The Unknown Daughter's Reunion:Part 2

Having broken from orbit, the Homecoming was under way towards the magic fields perimeter, and the Equus gate.

Upon the completion of the recovery effort at the mine, Moon wasted no time in issuing the order to return home. She wanted to put that part of the mission behind her.

With their precious cargo collected and safely stowed, the flagship traveled at a snails pace. Even at the modest rate of travel, it felt as if they were almost rushing home.
The empress still didn't know how she was going to break it to her ponies; both what became of the mission, as well as her part in the debacle. Beyond that, returning with many princesses, only one of them being...close to well.
She needed time. Much more time. Hence she requested to return home at low speed.

Speaking of the princesses, the empress had respects and honors to pay, as well as a re-uniting of sorts.

Walking into the cargo bay which was cleared of all contents except these. Moon sat down in front of the gold and crystal container emblazoned with a sun's emblem. Placing the box she carried into the bay with her, down beside her.
Taking deep calming breaths to steady her nerves, she opened both containers. There, unravaged by time passed, was the form of her aunt.

Fighting her urge to flee the very sight that was before her, she closed her eyes and steadied her breathing.

'I must do this. It is only proper that I am the one to do it' she told herself

Levitating the object from the small padded container, and placing it inside the larger one where it belonged.
Her eyes almost completely closed as her mind tried it's hardest to separate itself from what it was doing in the moment.

Closing the lid once more, she spoke;
"nightmares..."

After what felt like hours, her trembling subsided. Finding the will, she got up and walked to the next container, the one with the heart emblazoned on it.

Opening the lid, she forced her eyes open to witness the alicorn of love's form.

Sitting for while, looking upon her; unformed and unspoken words in her mind for the mare before her.

Closing the lid, she proceeded to the third.

Opening the lid, she found it the tiniest bit easier to look upon her. Wondering what she would have been like, to know. It was said that she brought ponies together, even the bitterest of rivals...
It felt odd, needing a pony that she never knew. Now more than ever...

Giving her form a sad smile, she closed her eyes, and the lid.

Sitting there, she let her mind wander, imagining what they were both like, the good things they made happen...

'My ponies must know of their deeds, their stories' she thought as she looked over them.

'Though, they can not see them like this, as they are. It is unjust. They should be seen and remembered whole, as their lives were.'

Laying down, she felt the weight of what she was insisting be done, upon her.

'I, do not have the heart to do it myself. It is too soon. I need another to perform the grave task that needs to be done....'

Forcing herself back up, she pushed herself back to the bay's entrance. An entire ocean of emotional weight upon her shoulders, as she was about to request to one of her ponies;
The most difficult of requests she had ever made of any of them

'May she forgive me someday, I... wish I could do it alone..' her head hung low, her ears wilted.

Steady Pulse sat at her desk, going over the latest scans of the princess. Noting the variations in her magic, remaining hopeful they would result in improvement.

When the door to her office opened, the empress entered. Looking as if she were dragging boulders invisibly chained to every part of her.

"Hello, your highness?" she greeted her, concern filling her.

With a nod, the empress sat before her desk. Not speaking, she sat quietly, somehow feeling smaller than she'd ever seen her.

the silence getting thicker, Pulse urged the alicorn "Your highness.. what's wrong?"

Heaving a sigh, the empress responded "I, have just come from the cargo bay... Returning, what was my aunt's to where it rightfully belongs..."

Pulse beginning to understand why she looked so emotionally drained, nodded "I see... that must have been hard."

Nodding, Moon continued "Yes, looking upon them all...like that" she shook her head "In that condition..."

Pulse nodding solemnly "Is there anything I can do?"

As the empress heaved another sigh, Pulse was starting to understand that her highness was in need of more than just an ear to talk too.

"My p-ponies need to hear of their deeds. To know of their lives, I as well." she paused "But they cannot see them, as they are now. Remember them looking like...I, we have seen them."

