Reflections

14. Onward To War

*while on the way to the Castle Of The Royal Siblings*

Sombra- *shocked* ...and that is how you brought Luna and Artemis back from being Nightmare Moon and NightTerror Nebula? Fascinating.

Rainbow- *smiles* Yep! The Elements Of Harmony have helped us out more times than you two can imagine!

AJ- *thinks* That must be why Celestia and Solaris sent us to you. I don't know how you've been keepin' the peace around here without 'em. They're mighty handy.

Oscura- *serious* When it was just Celestia and Solaris to keep at bay, it was much easier. After the defeat of Nightmare and NightTerror in your world, our Luna and Artemis went dark. Celestia and Solaris' magical abilities grew when their siblings joined them and with that, so did their thirst for power. They'd see us all under their tyranny.

Shadow Dusk- *monotone* The connection between our worlds scares me. We can't hurt them without hurting our royals. If we don't get this right, we could really hurt everypony.

Rainbow- *smirks at him* When have we ever turned down a scuffle?

Pinkie- *smiles* Oh! "Scuffle"! You have been using that thesaurus Twilight and Dusk gave to you!

Shadow Twilight- *monotone* What happens if we fail?!

Applejack- *reassures her* Twilight, calm down. We haven't failed yet have we?

Blitz- *smirks* And we don't plan on failing at things today.

Rarity- *notices them in concern* Darlings, are you two ok?

Elusive- *notices* Your expressions look as bleak as the landscape. *to Sombra and Oscura* No offense.

Sombra/Oscura- *unamused* None taken. *looks at Twilight and Dusk in skepticism*

Shadow Twilight/Shadow Dusk- *nods silently* *monotone* We're fine... *the two keep walking*

Pinkie- *smiles* I've failed at lots of things! Caber-tossing, hang gliding, underwater basket weaving...

Fluttershy- *smiles* Remember that time where you and Bubble tried to go over a waterfall while decorating a cake?

Butterscotch- *chuckles* You two were soaking wet and covered in frosting.

Bubble- *smiles* Do we?! That was a big failure!

*the others glare at them*

Pinkie- *nervously grinning* But we're sure it won't happen?

Bubble- *nervously grins* Nothing but winning!

Butterscotch- *nervously grins* Go team!

Fluttershy- *nervously grins* Yay?

Sombra- *looks at the clouds* I hope fate it on our side. The closer we get to the Castle Of The Royal Siblings, the darker the sky becomes. I do not like this.

Shadow Twilight- *monotone* Spike, Barbra, take a message. Tell Celestia and Solaris we have a plan and we're on our way to defeat the evil Royal Siblings. Tell them...

Oscura- *sadly* Tell her that we will all do our very best to keep them and their siblings safe during the fight to come. And in case this is our last correspondence, please tell them that we're thinking of them.

Spike/Barbra- *writing* Alright, but it's not going to mean the same thing coming from us...

Applejack- *reassures them* Don't worry Sombra and Oscura, we got this.

Rarity- *comforts them* We won't hurt a single hair on either Celestia and Solaris' head.

Elusive- *nods* We'll stick to our plans and everything will be fine.

Shadow Twilight/Shadow Dusk- *monotone* We have just enough time to go over the plan again! Who wants paper to take notes?

Rainbow/Blitz- *annoyed* AGAIN?! We've been over it 37 times!

Shadow Twilight/Shadow Dusk- *their eye lids lower while looking at them with a monotonous gaze* The 38th times a charm.

Rainbow/Blitz- *creeped out and goes to the others*

*back in present Equestria*

Celestia/Solaris- *reading the letter and starting to tear up*

Luna/Artemis- *concerned* Brother, sister, what's wrong?

Celestia/Solaris- *crying as they show them the wish paper* We're never going to see them again, are we?!

Luna- *sighs* Likely not. We need to seal this breach before it gets worse, as you two said.

Solaris- *sighs* None of this would've happened if we had just listened to Star Swirl. We could have saved us from all of this.

Artemis- *admits* How were you two supposed to know that this is where fate would lead you two? A secret life that would eventually fracture the very cosmos between two worlds and lead you two keep secrets from the only ponies you have ever considered friends?

Celestia/Solaris- *glares at him* That's very helpful. Thank you.

Luna- *smiles* It's just nice to know that you two aren't perfect.

Celestia/Solaris- *admits* We never claimed to be. *sighs* Out of everything right now, we wish we could apologize to Star Swirl. He never deserved this.

Luna/Artemis- *sincerely* We're sure he knew how sorry you two were.

*back in the past*

*in the secret cavern*

Star Swirl- *sighs calmly* A fortnight away from my own bed! I'm getting to old for this...Celestia! Solaris! Oh, you two gave my old heart a start.

Celestia- *quietly* Star Swirl...it's very nice to see you back.

Star Swirl- *arches eyebrow* Is it?

Solaris- *shameful* We don't know what to say. Our actions were...

Star Swirl- Tut, tut, my boy. *sighs* Your highnesses, I can sympathize with you two on this. I really can...but making decisions you don't want to make is part of being a ruler. I had to make a decision for you two. I'm sorry. We'll just pretend this incident never happened and move on alright? It's really for the best. It's over now.

Celestia/Solaris- *worried* But...?

Star Swirl- *shakes his head* No need for apologies. We're forgetting about the whole thing.

Celestia/Solaris- *sits by a wall sadly* (We're not good ponies...)