It was over. Nightmare Moon was purged from her, and she was free. Her legs trembled as she stood up, but eventually she did it and saw the best sight she had seen for a thousand years.

"Tia!" Luna cried out as she galloped towards the tall, white alicorn princess. She wanted to tackle her into a hug but was suspended in the air. She felt magic surround her, and saw a golden aura enveloping her.

"I am glad to see you too, sister. Please follow me, and no physical contact." Said Celestia as she let her sister down. Luna seemed very disappointed by the fact that she didn’t get to hug Celestia. Her lower lip formed a pout and she had to muster all her strength to not to begin crying. For a moment, she thought that crying would make Celestia change her mind about the 'no physical contact' thing, but eventually she followed her in silence.

The two alicorns progressed to a carriage with four pegasus guards and entered it. The princesses sat in front of each other, but curiosity got the best out of Luna.

"Why didn’t you let me hug you, sister?"

"I will explain everything back at the castle" came the answer.

The trip to Canterlot was spent in silence, save for Luna occasionally squirming and using all the self control she had to not to jump into her sister's arms. She had been craving for the moment when she would hug her sister and finally be happy and safe in Celestia's warm embrace.

After they reached the castle and went through the main doors Celestia simply gestured for Luna to follow her. After a few minutes of walking through corridors and up many stairs, they stood before a set of doors with a familiar emblem on it. It was Luna's room. Celestia opened it and let her sister go inside first, then she entered too.

Luna was overwhelmed with joy when she saw her old room, and jumped on the bed with glee. She was so happy that the moment could even be called 'perfect'. But one thing separated this time of joy from being the best day in her life. And that thing was Celestia. More exactly the warmth of Celestia's hooves wrapped around her. She imagined it so many times during her absence, and she couldn't wait to experience it.

She invitingly held her two front hooves in the air, hoping her sister would understand what did she want, but nothing happened. Seconds passed, but they felt like hours in this awkward scene. The silence was broken by Celestia's voce.

"I'm sorry, Luna, but we cannot cuddle. Not today, not tomorrow, not this month. Not until the next Summer Sun Celebration."

Suddenly every single drop of Luna's happiness vanished. When she asked the obvious question her voice was shaking, her ears were flat against her head and she was devastated by her sister's words.

"B-but why? Why don't you want to hug me?" She gasped in shock as she couldn't think but one thing. "Don't you love me anymore? Don't you want me to be your sister?" Tears were filling here eyes and her vision became blurry.

"No, I love you more than anything, and you are dear to me. I missed you so much during all those times, but I must not cuddle with you." Celestia's voice was crackling and tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"Why? What holds you back?" Asked the smaller alicorn.

"Y-your sentence." The Princess of the Sun was openly crying now, sitting on the floor, her whole form shaking.

"What do you mean, sister?" Luna couldn't bear the sight of her sister crying in front of her and jumped from the bed to embrace and try to comfort the crying pony.

A wall of golden magic stopped her from doing what she wanted, and Celestia mustered enough strength to talk.

"The council, which is now long gone, has sentenced you to spend one year after you come back from the moon without any form of physical affection, especially not cuddles." Celestia broke down in another fit of crying before managing to continue. "They said it was meant to ensure that you will not turn on me again and you will appreciate the love of another pony. They were not right... I did not care for you enough..." She couldn't take the pain of rejecting her own sister, and started crying even more, this time even wailing loudly.

"What would happen if you hugged me?" Came the new question from Luna.

"A spell was cast on me to stop you from hugging me or any other pony. The magical connection between you and me will prevent us from showing any affection to each other. I did not want to cast any spells. Not now, and not at the Everfree Castle ruins. Also, you will not be capable of hugging anypony or a plush animal. Now excuse me, but I cannot stay here. I couldn't take the sight of you crying, and my inability to comfort you"

Celestia left the room in tears, and ran as fast as she could to reach her own chambers. When inside, she put a soundproofing spell on the room and threw herself on the bed. She hugged one of her pillows close to herself and cried bitter tears into it.

Meanwhile Luna was perplexed. She just came back from the moon and she still has to be lonely due to some stupid council. She only wanted to be with Celestia, yet she cannot achieve that goal. Being with her sister was everything she wanted, and she was dreaming of falling asleep in her comforting embrace. She laid on the bed. She wasn't strong enough to cry. She was exhausted. Tears were streaming down onto the sheets as she could only think of her sister. Why did things have to go like this? Why couldn't she just hug her sister and be happy for the first time in a millenium? Why did she have to suffer?

Author's Note

Okay. This is my first fanfic published here. Since English is not my native language, I am open to any grammar things, and story improvements.