"Luna, when did you get that scar?" Celestia asked as she and her sister shared breakfast. Well, it was dinner for Luna, but it was the same meal.

"This?" Luna said, holding up her right hoof. "Oh, it's from... I just walked into the doorway when I came back. Tired, you know?"

"That looks more like a cut than a bruise, sister."

"It's nothing!" Luna quickly said. "Really, it'll fix itself. It's nothing to concern yourself with. I'm going to bed now."

"But your breakfast..."

Luna hurried off before Celestia could ask another question, leaving the older pony very worried. Luna didn't want Celestia to know. She didn't want anyone to know, but especially not Celestia.

Celestia had to attend to her daily royal duties, so for the time being, she had to hope her concerns for Luna really were nothing to worry over and let Luna be. Were it only that morning, Celestia could've blown it off as just Luna being tired, but she'd done this a few times now. Appearing with a random cut she blamed on klutziness and tried to assure Celestia there wasn't need to worry. But Celestia couldn't not worry.

As always, she put on a smiling face and gave cheerful waves to everypony of her kingdom, but that brave face she'd long ago mastered hid her worry about her sister.

Rarely did Luna wake up before Celestia returned at the end of the day, so it wasn't strange at all to not see her immediately when Celestia came home. To settle her worry anyway, Celestia decided to check on Luna. She made her way to her sister's room. At first, she merely pressed her ear to the door. When she heard nothing, she slowly opened it and took a peek inside.

Surprisingly, Luna was awake, but her back was turned toward the door, so Celestia couldn't see what she was doing. "Sister?"

Luna gasped and darted around, quickly sitting down on whatever she'd been using. "How... how long were you standing there?"

"Just now. What are you doing?" Celestia asked her. "I'm surprised you aren't asleep."

"I was sleeping earlier. I've gotten sleep."

"Good, but... what were you doing?" Celestia asked she walked in with suspicion. "What are you hiding? And why is your hoof bleeding?"

The same hoof Celestia had earlier noticed had a cut now had fresh second one. "It's nothing, sister. I just walked into the doorway again."

Celestia wasn't falling for that explanation a second time. Something wasn't right, and Celestia wanted to know now. She was angry Luna was blatantly being dishonest, but she was more worried than angry, and that's what emotion she spoke with.

"Luna, please stop lying to me."

"I-"

"Those are not bruises. They are cuts," Celestia stated matter-of-factly. "I know the difference. Maybe you did walk into a doorway. I don't know. But you did not get those cuts that way."

Luna frowned and looked downward. Really, she should've known better than to try to hide anything from Celestia. After what happened the last time Luna let her feelings fester, she should've known how to communicate with Celestia, of all ponies. But how could she say... this?

Luna broke out of her thoughts when she felt Celestia nuzzling her face. Without meaning to, she'd begun crying lightly.

"Sister, I never want a repeat of the past," Celestia repeated. "So, please tell me why you won't be honest with me. You can tell me anything. I promised you that."

Luna finally stood on her hooves and kicked over the pair of scissors she concealed to her sister's hooves. She didn't need to explain. Celestia put two and two together very easily once she glanced at the scissors and back to Luna's cuts.

"You've been hurting yourself."

Luna nodded, and even lifted her other hooves one at a time for Celestia to see. All four had multiple cuts.

"How are you walking without pain?" Celestia asked, though it wasn't her main concern.

"I don't. That's the point," Luna answered. "It's not supposed to be painless. I shouldn't be free of pain."

Celestia almost began to cry herself, but not just yet. "Please. Explain."

"You said it. The past. Because of what I did as... Nightmare Moon."

"Sister, that has nothing to do with-"

"I was a monster!" Luna lamented as her tears became heavier. "I'm the last pony who deserves to feel good."

Celestia's heart broke. She had missed Luna immensely over the millennium she was banished. She was overjoyed when Luna agreed to accept her friendship and rule by her side once more. She knew Luna felt guilty, but she thought that was going away in time. Had she known otherwise, she would've tried to convince her then and there.

Until Luna calmed herself, Celestia stayed quiet and nuzzled her face as comfort. When the younger pony was fully quiet and her tears ceased falling, Celestia stood upright and spoke to her in the most sincere voice, but serious tone she could.

"Do you remember what I said when we were finally reunited? It's time to put our differences behind us. Nightmare Moon was awful, but she is of the past now. What matters is you're here and she will never exist again. You've already apologized. Nothing more is needed."

"You don't understand..." Luna said as she began to walk away, but Celestia stopped her.

"Then, make me understand!" Celestia pleaded, though it almost sounded like an order. "I promised you could tell me anything. I meant it. I'm listening."

Luna sighed, but finally gave in. "You said it. Nightmare Moon was awful. I did awful things as Nightmare Moon. And you're standing here, questioning why I feel guilty. Why shouldn't I? I hurt everyone as Nightmare Moon. You can't give me one reason I shouldn't feel this way."

"The past is in the past," Celestia reminded her. "What if I told you I have regrets too?"

Luna finally looked up, her sad expression replaced by a shocked one. "What?"

"Come with me," Celestia gently ordered. "And put your shoes on."

