"So this is where you have been hiding."

Celestia turned her head away from the images flashing in front of her, the moving pictures slowing to a crawl before halting. "Hello, Luna." She didn't even feign a smile. Never a good sign.

"I must admit, this was not where I expected to find you," Luna said, stepping forward through the starry field, paying it little mind. "What brings you here?"

Celestia turned back towards the field of light in front of her, gesturing with her hoof. "This."

Luna frowned at the image; Tirek's hideous visage hung frozen in space, glaring down at Twilight Sparkle. "Is this what has been troubling you, sister?"

"Indeed." Celestia bowed her head.

"Sister, Tirek's growth troubles me as well. But without Discord's power, he would never have been able to challenge us as he did. I do not believe he shall make that mistake again."

"It is not Tirek that troubles me."

Luna blinked, moving up alongside her sister. "What is it that troubles you, then? Surely you are not still dwelling on Discord's betrayal. We knew that he was unreliable." She snorted. "What we did not know was that he was a fool. His betrayal was as inevitable as Tirek's, yet he did not see it coming."

Celestia shook her head slowly. "That is not what troubles me either."

"What is it, then?" Luna looked from her sister to the frozen image of Tirek towering over the youngest princess.

"Have you read the reports?"

Luna frowned. "Indeed. Tirek's reach was much greater than we had feared; Discord's abilities allowed him to travel far and wide across Equestria, from Manehattan to Appleloosa. Even Prince Shining Armor and his guards were overwhelmed. There was much misery in those days where he was free." She shook her head. "We are most fortunate that he did not desire to harm those ponies, for we would have been hard-pressed to stop him."

"You know that is not how Tirek's power works; to maintain his power, he must preserve his victims."

Luna scowled. "It is only because of that that we did not move to dispatch him ourselves immediately; a mistake we shall not repeat."

"Indeed." Celestia's face was as grim as her voice, a voice that Luna had heard all too often since her return. She wondered, not for the first time, how often it was that Celestia had had to use that voice while she was gone; she had heard that there were many years of peace, a fact to which Celestia attested, but it seemed almost too convenient to Luna, especially given the troubles which had arisen since being freed from the Nightmare. Still, this was hardly the time to give voice to such thoughts.

"Is that what troubles you, then?"

"In part. We put our little ponies in danger by trusting Discord. A mistake I would not have made a long time ago. I am supposed to be wiser in my years."

Luna looked up to her sister before lifting her hoof to set it on her shoulder. "I would bid you, 'listen to my counsel', but in truth, your choice was wiser than I had imagined. Had we not charged Discord with bringing Tirek to heel, he would not have seen the error of his ways. He has been considerably more subdued since he regained his powers."

"It was still foolish. Many ponies suffered because of my decision." Celestia stepped away from the frozen image of Tirek, walking down the starry lane suspended in space. "But I have come to terms with that mistake."

Luna spread her wings and glided after her sister; in truth, flight had little meaning in this place, but such physical habits die hard. "Then what is it that troubles you?"

"I did not trust my student."

Luna flapped her wings, propelling her forward, ahead of her sister. "Truly?" she scoffed. "We entrusted Twilight Sparkle with the power of four alicorns; the magic of the Sun, the Moon, and the Heart; with dreams and visions and prophecy. Surely you cannot claim to have trusted her too little."

"And yet I did." Celestia stopped next to her, gesturing with her hoof as another field of light floated up before them, the crystalline interior of Twilight's throne room shimmering in front of the cloudy field of stars. "Do you not remember what was said when we spoke to her after her ordeal?"

The field of light began to move and shift as ponies came into view.

"I'm sorry, Princess," Twilight said, her ears folded back by the sides of her head.

Celestia smiled kindly, leaning down to nuzzle at the younger mare. "You have nothing to apologize for, Princess Twilight. Without the magic of your friendship, I fear things would have been much worse."

"But I attacked Tirek without even having a plan! You told me to run away and hide, to keep your power away from him." Twilight looked away. "Instead, I lost it all."

