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SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG!! **Edit** There was a weird white border at the bottom of the picture

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Luna sat on her balcony outside her room, looking down on Canterlot. So much had happened over the past three days, she could barely remember everything.

After the fight with the Umbra ponies, Sombra had carried her to the Shining Cave and placed her in the Crystal Water. It took a couple hours, but the water almost completely restored her, leaving her with only a few mild scars around her neck from where the dark magic ropes had been so tight. Sombra wasn't too badly injured, even after his fight with Rguluo, and all his wounds healed over quickly, with a healing spell from Luna. Yes, Sombra had taken her horn cap off, allowing her to use her magic again. He had apologized for ever putting any chains on her for the rest of the day, until Luna finally told him she would tie his muzzle shut if he spoke of it again.

The next morning, the pair decided Luna needed to leave the caves. The Umbrum could come back at any time, now that they knew Luna was there. Sombra also wanted to leave. But he wouldn't go back to Equestria, no matter what Luna said. "They won't want me," he said bluntly. "They all think I was the one who took over the Crystal Empire. Twice."

"But it wasn't you!" Luna pressed. Sombra just shook his head. They had traveled together to the edge of the Empire, then Sombra took his leave, telling her he would head in the direction of Yakyakistan, but wouldn't go that far. Luna traveled alone to the Crystal Castle and was welcomed by Cadence and Shining Armor. They escorted her to Canterlot and on the third day, Luna was back in her room, sleeping like a rock.

She had woken up at dawn, thrown on her casual moon necklace, and lowered the moon. She knew her sister wanted her to start wearing her crown and collar again, but was too busy staring up into the sky to bother going back in to get them. She didn't notice Celestia coming up behind her.

"Enjoying yourself?" Celestia asked.

"I guess," Luna murmured distractedly, thinking of where Sombra might be at that moment. Celestia gave a weary smile.

"Want to go for a walk in the garden?" she asked. Luna glanced up in surprise.

"Sure. I haven't seen it in so long!" Celestia was confused for a moment.

"You say it a couple weeks ago, sis."

"Yeah, but I was in the Caverns of Time, remember?" Luna reminded her.

"Oh, right. Forgot." The two smiled and headed off to the garden in silence.

******************

They walked along the winding path through the tall plants, looking at each and every flower. Reminded of the Shining Forest and the walks she and Sombra had taken, Luna blinked away sudden tears, turning away from her sister a bit. "You okay?" Celestia asked.

"Fine, Tia," Luna answered briskly, wiping her eyes with her hoof quickly. Celestia sighed.

"Yeah, right. And you love Teatime." Luna gave a short laugh.

"Oh, definitely." They walked a few more strides.

"Sooo...?" Celestia pressed. Luna sighed in resignation.

"I miss Sombra." Celestia couldn't contain her gasp.

"Sombra?!" she exclaimed, lowering her voice as if the name was dangerous in itself. "Wasn't he the one who caught you in the first place? And held you captive without plans of releasing you?! Wasn't he cruel to you?"

"Yes. At first anyway. But he started being kinder, and.... I-I don't know. We went for walks in the Shining Forest, I taught him to dance-"

"You taught Sombra, the KING OF SHADOWS, to DANCE??!!" Celestia burst out laughing. Luna's brow furrowed in annoyance.

"Sombra is not the King of Shadows. The Umbra ponies who controlled him named him that."

"Luna, you don't actually believe him, do you?" Celestia asked, a bit taken aback.

"Why shouldn't I? He told me so, and I heard the Umbra ponies who possessed him say so themselves."

"How do you know the whole thing wasn't staged?"

"What?!" Luna whirled on her sister. "Staged?! Oh, so you'll accept that the Nightmare creature possessed me, but you won't believe that the Umbrum possessed Sombra? Why? Because he isn't related to you?"

"No, because he's Sombra. A villian."

"Discord was a villian! And look at him now! MARRIED to the ELEMENT OF KINDNESS!!!" Celestia took a step back at her sister's ferocity.

"He enslaved the entire Crystal Empire," she pointed out.

"Sombra did not. The Umbrum did!" Luna's voice was rising.

"Did you use a truth spell when he told you?" Celestia asked.

"No, I had a magic repressing horn cap on."

"How do you know there wasn't a spell on you?"

"I can tell when there's a spell on me, thank you very much. I'm not magic-numb." Celestia let out a huff.

"When will you take me seriously Luna? I've given you countless chances to live up to your duties as a princess, and you discard them without hesitation to go do the things you want to do!"

"Take you seriously?!?!" Luna hissed. "I have always done the things that are needed of me!"

"It had been several years since you made it to a council meeting on time, and even longer since you came to any public celebration or event."

"That's because I'm not needed there! No one ever listens to me at a council meeting, and all I do at the events is smile and wave. That's your line of work!"

"'My line of work'?" Celestia demanded. "So, you're saying all I do is smile and wave to the crowd?!"