Luna quickly gathered her shoes on and followed her sister. They walked down one of their castle's many hallways in silence for a few minutes until Luna asked where they were going.

"Nowhere in particular," Celestia answered. "I'm trying to show you what life was like at night for me while you were gone."

"Wandering the halls?"

"Yes. The truth is it took me a long time to sleep through the night without you. I spent countless nights wandering aimlessly."

"But I was never here," Luna said. "I would be patrolling the dream world."

"But you were coming back at the end of every night," Celestia explained. "Knowing that is why I could sleep through the night. When I banished you to the moon, I used the Elements of Harmony without foreseeing the consequences. The truth is I regret not trying harder to reason with you."

"S-sister..."

"And I can't patrol the dream world," Celestia continued. "For 1,000 years, ponies had to be tormented by their nightmares and I could do nothing. You didn't hurt everyone. I did. I gave up on you too soon."

Luna didn't know what to say. She'd never seen this side of her sister. Everypony believed Celestia was the perfect figure of a ruler, and though Luna always kept it to herself, she wasn't an exception. Even after her return from imprisonment, she believed the same. This was the first time she saw her sister behave in a way that challenged her outlook.

After her brief shock ended, Luna found something to say. "But you were still doing what you thought was best."

"Thought. Doesn't mean it was," Celestia pointed out. "Again, you didn't hurt everyone."

"I... huh?"

"You hurt me," Celestia clarified. "I was worried you would hurt everyone and I wanted to stop you before that had a chance to happen. But I should've broken Nightmare Moon apart, not sent you away with her. If you are going to feel guilty for Nightmare Moon's actions, you should at least know how I feel about mine. You were beyond reason by that time, and that was my fault for not taking the time before to listen to you."

Luna knew what she was talking about. Those times Luna had tried to express her feelings of being unappreciated and uncared about by their subjects, only for Celestia to scold her about being selfish and tell her being a ruler isn't done for praise. Granted, Luna kept her feelings of jealousy and living in her sister's shadow under wraps, but it would've led to more of the same lecture.

"I am sorry, little sister."

That was enough, and Luna hugged Celestia. She couldn't say it right then, but that was all she had ever needed to know. That she wasn't the only vulnerable ruler.

"Please don't hurt yourself anymore," Celestia pleaded. "Nightmare Moon is not a part of you anymore. I'll do whatever I have to for you to move on."

Luna smiled. "You don't have to do anything. That's all I wanted to hear. I just wanted to know that I wasn't the only imperfect princess."

"What? That's what caused all those feelings?"

"Feeling jealous and bitter and just wishing I could be in your place, yes."

Celestia laughed for a moment. "Sister, you don't know how much I wish I was perfect. It would make my days easier. That's for certain."

"You mean you fake it?" Luna asked as if it was the most ridiculous thing to suggest.

"Don't tell me... you really think I feel happy all day when I'm out and about in the kingdom? That I feel okay because I can keep smiling?" Celestia was stifling a laugh at this point and doing a bad job of hiding it.

"You're smiling right now!" Luna pointed out.

"Because it's not true! That's not true at all!" Celestia told her, finally falling victim to her urge of laughter. Luna didn't understand what was so funny. Thankfully, Celestia quickly pulled herself together. "Go raise the moon and do your nightly duties. I don't want to postpone you. But when you come back, I'll explain. I'll tell you all about it."

Luna went off to perform her nightly duties, though she still wasn't sure she understood it all. It didn't bother her. She was still happy Celestia disproved herself of the being of perfection Luna used to envy her as.

Celestia was turning in for the night to get some rest. For a few more minutes, she gave thought to her sister. Although Celestia had laughed earlier, it saddened her a little Luna didn't think much differently of her than their subjects. Luna was the only one Celestia felt she could be her genuine self around, yet Luna seemed to have never caught that. Perfect? In Celestia's dreams. Actually, not even then.

She was determined to clear the air when Luna returned, but for now, Celestia let herself fall asleep.

Author's note/mini-rant: Thanks to my boyfriend's love of the show, I've started watching My Little Pony. I don't like it. Not because I think it actually sucks, but because Celestia and Luna have become my favorite characters and I don't like how the show treats their history and relationship. Luna is absent for the majority of the show as a whole, which really irks and makes no sense since her eventual arrival as Nightmare is what set of the premiere in the first place. In 7 seasons, the sisters have one episode that focus on their relationship, and it pretty much has them disregarding what they should know by now (refusing to communicate with each other about how they feel) to make the episode work. I still loved it because they were the focus, but that episode was so obviously done to pander to the fans who wanted them to have a focus episode together, it's painful. I know there's no point in complaining because 1) I'm 7 seasons late to the party and 2) it's a preschool show, and shows aimed at that age group aren't exactly notorious for being complex, so long as the kids get a lesson at the end. Although, I would think not forgetting the lessons you learned would be a good lesson.

Anyway, since I'm not happy with the show's treatment of the sisters' story and friendship, I made my own. That's what fan fiction is for, isn't it? It's probably just as cheesy, but with the episodes I've watched so far, I feel like some things are really contrived for the sake of keeping within the time limit, to say the least. Again, that's why we have fan fiction.