Twilight Sparkle stood on the shores of a moonlit lake. In retrospect, it seemed a little too on the nose. Right now, the moon was the last thing she wanted to look at. At least it was peaceful, no sound except for the lapping of the waves, no other pony save for her.

And her… mother.

“I know when I’m unconscious, you know. And I can see you there, Princess.”

The darkness behind her parted, and Luna stepped out. Twilight regarded her for a moment, then turned back to look at the waves.

“When I was a filly I used to dream, that is… I mean,” she gave a grunt. “I used to fantasize about somewhere else I could go when ponies just became… overwhelming. I had read a book about a pony who used to go down to the shore of the lake he lived near.”

Twilight sat there, watching the moon rise over the horizon of the lake.

“I imagined myself there. Nothing but the quiet of the moon and the gentle sound of waves against the gravel. I’d skip rocks.”

She pawed at the rocks underneath, expressionless.

“You know, ever since I became an alicorn, all my dreams have been lucid dreams. I thought it was just something we did. It didn't matter much, I was just happy to be at the beach I always wanted to go to.”

Horn glowing, she levitated one of the larger rocks in her magic, and sent it flying across the lake. It hit the water and dropped straight in with a very rock-like splash.

“Cadance said she didn’t dream like this though, and neither did Celestia. I simply assumed it was some power that was unique to me. I should have known better.”

Another rock, another splash.

“I just wish I wasn’t so damn awful at skipping rocks. Even in my dreams, I can’t do it.”

Luna looked over to her, before levitating a rock of her own and sending it sailing across the water. It too landed with an unsatisfying splash.

“Evidently, neither can I,” she said quietly.

Twilight finally turned to her, fixing her… mother with a cold hard stare.

“Twilight… I know you have a lot of questions, I know, but I—”

“How?”

Luna paused. “What do you mean?”

“You’re right. I have so many questions about all of this, but the one that I’m trying to wrap my head around more than anything is how? You were banished over a thousand years ago. I’ve seen baby pictures in photo albums at my parents house and I know I grew up normally,” she hesitated. “Relatively speaking.”

She glared at her… her mother. “This isn’t some sort of situation where I’m actually a thousand years old and you’re all going to age me instantly or something where alicorns age at a slower rate and I’m actually an alicorn toddler. Wait, that doesn’t make any sense, I was born a unicorn. Wasn’t I, I–” Luna held up a hoof.

“Twilight, please, relax. You were not born an alicorn, and, biologically, you are the age you think you are. But… you were born a thousand years ago.”

“Right. Right that’s what I thought,” Twilight shook her head. “So then…”

Luna thought for a moment, then her horn glowed. The dream shifted, the surface of the lake rippling as a small cradle rose out of it and floated over to the two alicorns. Even in the dream, it seemed to hum with arcane power.

“Do you know what this is?” She asked.

Twilight squinted, then gasped. “A Panacea? Stars, an intact Panacea! I’ve only ever seen pieces or sketches,” she squinted. “It’s… a lot smaller than I expected.”

“The sketches you’ve seen were sketches for a reason. Do you know how it works?

Twilight nodded, this was all ancient history, and thus, something she’d easily memorized. “It’s a magic siphon: it pulls in ambient thaumic energy to power a constant spell. In this case, a long-term healing aura,” she smiled, recalling old lessons. “Of course, that kind of healing magic would take a huge amount of energy to work, even with modern spellcraft.”

“The ancient Skyrosians learned early on that if they had made it any larger, such as say, for an adult pony, the siphon would leave a lifeless wasteland fifty miles around it,” Luna noted Twilight’s shocked expression. “Ultimately the only ones ever forged were used for very young, very ill foals.”

Twilight was taken aback. “Ill?”

Luna nodded, her eyes wet. Whatever memory she was thinking about, it was painful.

“You were sick. You were so very sick. It was a plague of dark magic, the very same thing that…” She took a deep breath. “The sickness would have ravaged you, killed you as it— I was not in my right mind at the time. I was young, I was mourning, I was scared. So I panicked. I placed you within this cradle and hid you away to be restored.”

“But then how—”

“But the Panacea does not just heal, it suspends. Feed it enough magic, and you can keep the occupant unchanged and alive indefinitely. I do not know if its creators even intended for such use, nor… nor did I.”

Luna reached out for her, but Twilight shied back, just enough to make the older alicorn hesitate. She hung her head in shame.

“I swore I'd come back for you. I needed you safe. Stars, more than anything I needed that,” she whispered the confession out. “Please, please believe me. You weren't to be hidden for a thousand years. I had hoped…”

Understanding flashed in Twilight’s eyes. “Your banishment. This was part of why… why you became Nightmare Moon.”

The other alicorn shrugged her wings, dejectedly. “I thought that if Celestia remained in power she might… might… that she would…” Luna gave up. “I suppose I’ve gotten no better at communicating even ten centuries later. Not that it matters…”

Luna finally lifted her head. She was crying.

“I know you have so many questions, I will answer them, I promise. But please, do it in the waking world. I need you, my little star.”

“Please.”

Twilight paused. Need. That was a hard word to think about right now. What did Twilight need right now? What did she want right now?

Pinkie. I’d want her here. I bet she could skip a rock like nopony’s business, then tell me that’d it all be okay and wouldn’t stop trying to hug me or get close to me until she thought I was okay.

And… and she’d tell me to give Luna a chance.

She was mad. Hell, she was furious, even asleep her chest burned and, just thinking about anything hurt. But she wasn’t the only pony who was hurting. Luna had spent a thousand years, a thousand years trapped on the moon, not knowing if her only daughter was alive or dead.

And then to come back, to find her grown, to find that you’d missed out all those years of your daughter’s life?

Luna needed her. Her mother, no, her friend needed her.

Twilight paused, then slowly, carefully, edged towards Luna. Hesitant (stars, she was still so mad), she moved to rest her head beneath the other alicorn’s, trying to wrap her wings around her and failing.

“Okay,” said Twilight quietly. “I want to try.”

If nothing else, Luna was big enough to make her feel like a filly, and the tears she could feel falling down on her mane stirred up something that wasn’t quite yet daughterly guilt, but something adjacent to it.

Luna pushed her back finally, taking her head in her hoof and lifting her chin so that their eyes were level. The princess took a long hard sniff, trying to compose herself back to a state of acceptable royalty. No doubt several Princess Rules had been broken.

“Then awaken, dearest daughter. We have much to discuss and it… It won’t be easy.”

“Right,” Twilight nodded, looking around. “Uh. How do I wake up?”

“You don’t know that spell?” Luna tilted her head.

“Who was going to teach it to me? Celestia?” Twilight paused, suddenly realizing something. “I… I’ll need to talk to her as well.”

“She will be overjoyed, my little star. She likes to be an aunt.”

Author's Note

Thanks to Trolleytrainer for the proofread.