"You did what you could to keep your friends safe. I cannot ask for more," Celestia said, lifting her hoof to set it on Twilight’s shoulder. "You did your best to keep Equestria safe, and in the end, it was only by giving up that power that you were able to defeat Tirek."

Twilight stomped her hoof, her eyes growing misty with tears. "But I didn't have to! If I had known what I was doing, I could have beaten Tirek without using the Elements of Harmony. I put us all in great danger because I didn't know how to use your magic properly." She hung her head. "You should have taken my magic instead. Even Tirek realized what you wanted me to do, and I couldn't even do that right."

"Princess Twilight Sparkle." Celestia's voice grew firm as she slid her hoof under Twilight's chin, lifting her head so she could meet her gaze. "I never expected you to be able to defeat Tirek. I was hoping that Discord would betray him, and that once the two of them started fighting, you might have a chance of victory." Discord winced, ducking his head. "I never expected Tirek to obtain Discord's magic as well; they were impossible odds."

"Nuh uh!"

Celestia took a step back as Pinkie Pie leaped in between her and Twilight, only narrowly avoiding a collision.

"Twilight was really cool! She was all BANG! WHOOSH! SSSEEW!" Pinkie Pie gesticulated wildly, waving her hooves around and making various swooping motions with them as she made the sound effects.

Rainbow Dash flew forward next to her friend. "Yeah! Twilight was totally awesome! I mean, normally she's pretty cool or whatever, but he punched her through a MOUNTAIN and she just nailed him for it! She didn't even have a scratch on her afterwards!"

Discord nodded his head. "Indeed. Had Tirek not used us as hostages, I daresay she might even have won." He bowed his head in contrition. "It is I who should be sorry; if I had been a true friend, this never would have happened."

Luna waved her hoof dismissively at the image as it floated away. "I recall the tale of Twilight's heroics, but the situation was even more dire than we had imagined. Had it merely been Discord's power, perhaps she might have stood a chance, but combined with the strength of every other pony in all of Equestria?" Luna laughed hollowly.

"Indeed. That is why I told Twilight to go hide; I did not know just how much power Tirek had acquired, but it was clearly considerable. Had I known he had such strength, I would have had her gather her friends and immediately attempt to use the Elements of Harmony. The death of the Tree would have been justified."

"It is fortunate that you did not." Luna tilted her head. "So that is what troubles you? Do you truly believe that you should have bade Twilight to battle Tirek? She is clearly capable, but to fight the power of all of Equestria combined, plus Discord? That would be madness."

"So I thought." Celestia waved her hoof back the way they had come, and as Luna turned, she saw the frozen image of Tirek hanging before her once more. "Watch."

The image began moving, Twilight retreating from the monster, obviously afraid. Luna glanced over at her sister, but Celestia only shook her head and nodded towards the moving image once more. Luna sighed, turning and watching as Tirek first failed to drain Twilight’s power, then destroyed her home with a single blast, scattering books and burning branches all over Ponyville. She nodded in approval as Twilight reappeared just beyond the blast, her owl gripped between her hooves; in less than a heartbeat, Twilight had teleported twice, simply to save her pet?

"Impressive."

"Keep watching."

Luna's eyes widened as they battled, watching in fascination, then in horror as enormous blasts of magic destroyed the countryside, as Twilight, rather than dodging Tirek's attacks, powered through them. She winced as Twilight was hurled into the mountain, but her mouth fell open when—

"Is this true?"

"The light does not lie, sister."

"But how is this possible? Twilight wields her power as a cudgel, but he does little more than anger her." Luna shook her head. "Even if he was not truly fighting with all his strength—"

"Keep watching."

Luna's eyes returned to the screen as the battle raged on, Tirek raging at Twilight's strength, shattering the land in his attempts to destroy her.

"She possesses incredible celerity."

"That is not the half of it." Celestia inclined her head towards the screen as the pair gathered their power before unleashing it all at once at one another. A colossal explosion filled the whole of the image, spilling out into the starry space around them before fading, revealing Tirek struggling to dig himself out of the debris as Twilight landed before him.