"You're so worried about ceremony and class that you forget to think problems through thoroughly! You're all about 'My crown this!' and 'The Duke of Suchandsuch that!'!"

"Speaking of crowns, I thought I asked you to wear yours now that you are resuming your princess duties!" Celestia added, a tad imperiously.

"YOU AREN'T MOTHER!!!!!" Luna screamed.

Celestia's eyes narrowed into slits, as did Luna's. They glared at each other for a long time.

"Would it satisfy you if I asked Cadence and Shining Armor to consider," Celestia stressed the word, still glaring, "asking the Empire to pardon his evil deeds-"

"They weren't HIS!!" Luna cut her sister off, staring daggers at her sister.

"FINE!" Celestia shouted. "What would you have me do? Tell Equestria that a villian they thought was evil for over a thousand years, that they made into a figure to frighten children with, is actually a rather normal pony who was possessed??!"

"They believed you when you told them I wasn't evil," Luna retorted. "Do the same."

"Not all of them believe you are good!" Luna gasped, hurt. Celestia's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that." She stepped back, and the two stood in silence for a long time. Luna's emotions were all over the place. She couldn't tell if she was angry at Tia or not, her thoughts kept jumping to Sombra and back to the current dilemma.

After a few minutes of both the princesses simply standing there, Celestia gasped, making Luna jump. "I've got it! What if we taught the truth spell to hundreds of ponies, then have Sombra stand next to the Crystal Heart, which can detect lies, and have everyone cast the truth spell as Sombra tells his whole story! That will prove publicly that Sombra is telling the truth, and we can pardon him then and there, on front of everypony!"

Luna stared at her sister for a moment before jumping in the air. "You're a genius, Tia!!!!" she shouted, hugging her sister.

"Well, I didn't want to say it myself, but, now that you mention it, yes, I am a genius." They cuffed each other, wrestled for a moment, then flew out of the garden to spread the news.

**************************************************************

WOW. Sorry again this is so late, and sorry it's so long. 8I

I've been playing with pony designs in traditional art, which unfortunately I can't upload to DA anymore because my camera and both my printers are horrible quality, even if I put the pictures through Photoshop.

I got a LOT of inspiration from , especially after I read her AWESOME story Shy Can See. EEEE!!! I can't wait until Chapter 5 comes out!!!

Well, hope ya'll like it! Comment with suggestions if you want!

NEXT:

PREVIOUS:

Description
SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG!! **Edit** There was a weird white border at the bottom of the picture

***************************************************************************

Luna sat on her balcony outside her room, looking down on Canterlot. So much had happened over the past three days, she could barely remember everything.

After the fight with the Umbra ponies, Sombra had carried her to the Shining Cave and placed her in the Crystal Water. It took a couple hours, but the water almost completely restored her, leaving her with only a few mild scars around her neck from where the dark magic ropes had been so tight. Sombra wasn't too badly injured, even after his fight with Rguluo, and all his wounds healed over quickly, with a healing spell from Luna. Yes, Sombra had taken her horn cap off, allowing her to use her magic again. He had apologized for ever putting any chains on her for the rest of the day, until Luna finally told him she would tie his muzzle shut if he spoke of it again.

The next morning, the pair decided Luna needed to leave the caves. The Umbrum could come back at any time, now that they knew Luna was there. Sombra also wanted to leave. But he wouldn't go back to Equestria, no matter what Luna said. "They won't want me," he said bluntly. "They all think I was the one who took over the Crystal Empire. Twice."

"But it wasn't you!" Luna pressed. Sombra just shook his head. They had traveled together to the edge of the Empire, then Sombra took his leave, telling her he would head in the direction of Yakyakistan, but wouldn't go that far. Luna traveled alone to the Crystal Castle and was welcomed by Cadence and Shining Armor. They escorted her to Canterlot and on the third day, Luna was back in her room, sleeping like a rock.

She had woken up at dawn, thrown on her casual moon necklace, and lowered the moon. She knew her sister wanted her to start wearing her crown and collar again, but was too busy staring up into the sky to bother going back in to get them. She didn't notice Celestia coming up behind her.

"Enjoying yourself?" Celestia asked.

"I guess," Luna murmured distractedly, thinking of where Sombra might be at that moment. Celestia gave a weary smile.

"Want to go for a walk in the garden?" she asked. Luna glanced up in surprise.

"Sure. I haven't seen it in so long!" Celestia was confused for a moment.

"You say it a couple weeks ago, sis."

"Yeah, but I was in the Caverns of Time, remember?" Luna reminded her.

"Oh, right. Forgot." The two smiled and headed off to the garden in silence.

******************

They walked along the winding path through the tall plants, looking at each and every flower. Reminded of the Shining Forest and the walks she and Sombra had taken, Luna blinked away sudden tears, turning away from her sister a bit. "You okay?" Celestia asked.