Pulse's stomach dropped, getting an idea where this was headed. Although she agreed with her, this was..

"I, I cannot do it myself, Pulse. It is too personal, too soon, too much for me to bear." she nearly cried to Pulse

Gone was the 'empress', the leader of an empire of colonies. What sat in her office was simply a pony, one that had just reached the limit of her fortitude. A pony in the greatest of need from friends, to do what she couldn't.

"Are we talking about the same thing, your highness?" Pulse lead

Nodding "I believe so. They... they need to be; rejoined" her voice cracking at the last word

Pulse all but collapsed, somehow it still hit hard.
Now she understood why the empress was so, beaten. Why she was here, what she was here to ask of her.

"I, I will not hold it against you, should you refuse. I understand the horrible nature of this, of my request. A-and I am sorry to ask such a thing of anypony..."
"had I more strength, a-and the skill..."

Thinking, searching her feelings, Pulse sat in silence. 'Could she do this? Could she, perform such an operation on royalty, her highness's family and friends?'

A long while between them passing in silence, Pulse finally took a deep breath and spoke:
"I. I think I can do this, your highness."
"This, needs to be done; for them, for the princess, for you, for everypony." sighing "above all, I am a professional. As ponies gone by have done, so does my creed dictate... I will help ponies in need of healing, even in a way like this."

"Thank you, Steady. I hope that you can forgive me for troubling you like this, some day."

With a small smile, Pulse replied "I'll find a way for you to make it up to me, I'm sure."

With that, her highness stood back up, and left her office. Still exhausted, but a little lighter.

Pulse sat in her chair after the empress left. Wondering how it the countless worlds she was going to pull this off.

For two days Steady Pulse racked her brain on how she was going to achieve the task she had taken on. Consulting practices of ancient surgery, as well as methods she was familiar with.

As it stood, reconstructive preparation for display of the passed, was a lost art. Abandoned as the passed were always remembered by their family and friends. So display was unneeded, especially in cases of extreme accidents, rare as they were.
Though, this was a very special case, as they were to be remembered by ponies that had not seen them in life. So, their presence now, would be what ponies would remember. Second hoof knowledge, being to everyponies loss, sadly.

Steeling her nerve, Pulse began with the princess's sister.

'The ponies of old were made of pure titanium to do this' she thought

Even using a cellular reconstructor, semi-automated and programmed, hooves-off; This was overwhelming at times when she thought too much about it.

For hours she stayed at it, her mind switching between seeing this as repairing injuries to a living pony, and fitting puzzle piece edges together.

'I still can't get over how surreal this is. It's like she had this done to her merely seconds ago.. Absolutely no degradation that I can find. The scans... no evidence of a preservation spell or anything, just... frozen in time... what are alicorn ponies exactly?' she asked herself

Into the early hours she worked, millimetre by millimetre, until she was done. Everything down to the tiniest detail was back to where it was supposed to be. With the exception of a few hairs of her coat that were cut and lost, it appeared as if she were simply sleeping.

'if only that were true..' she sadly thought, looking over the the alabaster alicorn.

After taking a scan for her records, she turned around and put her materials away for the night.
Thinking she heard a clink, she turned around to see if anything fell. Seeing nothing out of place, she shrugged.
Pulse had been up for over twenty two hours straight, working hard. Fatigue was making her a little delirious, catching phantom movements in the corners of her vision for the last three hours.

Walking out of the hospital room, she made her way straight to her shower, and then bed. She was glad she only had to run this marathon twice more.

In the dimly lit hospital room, a solemn peacefulness hung in the air. On the bed laid the princess of the sun, silent and unmoving.
Then it happened.
slowly, her barrel expanded, just a little. Then it contracted. Minutes later, the pattern repeated, then repeated again. The interval between the expansions and contractions becoming shorter, eventually falling into a familiar rhythm.