"It appears we are at an impasse. How about a trade, Princess Twilight?"

The image froze on Tirek's leering face, Twilight's friends suspended in bubbles above his head.

"That is impossible," Luna cried, taking a step back.

"It is not impossible, sister. We have seen it with our own eyes."

Luna began to pace. "Did he have the strength of Discord as well?"

Celestia nodded. "He hangs helpless there, along with her friends."

"When Discord returned, you bade me to conceal myself. We know from hard experience that we two are not enough to combat him. When we attempted to confront him directly, long ago, he toyed with us; he did not even truly fight."

"We have grown stronger in his absence."

"Perhaps." Luna chewed on the inside of her cheek. "But not so much stronger, not so much that we two could fight him. Perhaps with Princess Cadance by our side..."

"Perhaps."

"But..." Luna stopped. "If that is so, then that would imply..."

Celestia nodded her head gravely.

"Her brother, Rainbow Dash, her friends, nay, all of Equestria... and she would have triumphed, but for his treachery."

"Yes," Celestia said, stepping forward. "Without training, or technique, barely in control of the power we gave her."

Luna stared at her sister. "I see now why you are troubled. With such power—"

"It is not her power I fear," Celestia sighed. "I have known Twilight since she was a foal, she would never use her power to harm another without cause. No," she shook her head. "I told her to hide, against her instincts, to avoid her friends when she could have protected them." Celestia's ears fell. "I failed her."

Luna bowed her head slightly in thought as she let the words sink in. "Perhaps," she finally acknowledged, "But I do not believe she sees it so."

"Of course she doesn't. To her, I am perfect." Celestia laughed quietly. "But I fill her with uncertainty and doubt, make her fear her own abilities, make her waver for fear of failure. Twice I have underestimated her ability, and twice she has apologized to me for saving Equestria." She smiled fondly. "Most ponies fail to do so once, much less apologize for their success."

"Princess Twilight Sparkle is a very special pony." Luna lifted her hoof to rub her chin. "She has done much for us. Perhaps we should find some suitable reward for her." She paused. "Canterlot, perhaps."

Celestia rolled her eyes. "We are not deposing Prince Blueblood." She waved her hoof. "Besides, Twilight has no desire for a kingdom of her own."

"All the better, then. It is not as if Blueblood administers his holding; few would be the wiser, and those who were would thank us for it."

Celestia's lips twitched. "I see you have not lost your sense of humor."

"I did once wield the Element of Laughter, sister."

Celestia stepped over, setting her wing over her sister's back as she leaned into her. "Thank you."

Luna leaned back into her sister. "You are welcome, but I fear I did little to ease your burden."

"I did not ask you to. I spoke. You listened. That is enough." Celestia smiled, lifting her head. "I'm afraid it is time for me to leave. The Sun is calling for me."

"Go, sister. And then go to Twilight; she will be happy to hear you have been thinking fondly of her." Luna hesitated for a moment, before pointing her hoof at the frozen image. "Can you set it back upon its course? I wish to see more."

"Of course." Celestia tilted her head slightly, the image beginning to move once more, the voices of Twilight and her friends filling the starry void as her sister faded away.

"And to think," Luna mused to herself as Twilight was enveloped in a field of prismatic light, "I feared my sister's shadow."

Author's Notes:

If you enjoyed this story, you might enjoy my other stories about Celestia and Luna, especially The Butterfly's Burden, another story set during season 4.

You might also enjoy Dawn and Dusk, my historical fiction stories about Luna and Celestia raising the Sun and the Moon for the first time.

Thanks to RainbowBob, JetstreamGW, Lion, and Bribri for prereading and editing.

There is are now two dramatic readings of this story:

One dramatic reading is courtesy of Goombasa.

The other is a reading by DRWolf, with a full set of illustrations to go along with the story which were drawn by NinjaRabbitx2: