One month later

They say changes are for the best and that it's natural as everything cant stay the same forever, like the autumn leaves changing the second the new month hits, a carriage wheel in need of replacement when the old one has worn down after so many treks, the winter snow melting away as a sign that the summer time is soon to commence, the latest product that hits the shelves of any shop or establishment, various types animals shedding away their old fur or skin in the way of nature, or a couple who's spent either months or years together with the man one day finally popping the big question as to spend the rest of his life with the person of their dreams. It is a natural part of life and is bound to happen sooner or later, but to some there are changes to which they do not look forward too.

Twilight Sparkles would have been reign and her death left a big rift in everyone's hearts, despite what the once proud unicorn has done. There was no ill towards the unicorn or even her former friends especially given the fact that they've been through so much given the events of the Canterlot wedding incident, while last months events won't go away anytime soon. Everyone knew that they had to try moving forward as it what Twilight would have wanted from each and everyone of them.

Speaking of Twilight's former friends, there have been quite a few changes given to the remaining element bearers after the loss of their once closest friend. Despite the fact that they were now short of a member, the group never the less continued on as their responsibilities as the elements of harmony. Though it wasn't the same without Twilight by their side, and the fact that they would eventually need to find a replacement for the element of magic didn't sink in too well with them as they knew that no one could ever replace their fallen friend.

Rarity despite her "disability" continued on with her fashion business, while it was bit difficult at first given the fact that she no longer had access to any magic and had to do everything by hoof from now on. She never the less managed to find a groove to it and soon business continued on as usual, the mare even came up with a new fashion line as a tribute to her deceased friend. Sweetie belle and the others also showed their support and gave a hoof to the element of generosity from time to time, suffice to say business continued to boom thanks to the aid of the mares friends, the mare also started to toughen up a bit and was no longer afraid of getting dirty. While her environment wasn't the same without her magic, Rarity never the less continued on as she wasn't about to let one incident stop her from achieving her goals as she knew Twilight despite everything they've been through wouldn't want her to give up.

Pinkie Pie however decided to quit her job at Sugarcube corner as it just didn't feel the same, while the element of laughter enjoyed her time there bringing smiles to all of the happy customers. She just couldn't find it in herself to entertain as much as she used to, as twilight was one of her favorite regulars and without her friend it just didn't feel the same. Mr and Mrs Cake respected the mares decision but also ensured her that she was welcome to come back to work anytime, Pinkie thanked them for everything while also offering to continue babysitting the twins whenever they needed her. With that the mare ultimately decided to move back home with her parents and sisters as to help out with the rock farming business.

Applejack continued on with the farming business as usual, while she was having a hard time finding her groove again after the loss of her friend. But with the support of her family and friends, the mare soon found her confidence again and continued on with her families legacy. Filthy rich continued to give his support to the apple family while also giving his condolences to the late twilight Sparkle, Diamond tiara even pitched in a bit and gave a hand from time to time as well. She and Apple bloom also started to get along with each other, which also lifted the element of honesty's spirits at the thought that her little sister might find herself with a new friend. Further down the line, the apple family discovered a new type of magical apple that mysteriously grew not so long ago. After a taste test to see if it was safe to consume, the newest discovery was given the ok to harvest and sell. The latest discovery soon saw a boost in sales for the family and Applejack took it upon herself to name this newest apple "The Purple Sparkle" as a tribute to her late friend.

Rainbow Dash soon recovered from her injuries and continued on with her duties as a member of the towns weather team, however the pegasus has shown quite a drastic change to her personality as she doesn't boast or show off as much anymore as the mare felt that's one of the reasons that cost her her friends life. But never the less, the element of loyalty continued to help out and show her support to her friends and weather crew. At one point she was given an invitation to the wonderbolts training camp by non other than her crush Soarin, but the rainbow maned pegasus however declined the offer much to the shock of the stallion, the teams captain Spitfire, and the other members. But after the pegasus stated that while it's always been her dream to join the wonderbolts team, she knew that it just wouldn't be the same as she always pictured all of her friends by her side and with Twilight gone it just wouldn't feel right with one of her friends gone. But never the less, Soarin and the others accepted her decision and gave the mare their condolences and said that the offer still stands if she ever changes her mind. Dash also decided to move into Twilight's old home/library and to take over as the towns librarian and to continue on with her friends legacy especially given the fact that it was Twilight whom introduced her to the not only the Daring do series, but the art of literature.

Fluttershy decided to take a short trip back to her and Dashes hometown of Cloudsdale as to both clear her mind and to check up on her parents and brother after the events last month during Twilight and Trixies assault on the various towns and cities to see if they were all ok, crazy enough the once shy pegasus found a new boost in bravery and was able to express herself even more without any fears whatsoever. This new boost in confidence is also what helped her with making peace with her and dashes former bullies Dumbbell, hoops, Score, and Cirrus cloud and she even managed to make peace with Gilda Griffon as well after unexpectedly bumping into her during her trip. While the mare still found herself saddened after the loss of her friend and wishing that she could have gone back and saved her, the element of kindness knew deep down that twilight wouldn't want her to sit down in sorrow anymore. She knew that it was high time for her to start acting brave as the pegasus knew that her friends still needed her and her kindness the most.

Spike was at one point offered by Shining armor and Cadence to move in with them after the couples marriage, but the young dragon politely declined as Ponyville was still his home. But never the less promised to make it in time for their upcoming wedding, Dash even offered to let him move into the library with her as it was technically still his home. But the young drake once again politely declined as the library brought back to many memories of his deceased sister and it would have made things more difficult for him as he wouldn't wake up with his sister figure by his side, the pegasus never the less respected his decision just like the soon to be royal couple. Eventually Spike settled in with Applejack and her family, the young dragon helped out with the chores harvesting, and even to aid with selling some of the apple products. He even hit his growth spurt during his first week at his new home which allowed him to help out much more with the chores, the dragon soon settled in quite well at his new home with Applejack and the family. While he still missed Twilight dearly, he knew that deep down she would have been proud of him for all of his hard work.

Shining armor and Cadence eventually got married with Spike acting as the couples best man, the CMC's as the flower girls, and Princess Luna taking over as the Priest, but the wedding just didn't feel the same without Twilight by their side. Rarity and the others chose not to attend as their bridesmaid positions would have brought back too many painful memories from that dreaded wedding rehearsal incident. Shining Armors parents also didn't attend given their newfound hatred towards their son after what he's done, speaking of his parents Shining armor has been writing apology letters to them only to have them either burned in the couples fireplace or returned to the sender, at one point he even tried to visit only to receive a death threat from his father if he didn't go away in the next 10 seconds. Cadence even tried to reason with the couple but to no avail. The stallion decided to just give his folks time to cool off in hopes that they'll finally listen to him and to make amends but this was easier said then done, Shining continued to blame himself for driving his sister away but Cadence continued to reassure him that it wasn't all of his fault and that she still loved him no matter what. While his sister would never return, his wife's love continued to boost his confidence as he tries to move on as he knew that's what his Twily would have wanted.

Trixie was given 35 years for all of the destruction and casualties that she has caused last month and her Alicorn amulet was taken away and destroyed as to not fall into the wrong hoofs, strangely enough the magician showed the least bit care of her sentence and took it without as so much as a single fight. During her interrogation however, she refused to give the location of her supplier especially given the fact that Tirek moved his shop to another part of Equestria. The mare actually started to show sorrow to her fallen companion as when she stated to herself back to when she was taken away, for once in her life she felt like she actually had a friend. Btu alas it's gonna take a long time for the poor magician to have that feeling again.

And finally there's the sun goddess or should i say the former sun goddess, ever since her announcement during the funeral that she was stepping down as the princess of the sun. After that the alicorn decided to take some time to herself and took refuge inside of her families old vacation cottage not wanting to see any of her citizens right now especially given the fact that most of them probably now have mixed feelings towards their former ruler for stepping down so suddenly. The only times anyone's heard from her was from the letters she's sent to her niece to show that she was alive and well and to congratulate the newest royal couple, while she was away the moon goddess ended up temporarily taking over the sun goddess position. But this was easier said than done as the alicorn was soon tired after a month in her older sisters steed, after a while the moon goddess got tired of this and one day decided to confront her sister in an effort to try and get her to come back.

Later that night

We find the moon goddess flying high into the night as the moonlit night illuminated her coat, after flying for a while she soon arrived at her families old cottage. As she landed on the grassy terrain , the alicorn was quick to make her way up the path towards the cottage while taking the time to breath in the nostalgia and fun vacation memories she and her sister spent in this cottage with their parents when they were little. But the moon goddess knew that this wasn't the time to relive memories as there was more important business to attend to, after a short trek the mare finally reached the front door to find it already unlocked and then proceeded to step inside the cottage.

"sis?" Luna called out only to receive utter silence as an answer, the moon goddess then shut the door behind her before making her way further into the old vacation house. She then proceeded to look through every nook and cranny from the kitchen, dining area, living room, their old play area, and the master bedroom but to no avail or a single sign of her older sister. But then realization came to her mind as she figured just where Celestia might be, the alicorn then proceeded up the stairs. after passing through the few guest rooms and the bathroom, the moon goddess was soon met with the entrance to the outside balcony and to her relief she spotted her older sister through the sliding glass door gazing up at the moon. Luna then proceeded forward and placed her hoof on the handle of the sliding glass door before finally opening it, she then walked quietly towards her big sis and then took a stance right next to her leaning on the wooden frame as well as she continued to stare off into the moon lit night.

"Moon sure is beautiful tonight" Celestia said quietly not bothering to make eye contact.

"It sure is" Luna replied with a smile, there was an awkward silence for a few seconds before the older sibling broke the ice.

"How did you find me Luna?" she asked.

"Well............" Luna began. " Remember when I was 10 and got real pissed off when mom and dad grounded me for a month for failing my history test so I decided to run away?" After hearing this a small giggle could be heard from the sun goddess.

"Hehe and then they immediately orchestrated an entire search party after discovering the note on your bed" Celestia replied. "After searching for ya the entire week while asking around many of the neighboring cities and towns, we came to find out that you were simply hiding in the vacation cottage"

"Yeah hehe man I can still hear the two of em shouting at me for nearly giving them a heart attack as they hugged me tight" Luna giggled a bit and then turned to her sister. " So that's when I figured, since this was the one place I chose when I ran off, I figured that you might have done the same if you were in my shoes Tia"

"Yeah, guess I would" Celestia said" So let me guess Cadence sent you?"

"No" Luna replied as she shook her head. " This was me only me" There was another awkward silence for a few seconds before the moon goddess continued with a sigh. "Sis it's been an entire month please come back we need you"

"I can't Luna" Celestia refused. " I failed everyone, I failed my citizens, I failed my subjects, but worst of all I failed Twilight. I can never go back, not after all the pain I have caused others during my reign"

"But Sis , everyone's relying on you" Luna protested. " It's not just the earths pull but you too aid in bringing the sun up, without you we wouldn't have full mornings, it would just be dawn every single morning, your the sun goddess for crying out loud. That's what mom and Dad bestowed upon you years ago remember?"

"Former sun goddess" Celestia replied as she shook her head. " I don't deserve that title Luna, I failed everyone. I couldn't save Twilight from her corruption and she was this close to becoming a nightmare just like how you would have become if the others hadn't freed you. And because of my foolish decision back at the practice rehearsal my beloved student is gone forever and I can never erase it" Luna then took it upon herself to place a hoof on her sisters shoulder.

"Sis" She began. " You can't blame yourself for what happened to Twilight, it wasn't your fault......................."

"YES IT WAS!!!!!" Celestia boomed as she slapped Luna's hoof off of her shoulder. " I didn't take her warnings seriously Luna, I just thought that she was outright bullying our niece and acting jealous because I figured that she thought her and Shining weren't meant for each other. When i saw Cadence run away in tears I was outright furious at my student for having the nerve of hurting our adopted niece and accusing her of being evil, but in the end I ended up being the evil one as when me and the others finally discovered the identity of "Cadence" actually being the dreaded Changeling queen. I was beyond shocked when i realized that twilight was right, and I didn't believe her"

"I told her that she had a lot to think about" She continued. " But in the end, It was I who had a lot to think about as i didn't take my students warnings seriously. And because of that Canterlot was almost taken over by the Changelings, I honestly deserved not only that attack from Chrysalis but the lashing from Twilight as i failed both as the ruler of Equestria and as her teacher. If I had known she had all those past dark experiences with friendship, i would have done something to help cheer her up. But in the end I failed her just like how i failed my last student Sunset Shimmer, an now she's gone" Tears started to form on the sun goddess face as she continued.

"If I can't protect the one pony whom I treated like my own daughter, then how the hell am I supposed to protect my subjects? Ever since I granted Twilight and the others the elements of harmony, I always sent them to take care of any adversary that threatened Equestria instead of handling it myself as I felt their strong bond and friendship was enough to stop anyone. But in the end I was only taking the cowards way out as I felt I should stay behind figuring that my subjects needed me in Canterlot in case some threat popped up there while I was out assisting the others. Twilight was right I'm a poor excuse for a Princess as in the end I rely on others to take care of serious matters instead of taking action myself and now look what my foolishness has costs me? My dearly beloved student is now dead and it's all my fault for not listening to her, mom and dad would be so disappointment in me right now if they were here right now. I' don't deserve this title Luna, I'm a disgrace. These ponies deserve someone better than me, I can't protect anyone I,I,I,I.................."

The sun goddess said nothing more and began to silently weep as her tears fell like rain drops down to the grassy fields below the balcony. Seeing her once proud sister in this state broke the moon goddesses heart, and given the fact that she felt utterly responsible for Twilights death and felt that she failed not just her but the citizens and all of equestrian itself. No longer able to take seeing her sister in this sorrowful state, the princess of the night once again placed a hoof on her sisters shoulder as the alicorn continued to silently weep and not swatting it away this time.

“ Sis please that’s enough” Luna said . “I cannot bear to see thou acting like this anymore, please stop this now. Listen to me, what you said to Twilight during the practice rehearsal was outright cruel. But honestly I cannot blame you one bit, I would have been furious at Twilight for accusing our niece of being evil too.But if anything it was that dreaded Changeling queens fault for tricking all of you and that magicians fault for manipulating Twilight into joining her on her path of destruction last month, but what’s done is done and the two of them are gone now with one of them banished with the other locked away so as they don’t hurt another innocent soul”

“ But listen to me when I say that you are not a bad ruler, you’ve done a fantastic job on managing the sun. You might think that the citizens look down on thou sis, but you’re wrong. The citizens, the guards, all of the other ambassadors, they love you sis. They didn’t care if you made a few mistakes, who’s said that they haven’t made a few mistakes themselves? I’m sure mom and dad made some mistakes as well during their reign, but you shouldn’t give up so easily because of a few mistakes. Sure I can agree that you should have assisted Twilight and the others more, but I can also see the reason as to why you stayed behind as you wanted Twilight to be independent and learn the power of friendship on her own and not risk leaving your post for a little while out of fear of a threat attacking Canterlot while you were gone” Celestia the took a moment to finally muster up the courage to look at her sister as she continued to silently weep.

