did nothing... and I'm sorry, Woona, I'm so sorry..."

"You're sick, Tia, and we feel it is due to the way we keep making it colder in the castle. We became accustomed to the cold on the..."

"You mustn't blame yourself. I will be alright. It is probably just a cold coming on. I'm due for one you know, I haven't had one in 350 years," Celestia said, with a small chuckle. Luna shook her head disbelievingly, but gave a small smile anyway. Celestia brushed her little sister's tears away, and upon confirmation that Luna was going to be fine, excused herself for her walk. Luna walked with her until she reached the throne room. The lunar princess entered the Night Court, and her sister finally let herself frown. She hurried outside, passed the courtyard and hedge maze, until she reached the statue garden. Maneuvering her way through the dark, she finally stopped under the largest statue there: Discord. A fluttering sensation filled her stomach and she started dripping cold drops of sweat. Looking up into his stone eyes, her heart started pounding. She frowned. It was a feeling she remembered, but it was vague, and unclear.

Fear...

The word passed through her mind, bringing goosebumps and shivering. Her feathers ruffled uneasily, and she glanced around before bringing her focus back to the statue. Biting her lip, she closed her eyes and a golden glow filled the garden.

Pain shot through her skull. She shouldn't be doing this without the elements of harmony. It would take all her strength and then she would get sick. It was too late to stop now. Feeding more power in, the spell circled around Discord warily, pressing close then moving away. Celestia cried out, the backlash of the spell nearly bringing her to her knees. Pushing one last burst of energy into the spell, Discord's statue shattered, revealing the draconequus.

"There you are. I almost thought you'd forgotten our deal... And you know how much I'd have to take away from you were that to happen." He stretched himself out, mainly for show. She'd made sure his second encasement was comfortable.

"In order for this to work, you'll need to pretend to be reformed. I have the Element of Kindness as the one you're going to stay with, as per your request."

"You're such a delightfully efficient servant, aren't you, Princess. It's too bad no one else can appreciate it as I. Your little ponies are so... boring, don't you think? I can only imagine how your dear little sister would feel about her brave, kind older sibling making a deal with me. Especially one that could potentially harm your subjects."

"Stop. I made this deal in the best interest of my sist- subjects."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, dear. Speaking of which, those dream-blocking spells you put on yourself at night are surely going to be the death of you. Look at those circles under your eyes." He giggled like a schoolfilly, before fixing her with a dark smirk.

"Playtime is over, Discord," Celestia said, her voice wavering. His smirk stretched into a full grin.

"That's where you're wrong, Celly. Playtime has just begun." The spell's effects started to drain, and he waved goodbye as he was turned back into stone. When the golden glow finally dissipated, Celestia fell to the floor, losing consciousness.

The next morning, Luna and Celestia lay on Celestia's fluffy cloud bed, eating ice cream with a bunch of trashy tabloid magazines laying around. The solar princess giggled as her sister told her about something she'd seen on the internet. She thought it was cute how Woona got so excited about things, talking with her hooves while a huge grin spread across her face. Celestia must have lost herself in her thoughts, because next thing the solar alicorn knew she was barraged with a bunch of the tiny, soft throw pillows on her bed. She jumped and let out an undignified cry. Luna burst into laughter, falling to the bed. Celestia grinned mischievously, before picking up her body pillow and throwing it right back. War broke out, and it took nearly an hour before the sisters tired themselves out. They laid back, and Celestia sighed happily, closing her eyes.

"Tia?" Luna broke the content silence, but to Celestia's surprise, she sounded worried. Celestia rolled onto her side.

"What is it, Woona?"

"Um... we want to know if you're okay. One of our Night Guards found you on the ground in the statue garden of all places."

"I told you I didn't feel well."

"Yes, but even so, it's not normally like that when you're ill."

"I fainted during my walk. I'm sorry for worrying you, love." She snuggled her sister close. "Thank you for waking me up in time to raise the sun as well."

"There's no need to thank us, sister. We owe you so much more than that."

"You don't owe us anything; I've told you this before. I should've been there for you, I should've-"

"W-we need to go to bed! We're sorry, Tia, see you tonight." Luna fled from the room, and Celestia watched, stunned.

"Oh Woona...," she whispered, before standing and righting her appearance. She called for her personal guards and hurried out into the warm daylight.