Return From Erebos

As Queen Luna looked upon her most trusted subjects, a small tear filled her eye, and a smile graced her cheeks.

"Aldebaran, Regulus, Antares, Fomalhaut..." she began. "All of thee stood for my best interest in thy own ways. Thou didst each do what thou believed was best, working together to make sure We and Our subjects were safe.

"Aldebaran," she began, and the towering minotaur straightened his back and stood at attention. "Thou who laid claim to the untamed wilds and mastered them. Few monsters made it free to torment Our ponies under thy watch.

"Regulus," she continued as she moved on to the steadfast lion. "Thou didst maintain order in the cities and provide safe dreams for those who entered into thy walls. We commend thee for thy vigilance.

"Antares," she said, looking down at the swift scorpion. "Thy methods may have resembled the Nightmare's, but thy targets were none but the enemies of Luna and her subjects. Due to thy efforts, no monsters grew strong enough to pass through to the Waking Realm.

"Fomalhaut, Our dear friend," she said, her gaze at last falling on the wise, old stallion. "Thou didst stay with Us, keeping Us from fully giving in to the Nightmare. And when the Nightmare brought you an apprentice, thou didst train young Twilight to be not as Nightmare ordered, but as Luna would have wanted. We place Our gratitude on thy shoulders, for without thee, Erebos would not be standing here today as it is.

"And Twilight Sparkle." The young mare jumped a little from behind her mentor, but quickly regained her composure. "Twilight Sparkle, the pony who should never have been brought here, yet who was instrumental in freeing Us from the Nightmare and restoring Erebos to its former glory. Step forward."

Twilight hesitated for a moment, but after a light kick from Fomalhaut to prompt her, she moved out from behind him and stood before the Queen. "Y-Your majesty..."

Queen Luna smiled and placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "To thee, Twilight Sparkle, do We owe everything. Without thee, We would not have seen Erebos united. Without thee, We would still be the Nightmare's thrall. And Without thee, We would never have realized how blessed We are to have such wonderful subjects and friends. Tell Us, Twilight Sparkle. What is thy greatest wish? Name anything within Our power, and We shall grant it for thee."

For Twilight, the answer was already clear. "Your majesty, i-if it's not to much to ask..."

"Nothing is too much, little one. Speak it, and it shall be thine."

"...Can we go home, now?" All was silent for a few moments as Twilight and Luna stared into each others eyes, the four Royal Guardians watching with keen interest. Then Luna smiled with a soft chuckle.

"Thou art right. We have tarried far too long, and must return to the Waking Realm. Guardians!" she said, turning her attention toward the four who now stood at rapt attention. "We must depart. Thou hast kept Erebos for 1000 years without Our guidance. Perhaps thou canst keep it a little while longer?"

"We shall keep it as long as necessary, your majesty," spoke Fomalhaut, head bowed in reverence. "And upon your return, we shall gladly return it to you."

"Then we depart! Come, Twilight. We shall muster the power for the spell and return to the Waking Realm." Queen Luna closed her eyes. As Twilight stood next to her, she felt the air begin to charge with power. She looked up at the Queen, whose eyes were now open and shining with a brilliant white light. The Queen stretched out a hoof and pointed it skyward. "Children of the night sky! Lend Us thy aid! Add thy might to Ours, that We might know freedom from Our exile!"

A bright glow surrounded the guardians. As Twilight watched, they rose into the sky, shining like the stars. No... Shining as stars. They spread out across the sky, moving further and further away from each other. Then, the entire sky flashed as one of them came into contact with an otherwise invisible barrier. One by one, each guardian touched the barrier and pushed against it, causing it to shimmer violently. Suddenly, Queen Luna stomped her hoof into the ground and launched a beam of light which impacted against the spell directly in the center of them all.

And shattered it.

*****

Princess Celestia watched as the stars touched the moon. The dark craters pocking its surface vanished, signifying the release of its captive. "It is time..."