“I know you think there was something you could have done, but given Twilight state when she was corrupted by her inner anger. I fear that not even our words would have been enough to break her out of her darkened state, she was beyond reasoning. All of her years of heartbreaks that she's come across from everyone she once called friend finally let loose and caused her to snap entirely, from the bullying, trickery, fallouts, and even the wedding rehearsal, it was too much for the poor mare to handle. But listen you cannot and I repeat not blame yourself for any of this, again while your words were harsh It wasn't your fault Twilight died and neither was it Shining armor and the others. But please I ask of you, do not quit your position sis"

"Everyone is on edge right now after last months events, they need all of the help they can get. And if you leave now they'll think of it as abandonment and desertion, I know you think you've failed them sis. But if you leave now it would defiantly make it seem like you've truly failed them. They need you more than ever sis and you know it, I can't handle both sides by myself and you know it. There's a reason we were both bestowed with these titles Celestia, it's because mom and dad both saw potential in us and knew that we were right for the job of handling both the sun and the moon. Plus you help to keep the elements of harmony safe"

"But Trixie and Twilight managed to snatch them without me knowing" Celestia jumped in still quietly weeping.

"And you couldn't have known sis, that wasn't your fault either" Luna replied. " That was one mistake Celestia just like what happened at the wedding rehearsal, just look back at this so that it doesn't happen again and maybe insure that the elements are better locked up or secured so as the next threat doesn't have easy access to them and only Rarity and the others can have access to them. You haven't failed Equestria Sis, you've made some mistakes but who hasn't? Just look at me, when I transformed into Nightmare moon after I let the darkness take control of me over my jealousy and was released from her grasp thanks to Twilight and her friends. I too felt that it was too late for me to start over and assume my duties as the princess of the night. But i was wrong sis, despite everything I have done during my transformation I was forgiven by all and they even treated me as a holiday symbol whenever Nightmare night commences every year. So if I could change sis, then so can you. It's not too late to start over and do everything right this time. So please sis I'm begging you, don't give up on your duties over one mistake"

Celestia remained at a loss for words after hearing her little sisters words. While a part of her still felt that Equestria deserved a far better ruler than her, she also knew that running away from her problems wasn't the answer. The fear of letting down her citizens or the main 5 the next time a threat plagued Equestria, but still she also knew that her little sister couldn't handle both the responsibilities of raising and lowering the sun and the moon. The sun goddess knew that this was her destiny that was bestowed upon her and that it was her responsibility and couldn't run away from it, as she knew that it would have been desertion which goes against everything that her parents have taught her. She knew that everyone needed her the most and it was high time for her to start acting like the ruler that everyone needs, the alicorn then lunged forward and wrapped her hooves around her younger sister as she began to silently weep on her shoulder.

"Your right Luna, your absolutely right" She sniffed. " I can't abandon my citizens, I was such a fool for trying to run away from my problems. I'm so sorry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry..................................." Luna wasted no time and returned the embrace to her sister as she continued to sob on the moon goddesses shoulder while gently rubbing her back in a soothing manner.

"Shhhhh It's alright sis, it's ok" Luna said as a proud smile formed on her face as a single tear fell. " I promise you everything going to be ok, it will be a difficult journey for all of us. But I promise we'll get through this together, your never alone sis. Me, the citizens, Cadence, and even the mane 5 will always stand by your side no matter what happens" The siblings said nothing more and just continued to lovingly embrace each other, while last months events can't be erased or rewritten. It's never too late to try and move forward as it's what twilight would have wanted from each of them, the moon continued to illuminate the night time sky as the siblings continued to embrace and comfort each other. Their bond continuing to grow more and more as they held each other.

Who knows what the future holds for those effected by last months events? But one things for sure, while it seems impossible to move on. It was never too late to try and get through it............................................

Together

Author's Note

MLP Friendship is dead part 2 : A stallions redemption

Coming January 2024