Putting down her pad, Moon became lost in thought. Thinking of home, wondering what Scribble, Whistle, and the others were up too. Not daring to think of how they would explain the mission to the ponies...
With a puff, she picked up her tea. Taking a couple sips, she thought about Pulse. The mare having her hooves full these past few days. Between looking after her mother, and the task she had taken on...

'mother...' she thought, troubled.

Having not checked with Pulse on her condition, she worried.

Across the room, the comm beeped steadily. Somepony contacting her.

Placing her cup down, she got up and walked over to the comm panel. Answering the call, a frazzled and frenzied Steady Pulse appeared

"Your Highness, You need to get down here right now!" She ordered, nearly hysterical

"What is the matter Steady?" the empress asked, immediately concerned

"You need to see for yourself, I can't explain. Just get down here!" Steady went on.

"I'm on my way" Moon answered, immediately trotting to the door, and briskly down the hall. Her tea, and her previous thoughts abandoned.

When moon entered Pulse's Office, she found the mare pacing back and forth, upon noticing her arrival, immediately turning to leave.

"What is-?" Moon didn't even get to finish

"Follow me!" Pulse said as she nearly galloped away.

Following pulse at a brisk pace, she led her highness to another hospital room. Going inside she saw he aunt laying on the hospital bed, looking better than she last saw her, at least.

Pulse stopping next to her aunt, she beckoned Moon to approach.

"Yes?" Moon asked, joining her. Still finding nothing out of the ordinary.

"Isn't this? This is! I don't know what this is?! Unprecedented, if anything!" Pulse babbled

"I do not understand.." her highness admitted

"What?! You don't..." With a sigh, Pulse followed it by taking a deep breath. "Okay, please. Observe the princess, and tell me what is unusual."

Looking over to her aunt, which was still hard for her to do. She looked her over.
Pulse had thankfully taken the liberty of cleaning her up, and obviously finished her grave task, leaving only traces of what befell her, in her coat. Out of the corner of her eye, her wing, moved?

'It moved! It went up slightly, then down! And again! She breathed?!'

'They were slow and shallow, but they were there!'

Wide-eyed, Looking between the princess, and Pulse, Moon didn't know what to say.

"What.. does this mean?" Moon dared to ask.

"I was going to ask you! I don't know. Has anything like this ever happened that you know of?" Pulse pressed

"No, never. Though, a princess was never..." She gestured to the princess

"Well.. And look at this;" she said grabbing a pad and tapping a number of times and presenting it to the empress. "She's been like this for hours. After I left last night/morning, The bed scanner detected life signs and began charting them. Look at them: respiration, heartbeat, temperature; they've been getting steadier and stronger since the scanner detected them." Pulse showed the empress.

"When did you leave last night?" Moon asked

"It was nearly morning when I left. I thought I heard a noise, but shrugged it off as fatigue. I couldn't, I was too tired." Pulse apologized.

Wrapping the mare up in a crushing hug; "Don't apologies Pulse. Though we can't be certain, you have given us hope, me and mother."

"What do we tell her, your highness?" Pulse looked up at her

"I, am not sure. I'd want to shelter her from this, should it amount to disappointment in the end. But she deserves hope as much as any of us, more in fact." Letting Pulse down back onto her hooves "I'll break the news to her, unless you would like to join me?"

"Yeah, good or bad, I'm the cause of this." Pulse said looking at the practically slumbering princess.

"Whatever the results are Pulse, You have done an incredible thing this day. Your hard meticulous work, deserves acknowledgement." Moon finished

Princess Luna was laying in bed after taking a couple walks around the medical center with Evening Mist, since the doctor was very busy.

Her legs were getting better, they were no longer wobbly, but she still got fatigued quickly.

Evening Mist was pleasant enough pony, and she became accustomed to her help as she had with her chamber maids of years ago. They talked about many things, and Luna learned of many things of the empire the Nightm-, no, empress had built. Though she was still waiting for another shoe to drop, she was admittedly impressed by her rule.
Her ponies were happy, and not bound by tyranny nor delusion of the mind as far as she could tell. Which is an accomplishment of rule in itself, she could not deny.
Still, it was so very different than what she was used to, or familiar with.
Mist even let slip something she thought everypony should see, a biography of sorts. Though on second hoof backpedaled. Eventually admitting that it might be too personal for her to want to witness. Which made her especially more curious to see it.

'Speaking of' she thought as the door to her room opened, the Nigh- empress walked in, the doctor in tow.
'it has been a while since she last approached' she thought, not sure how to feel about that.

Coming to a stop at her bed side, the e-empress and doctor took a seat. Looking at each other, unsure how to start, Luna took the initiative

"It is, agreeable, seeing you again...e,empress" it feeling bizarre coming out of her muzzle.

the look on the empress's muzzle was worth the effort. 'like a filly on Hearths Warming' she mused

Moon responding "T-Thank you, your highness. We come bearing, what I find as hopeful news."
"As you are aware, we have located Aunt.. I mean, your highness' sister. Following that, we retrieved her and the others as well. To receive proper recognition of all that they have done for pony kind."

Moon said trying to keep the sadness out of her voice. Luna could tell she was trying, nodding in response

"In preparation for their remembrance. I requested that, and take full responsibility for any slight incurred..." She paused, taking another breath "Steady Pulse restore them to their former glory" she breathed out.

Looking down, she continued "I would have performed the honors myself, had I the skill or heart to do so.
Ponies who never had the honor to know her, them, themselves, should remember them as they always were. Not the way they were found."

Luna was aghast, at first, but said nothing. Then thinking about it for a number of moments, nodded. "I understand. How.. does.. did it turn out?"

"Bet *cough* better than I would have ever imagined" Moon choked out, tearing up. "She's.."

Pulse, taking over for the overcome alicorn, continued "When I finished late last night.." She smiled a serene smile "it was like nothing had ever happened. As if she were just dozing on the bed." she finished, tearing up herself.

Luna looked down with a sad smile, picturing it in her mind.

"When I came back this morning..." Pulse stalled

Clearing the lump in her throat, Moon took over "S-She was, Breathing!!"

Luna's head whipped up, stammering for a moment, she demanded "Take me to her, Now!"

Both ponies nodding fervently, smiling, got up, and helped the princess from bed. Catching her as she almost fell out in her haste.

From there, they made their way to the other hospital room as fast as the princess's legs would allow.
Walking up to the sleeping alicorn, Luna looked her all over. Taking in the slow shallow breaths, the mark in her coat where the cut was.

After minutes of inspection, the princess turned around

"What does this mean? What did you do? How can this be possible??"

Pulse, spoke first "I don't know your highness. All I did was...put everything back together. Nothing else. No magic, no treatment, nothing..."

Luna's eyes moving to the empress, Moon spoke "Same. First I knew of this, was by Pulse's summons here in haste."

Sitting down, Moon continued "I know this looks hopeful, and I hold to it dearly. Though, we do not know what this means nor understand it. I dare not expect more than has already graced us. Though..." She trailed of with a hopeful smile to the slumbering alicorn.

"Was her form not ravaged by time and... decay?" Luna asked

Both ponies shaking their heads, Moon answering "Even when we first discovered her, them in the cave, they were unaffected. No traces of preservation magic were found."

"The others are, the same as her?" Luna asked

"Unaffected yes. But I have not yet... put them back together. She was the first." Pulse trailed off

Luna walked over to Pulse, and held her in wing "Thank you, doctor. No matter what happens now, you have my gratitude."

Turning to the empress, Luna addressed her "You as well, your highness. Your decisive actions, have brought me some guarded hope"

To which, Moon nodded her thanks

"Would you like to spend some more time with her your highness?" Pulse asked

At Luna's nod, she responded "Please call me or Mist of you need anything. In the mean time, I'll get you setup in larger accommodations."

With that, both of the ponies left Luna with her sister.

Walking with her to Steady Pulse's office, Moon poked her "It appears I now owe you even more now, does it not?"

"Call it even, your highness. This is all, wow." Pulse replied "I'll get them moved bigger quarters today, and get to work with the other two princesses tomorrow. Today's a wash, with all this excitement."

"I'll leave you to your preparations, then." Moon excused herself 'Wow indeed' she thought

After Luna had left her sister for her physical therapy; Pulse, having already made the accommodations for them, performed another detailed examination of the sun princess.
Expected things had begun to appear; dehydration, need for food and waste expulsion. It was as if she were returning to the land of the living. Physically at least. Magically, she was worse off than Luna, not unexpectedly. Luna's examination showed she was making the most tiniest improvements.

Once Pulse had moved the sun princess to her new bed, she set up the bodily maintenance system, providing the princess with the needed sustenance with the need for tubes.
Princess Luna's interest was piqued with how it worked

"Remember how you boarded the ship your highness? One minute you were outside the castle, next you were here?"
"It works like that, but with food, water, and waste. Like a teleport spell, just very tiny, and without needing to take a unicorns time and magic to do it."
"As your sister is laying here, every so often she gets a sip of water, and a bite to eat. And of course, the opposite. She's checked regularly to see what her body needs, and of course, we check on the machine to make sure it's doing it's job properly."
"It's used all the time in situations where a pony is in a coma, or recovering from a major surgery and can't move around much at all."

"Why not me?" Luna asked

"Because you're quite mobile. Though difficult and tiring, you can move around and do many things. In fact when your sister wakes....I'm sorry. I shouldn't do that. If perchance your sister awakes and is well, I hope... She'll have to physically recover as you are now."

"But at least she'll have her big sis to take care of her, instead of strange ponies" Pulse smiled

laughing, Luna replied "Actually, 'Tia was the big sister, I was the little one."

"Oh, right. Well, if the best thing ever comes true, you can dote on her and drive Her crazy for once. You'll be the big sis for a while" Pulse laughed

"A taste of her own medicine, I shan't squander it!" Luna said with an imperious grin

"Well your highness, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to bed early. I've got a marathon of alicorn surgery to do tomorrow... Gees, that still sounds creepy...."

"I wont begrudge you over it, doctor. Whatever you did last time, was just what was needed. Keep in your heart whatever you had with my sister. That's all I ask" Luna asked

"I will your highness, take care. I'll see you in a couple days."

Later that night, Luna was roused from slumber by the sound of humming. Turning her head, she saw the empress sitting next to her sisters bed, softly humming to her.
Her eyes were closed, a broken smile on her muzzle, a tear running down her cheek.
When it finished she took a deep breath, and placed her head on the end of the bed. After a few moments she opened her eyes, unfocused and looking far off.

"That sounded like a lovely lullaby" Luna spoke softly

Moons ears turned toward her, as she lifted her head. "I apologize for have woken you. I will go, you need your rest." She said getting up and heading to leave.

"What was it called?" Luna asked

Stopping, she turned her head toward the princess, and then looked down. "It is, quite old now. A song from my younger days. All these years, I still find myself drawn to it from time to time. Though, some verses of it are too sad to sing in present company." She said looking back at the alabaster alicorn.

Considering a moment, she continued

"Here. Though I do not have the heart so sing it fully now, I had once. My ponies recorded the performance for posterity." She levitated the pad on Luna's side table over to herself where she tapped a number of times, and levitated it over to the princess.

"Goodnight, your highness." looking over to the sleeping alicorn "You too, your highness"

Nodding to them both, she quietly left.

Luna, looking down to the pad, tapped it to play the performance;

As the lights came up, the empress was laying on the ground. Looking down as if somepony where laying there beside her, all around her were set pieces staging the aftermath of battle.
The orchestra behind her dimly illuminated.

As the first few strings plucked, the words 'Into the West' appeared before fading.