Suddenly, a powerful burst of wind swirled around the field, whipping her mane and tail to and fro as it lashed against her until it exploded outward in a bright flash of light. Then all was silent. As the dust settled, Celestia beheld the grim visage of her sister, as dark and powerful as the day she had been banished. The two looked into each other's eyes for a long moment, neither choosing to make the first move.

"Whoa... That was intense!" somepony said.

Celestia's eyes widened. There was somepony else here? She had thought they would all be at the ceremony! "My little pony, get away from here! It's not safe!"

Then she saw something that surprised her even more. A young mare, not even out of her teenage years, garbed in a black cloak and hood stepped out from behind her sister. As soon as their eyes met, the mare glared at her. "Princess Celestia..." the mare all but growled.

"Be at ease, Twilight," the dark alicorn said to the mare. "Hello again, Celestia."

"Nightmare Moon," Celestia replied, her composure regained as she resigned herself to her fate.

"How dare you?!" the young mare - Twilight, as Celestia recalled - shouted. "She's not--"

"We said at ease! Thy antagonism toward Our sister is unnecessary." Twilight immediately stopped herself, but she continued her hateful gaze. The dark alicorn smiled toward Celestia. "Please forgive Our student. She was raised to loathe thee."

Celestia nodded, hiding the pain of those words behind a mask of stoicism. "You will not win, Nightmare. My student is already searching for the Elements of Harmony." Celestia noted that every word she said seemed to fuel the rage of her sister's pupil, yet had no effect on her sister herself.

"Your majesty..." Twilight said, as calmly as she could force herself to be. Luna placed a hoof on her shoulder to calm her further.

"Calm thyself, Twilight. She knows not of recent events." Luna looked forward toward her sister and continued. "Celestia, why wouldst thou send thy student after Us, knowing she would be defeated?" she asked, curious about her sister's intentions. "There is nopony alive who can wield the Elements like thou didst all those centuries ago, and even should they be able to, the Elements are useless against Us as We are now."

"We shall see," Celestia replied, her face expressionless.

Luna cast a scrutinizing eye over Celestia, studying her for a few moments. "Art thou...?" Her eyes widened and she began to giggle as though she had seen something that tickled her heart. Twilight looked up at her Queen, confused.

"Your majesty?"

"Thou art! Thou art trying to use the Elements of Harmony as teaching tools!" Luna could no longer restrain herself and fell over in full blown laughter, giggling madly and kicking her legs about like a foal under feathery duress. Twilight and Celestia exchanged a glance of mutual confusion: Twilight at having never seen her Queen in such a state, and Celestia at the sheer glee emanating from her sister. The Nightmare she remembered never laughed with mirth.

And then it clicked.

"...Luna?" Celestia asked cautiously. "Luna, is that you?"

"The Elements! The most powerful forces of order that we ever discovered," Luna gasped, struggling to find her breath from sheer amusement. "And thou art using them like a schoolmarm! Oh, Our sides! Save thyself, Twilight! We are incapacitated!"

Celestia's eyes blurred, and her heart leapt in her chest. "Luna, it really is you!" With powerful strides, she galloped toward the pair.

"Your majesty, get up! Celestia is bearing down on us!" Twilight tried to rouse her Queen from her hysterics, but once she saw that it wouldn't be fast enough, she positioned herself between the alicorns and took a defensive stance. "Come no closer, Celestia! Or I will put you to the ground!"

The princess slid to a stop, her mind and heart torn between hugging her sister and never letting go, and not wishing to antagonize this brave, if foolish, young mare. Luna's laughter settled down, Twilight's defiance sobering her enough to regain her composure. She gave Twilight a smile, thanking her for her loyalty and letting her know everything was alright, then stood up to look her sister in the face. Then she rushed forward and embraced Celestia in a long needed hug, tears of joy falling from both their faces. "We've missed thee so much, big sister..."

"And I, you, little sister. The years have been trying without you by my side."

"Tell Us, Celestia. What was the lesson thou wished for Us to teach thy student?" Luna asked as she released Celestia.

"Walk with me," Celestia said as she turned toward the nearby town of Ponyville. "I will explain on the way."