"Fine, Tia," Luna answered briskly, wiping her eyes with her hoof quickly. Celestia sighed.

"Yeah, right. And you love Teatime." Luna gave a short laugh.

"Oh, definitely." They walked a few more strides.

"Sooo...?" Celestia pressed. Luna sighed in resignation.

"I miss Sombra." Celestia couldn't contain her gasp.

"Sombra?!" she exclaimed, lowering her voice as if the name was dangerous in itself. "Wasn't he the one who caught you in the first place? And held you captive without plans of releasing you?! Wasn't he cruel to you?"

"Yes. At first anyway. But he started being kinder, and.... I-I don't know. We went for walks in the Shining Forest, I taught him to dance-"

"You taught Sombra, the KING OF SHADOWS, to DANCE??!!" Celestia burst out laughing. Luna's brow furrowed in annoyance.

"Sombra is not the King of Shadows. The Umbra ponies who controlled him named him that."

"Luna, you don't actually believe him, do you?" Celestia asked, a bit taken aback.

"Why shouldn't I? He told me so, and I heard the Umbra ponies who possessed him say so themselves."

"How do you know the whole thing wasn't staged?"

"What?!" Luna whirled on her sister. "Staged?! Oh, so you'll accept that the Nightmare creature possessed me, but you won't believe that the Umbrum possessed Sombra? Why? Because he isn't related to you?"

"No, because he's Sombra. A villian."

"Discord was a villian! And look at him now! MARRIED to the ELEMENT OF KINDNESS!!!" Celestia took a step back at her sister's ferocity.

"He enslaved the entire Crystal Empire," she pointed out.

"Sombra did not. The Umbrum did!" Luna's voice was rising.

"Did you use a truth spell when he told you?" Celestia asked.

"No, I had a magic repressing horn cap on."

"How do you know there wasn't a spell on you?"

"I can tell when there's a spell on me, thank you very much. I'm not magic-numb." Celestia let out a huff.

"When will you take me seriously Luna? I've given you countless chances to live up to your duties as a princess, and you discard them without hesitation to go do the things you want to do!"

"Take you seriously?!?!" Luna hissed. "I have always done the things that are needed of me!"

"It had been several years since you made it to a council meeting on time, and even longer since you came to any public celebration or event."

"That's because I'm not needed there! No one ever listens to me at a council meeting, and all I do at the events is smile and wave. That's your line of work!"

"'My line of work'?" Celestia demanded. "So, you're saying all I do is smile and wave to the crowd?!"

"You're so worried about ceremony and class that you forget to think problems through thoroughly! You're all about 'My crown this!' and 'The Duke of Suchandsuch that!'!"

"Speaking of crowns, I thought I asked you to wear yours now that you are resuming your princess duties!" Celestia added, a tad imperiously.

"YOU AREN'T MOTHER!!!!!" Luna screamed.

Celestia's eyes narrowed into slits, as did Luna's. They glared at each other for a long time.

"Would it satisfy you if I asked Cadence and Shining Armor to consider," Celestia stressed the word, still glaring, "asking the Empire to pardon his evil deeds-"

"They weren't HIS!!" Luna cut her sister off, staring daggers at her sister.

"FINE!" Celestia shouted. "What would you have me do? Tell Equestria that a villian they thought was evil for over a thousand years, that they made into a figure to frighten children with, is actually a rather normal pony who was possessed??!"

"They believed you when you told them I wasn't evil," Luna retorted. "Do the same."

"Not all of them believe you are good!" Luna gasped, hurt. Celestia's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that." She stepped back, and the two stood in silence for a long time. Luna's emotions were all over the place. She couldn't tell if she was angry at Tia or not, her thoughts kept jumping to Sombra and back to the current dilemma.

After a few minutes of both the princesses simply standing there, Celestia gasped, making Luna jump. "I've got it! What if we taught the truth spell to hundreds of ponies, then have Sombra stand next to the Crystal Heart, which can detect lies, and have everyone cast the truth spell as Sombra tells his whole story! That will prove publicly that Sombra is telling the truth, and we can pardon him then and there, on front of everypony!"

Luna stared at her sister for a moment before jumping in the air. "You're a genius, Tia!!!!" she shouted, hugging her sister.

"Well, I didn't want to say it myself, but, now that you mention it, yes, I am a genius." They cuffed each other, wrestled for a moment, then flew out of the garden to spread the news.

**************************************************************

WOW. Sorry again this is so late, and sorry it's so long. 8I

I've been playing with pony designs in traditional art, which unfortunately I can't upload to DA anymore because my camera and both my printers are horrible quality, even if I put the pictures through Photoshop.

I got a LOT of inspiration from , especially after I read her AWESOME story Shy Can See. EEEE!!! I can't wait until Chapter 5 comes out!!!

Well, hope ya'll like it! Comment with suggestions if you want!

NEXT:

PREVIOUS: