Vengeance

Vengeance:

Chapter 17.

Celestia begs Sunset for forgiveness.

Celestia had gotten back to her home after Sunsets funeral gotten herself upstairs with her sister's help and soon found herself asleep in bed. As she slept Luna had gone out of the house to visit with some friends to grieve in her own way. Two hours into her slumber Celestia rolled over and felt a slight brush against her hair. Slowly opening her eyes she saw lying next to her in bed was her daughter Sunset who was smiling warmly to her a she brushed a lock of hair out of Celestia’s eye. Celestia sniffed hard as she could feel tears coming down her cheeks slowly sitting up she said to Sunset softly.

“Honey is it you? Are you really here?”

Sunset also sat up then embraced her with a warm hug, which to Celestia felt cold as ice saying to her as she held her tightly in her arms.

“Yes mother I am here.”

Looking down Celestia began to run her fingers in her daughter's hair as tears trickled down her cheeks and began to fall on her daughter's head. While running her fingers through Sunsets hair Celestia said to her through her sobs.

“Honey, I need to know can…..can you forgive me?”

Looking up into Celestia’s eyes Sunset ended her embrace and sat up fully draping her legs over the side of Celestia’s bed saying to her softly.

“Do you remember when I was first adopted by you and your brought me here to stay with you for the first night how terrified I was?”

Looking away Celestia put a hand to her face as she sobbed out to her daughter saying to her while crying.

“Yes I remember I had to stay with you in your bed for almost two weeks because of the nightmares you had. Can you forgive me for not being there when you needed me the most honey?”

Sunset got up off the bed walked over to Celestia’s side and helped her up saying to her.

“You told me every night during that two week period that ‘bad memories don’t define you, your nightmare’s don’t make you a bad person. Your past is not today and your future will always be your’s to take if you want it. Good memories can keep you going and keep you strong.’ I never really understood that until now that is.”

Sunset hugged Celestia tightly in her arms as Celestia returned the hug she again asked Sunset.

“Sunset honey can….can you forgive me? Please I need you to forgive me for not being there for you.”

Sunset again ended the embrace and took Celestia by her hands leading her out of her bedroom, into the hallway towards the living room. Stopping when they got to the living room to look at the photos of her, luna and Celestia. Picking one up in particular and handing it to Celestia who looked at it then accepted it and placed it against her chest as Sunset said to her softly and very gently to her.

“Do you remember what day that was taken on? I think that was one of the few times that I actually let myself be captured on photo crying in your arms. I felt so free and so happy that day.”

Celestia fell to her knees while holding the photo as Sunset knelt down placing a hand on her shoulder as Celestia cried out.

“Yes baby I remember when this was taken you told me that you no longer felt alone or scared in this world of ours. That you felt free and that you could freely call me ‘mom’ without fearing what that would mean for you. You were so nervous when you gave me the pendent that is shown in this photo that your hands actually shook with both fear and excitement as well. I remember saying to you ‘I will never abandon you, I will be a good mother to you.’ and look what I did to you honey. I left you, alone to die in fear and in pain. Sunset honey, please I need you to forgive me for what I did to you. It was my fault that you died alone and more than likely screaming out for me to save you, to help you. It was all my fault.”

Celestia cried hard as she fell to her side with Sunset still kneeling over her as she was clutching the photo of her and Sunset hugging each other warmly. The photo had been taken on mother's day. Sunset smiled warmly to Celestia who remained on the floor in a fetal position. Sunset sat down and pulled Celestia up into her lap running her fingers through Celestia’s hair saying to her softly as she looked down seeing the photo in her mother's arms.

“I remember Luna had to help me find just the right outfit to wear that day. Heck she even went so far as to offer to buy me a new dress. Which we both shared a good laugh over that one. That might have been the only time I ever saw anti Luna laugh. I wanted everything to be perfect that day mom. I had saved all of my allowance money for six long hard weeks even went so far as to not use my lunch money to get that pendent for you. I can tell you mom when Luna found out I was not using my lunch money oh, was she mad with me. But, I was determined to get that pendent for you and so Luna had chipped in as well to have it in graved. Something that I didn’t know in this world would cost so much, yet it felt so good to read the words on the pendant once I was able to actually hold it in my hands that is.”

Celestia continued to cry hard as Sunset looked down at her and very gently took the photo that Celestia was holding in her hands from her. As the photo slipped out of Celestia’s fingers Sunset heard Celestia say to her as she raised the photo up to get a better look at it.

“I love you so much Sunset, I am so sorry for leaving you alone to be beaten and rapped by that bastard. Please honey I really need your forgiveness. Please baby, please forgive me for not being there for you when you needed me the most.”

Sunset said nothing as she looked at the photo. The photo showed Sunset on the right being held firmly but, tenderly in the arms of Celestia with a heart shaped pendent interlocked in her fingers by a gold chain. Celestia was on the left with her right hand on the back of Sunsets head and her left hand on Sunsets back. Sunset could be seen in the photo with a few tears trickling down her cheeks as Celestia had rested her head onto of Sunsets. Gently soothing the young girl in her arms. The pendent was clearly shown to have the words ‘The best mother I could ever ask for’ carved on it. Sunset set the photo down a few inches from Celestia's hands as she held her step mother in her lap saying to her softly.

“How was it your fault mother that I was rapped and beaten to death by that person?”

Celestia coughed and almost choked on her words as she replied while crying hard to her daughter.

“Because I wasn’t there I should have been there to help you. You needed me to be there I know you did yet I wasn’t there for you I failed you.”

Running her finger again through Celestia’s hair as Celestia sobbed in her daughter's lap while lying on the floor in the living room in a fetal position. Sunset said to her gently.

“Oh, mom you didn’t fail me at all. You of all people in this world were actually willing to open your heart and your home up to me. That is more than I can say for my friends whom although they forgave me for what I did to them both before and after the Fall Formal. They didn’t offer me a warm bed to sleep in, as many hot free meals a day as I could eat, a safe place to bath and to do laundry. A gentle shoulder to cry on when I needed it and a safe place to call home. You did all this and much more for me. You took me in when anyone else would have kicked me to the curb and let me fend for myself. You got me clean clothing and helped me to realize I was really a good person at heart but, that I made a really bad call is all. It was you who encouraged me to turtur Rainbow Dash after I….well ran into her at the Vinyl scratch records company. So mom there is nothing absolutely nothing for you to feel guilty over.”

Celestia still cried hard while Sunset ran her fingers through her hair Celestia began to feel the warmth of the rising sun on her skin as she started to slowly wake up. Celestia’s eyes slowly opened as she said one last time to Sunset before fully waking up.

“Sunset can you forgive me for not being there for you when you needed me the most.”

Celestia saw as Sunset started to disappear from sight that she was smiling warmly to her daughter's voice echo throughout the house.

“Mom I…..” Sunset’s voice trailed off as Celestia woke up and sat up.

Celestia found herself in the living room of her home to her right was the picture of her and Sunset taken on mother’s day. Looking around she said to herself as she began to climb to her feet and slowly walk into the bathroom to get ready for her day.

“It was only a dream, I will never be able to be forgiven by her, not that I blame her anyways. Why would I even deserves to be forgiven for not being here when she needed me the most?”

Celestia turned the shower on undressed took a shower then climbed out and got dried off and headed into the kitchen to make some breakfast for herself. As she was pouring her cup of morning coffing the kitchen phone hanging up on the wall next to a set of cabinets rang. Looking at the time on the stove clock which read 8:00 A.M Celestia groaned as she picked up the phone to answer it. Placing the phone to her earn Celestia said as calmly as she could when it was to early for her to be on the phone.

“H...Hello.”

“Principal Celestia, It’s Fluttershy, we…..uh, we need to talk.” Was the reply she got when she answered her phone.

Celestia waited for a minute then replied to Fluttershy as she placed a hand over her forehead as she said to Fluttershy.

“Alright where should I pick you up Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy thought for a minute then replied to her.

“Meet me at the school.” Fluttershy replied to her.

Celestia hung up the phone and set her cup of coffee down on the kitchen counter. Then went to her bookshelf thinking herself as to why Fluttershy wanted to meet her at the school.

“This needs to be given to Fluttershy I am sure that Sunset would have wanted the other Celestia to be at her funeral.”

Celestia took down the brown leather journal and headed into the garage then pressed a button on the wall opened the door to the garage and climbed into her car.  Setting her key to the ignition Celestia started up the car then backed out of the garage and closed it by pressing a remote on her dashboard then drove to the school. When she got there she pulled in and got out walked over to Fluttershy who was sitting on the school's front steps as she just hung up with Twilight. Celestia nodded to her and held out the book for Fluttershy as well as pen. Saying only to her as she held out the book for Fluttershy to take. Fluttershy looked up smiled gently to Celestia and took both the pen and journal from her.

“Use this to contact the other Celestia Fluttershy I am sure that is why you wanted to me here. Please don’t ask me to explain to you how I know this book will let you contact her. All I can say or will say further to you is that I need time so please just, use this book and do with it as you see fit.”

Once Fluttershy held the book in her hands Celestia said nothing further to her. As she turned around made her way back to her car got in and buried her face into her hands crying hard. Celestia thought to herself as she cried.

“I hope the other Celestia will forgive me for what I allowed to happen to Sunset."

Fluttershy opened the book and wrote her message to Princess Celestia then closed it as Twilight was just coming into view. Twilight got up to Fluttershy and looked to her right seeing that Principal Celestia was crying in her car Twilight took a step towards her when Fluttershy cleared her throat and help up the book to show it to her. Stopping in her tracks Twilight's eyes shrank to pin needles when she looked down towards Fluttershy’s hands and saw the book she was holding up. The portal rippled and a regal voice could be heard from behind her saying to her.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle you have some explaining to do.”

Twilight gulped as she slowly turned around coming face to face with her mentor Princess Celestia. Twilight dropped to her knees when she saw Princess Celestia standing in front of her. As she lowered her head to the Princess to show respect to her Princess Celestia looked from her then to Fluttershy who stood up and curtsied politely to her. Then cast her gaze to the right and saw her counterpart in her car who was  crying hard. Returning her gaze to Twilight who remained on the ground kneeling in front of her Princess Celestia was about to say something when Fluttershy chimed in saying as she too knelt before her.

“Please don’t be too harsh on Twilight, she acted like this because she was afraid that you would want this person dead for this. She only wanted to see justice not vengeance happen to this person.”