Luna sighed as she stared at her necklace pensively. It was not the one Chris had made for her, this necklace was far more important. The black gem in the center slowly rotated in front of her eyes. Two thin tracks furrowed down her cheeks as she stared at the necklace and what it meant. The necklace was her death and a hard truth that had struck her like a tidal wave. She knew what she had to do, but confronting her elder sister on such a topic was sure to stir up something. Sighing, she tucked the necklace away in its original case and left her chambers, closing the doors behind her, the case hidden in her tail.

* * *

Celestia was busy conducting her Day Court when Luna walked in. The lunar Alicorn was a rare sight during the day and the rumor mill would surely have a few new grains by the end of the day. The petitioners subconsciously shrank back away from their darker diarch as she passed them. Luna moved with a steady, even gait. To those who had seen prisoners going to their cells, they were forced to admit some similarity between Luna and somepony heading to serve their sentence. Celestia instantly knew something was up. Luna's face was grim and her posture was confrontational.

Luna stopped at the base of the dais and ignored the petitioners behind her, "Sister we need to talk." she said loudly.

Celestia blinked in confusion, "Couldn't this wait until..."

"NOW!" Luna interrupted her using the Royal Canterlot Voice.

Celestia was taken aback by the intensity in her sister's voice and turned to the Ponies who were waiting for her decision, "I'm sorry but something has come up. Please come back tomorrow."

As the petitioners slowly left the throne room Luna spoke up, "Guards, leave us."

The E.P.U. Guards exchanged puzzled looks but moved to obey their Princess.

As the double doors closed behind the last Guard Luna spoke up, "Come down here Tia. This is something between sisters, not Princesses."

Celestia descended from her dais, worry plastered all over her face, "What is it Lulu?"

Luna began pacing back and forth across the floor, not quite knowing where to begin, "We... have a problem sister." she began, "Our pseudo immortality has led us to believe things that are erroneous and others have suffered for it. This is something that MUST be addressed immediately."

Celestia plopped her royal backside down against the floor, "What do you mean?"

Luna continued to pace for several long minutes before answering, "What is it that makes us different from our Ponies Tia?"

"We're immortal and we control the stars in the sky, if you want to take it down to its most basic form. What is this about Luna?" she asked her obviously troubled younger sister.

Luna stopped her pacing and decided to get right down to business, "We are not immortal."

Celestia was taken aback by the statement, "What..."

"One of the fundamental laws of the universe is that everything that has a beginning must have an end." Luna said, staring up at Celestia, "And we had a beginning." Luna continued her pacing, "I don't know why it took me so long to see it. The incident with Nightmare Moon should have taught me enough, but it didn't." she looked down at the collar Chris had commissioned for her, "It took one Human to make me see." she looked back at Celestia, "Our long lives have done us a disservice. We rule because we have lived longest and we control the cosmos. Our subjects practically worship us and THAT has gone to our heads. I say 'we' because in this, I am just as guilty as you."

Luna began pacing again, "Because we have lived for so long, because we have gained so much knowledge, we believe ourselves to be as close to perfection as possible." she suddenly stopped and looked Celestia straight in the eyes, "We. Are. Wrong."

Celestia still didn't understand what her sister was trying to get at, "Well even if we aren't perfect, we're certainly better than..."

Luna suddenly spun on Celestia and bellowed, "TIA!" she cried, "WAKE UP!"

Celestia rose to her hooves and took a step back as Luna's horn began glowing, "What are you doing?"

"Giving you perspective." Luna said sadly.

Luna didn't give her a chance to speak again as Celestia suddenly felt an icy chill descend down her spine and something clicked around her neck. She felt vulnerable, weakened and the foreign sensation frightened her. She looked down in shock and around her own neck was Luna's necklace, the one the Gryphon King had given her all those years ago.

Nearly in a panic, Celestia immediately moved to take it off but Luna surged forward and held her hooves in place,
"NO! FEEL IT!" she shouted.

Luna's voice dropped to nearly a whisper, "Feel it and know it."

Celestia was willing to listen, but the necklace made her extremely uncomfortable, taking advantage of the situation Luna began, "The cold you feel is the cold grasp of death. While you wear that necklace, you are mortal again. This," Luna said tapping the black gem in the middle of the necklace, "This is mortality. This is imperfection. This is how we awaken."

Luna stepped back from her sister and began explaining, "For eons we have thought ourselves perfect because of our false immortality; and it is false. Just like the sun and the moon and every single star in the sky, eventually we too will perish. It may take millions of years, but it will happen. We've grown numb to that fact over the years and it has been harder on you because you've basked in your own glory for far too long. We've been called perfect and have been exalted so high that we believe it. We've attempted to hold ourselves to an impossible standard, and it is impossible."

Luna trotted around behind her sister and lifted her tail, "Why do we have filly bits if not to use them as mortals do?" she walked back around to face Celestia, "Why do we eat? Why do we breathe?"

Luna took a step back and the intensity of her voice began to rise, "It is because we were BORN that way and in that same way we will DIE! We've let ourselves be drawn into a lie that we created and it is high time to realize the truth!"

Luna continued pacing, "All living things are born to live for a time then to pass on and in that same way they change and grow and learn. Our learning has stagnated. We're so used to being right, so used to knowing enough to make the right decision, that when we are faced with something unfamiliar we simply fall back on what we ASSUME to be right and do not bother to question whether or not we really are. I'm talking about the Humans, Tia. We've done them wrong, both of us. THEY weren't born to a world with magic. THEY didn't have the guiding force of some overarching power to help them, they had to find their own way through trial and error. We consider them slightly inferior in some ways, as if they were brought to us merely for us to teach them when in reality that is not the case at all. We pity them for their less refined ways when we should be admiring them. Despite imperfections, from which we are not immune, they have done exceptionally well. They made their mistakes and not only survived but thrived. Yes, they've had their wars which cost the lives of millions, but they at least try to learn from those mistakes."

Luna shook her head sadly and faced the ground, "Our perspective and especially yours, is skewed . You and I have been looking at them from the perspective of beings that think themselves beyond simple mistakes. We've been thinking that it is our place to guide them when that isn't our place at all! For all our noble intentions, for all our experience, for all our wisdom, we've been doing more harm than good. They are like us only in the most simplistic sense. We expect them to learn the way we do, because we don't know any other way and THAT is our folly. They do not bend knee to us and we should not expect them to. They are from a different world with different standards and laws of nature. Even the most basic fundamental laws of nature for them are what we consider unnatural. We have no true way and no right to expect anything from them. We've been trying to all but force them to adapt to us when we should have been letting them adapt on their own. That is how they learn and grow, that is how they thrive."

Luna blinked away tears from her own words and shook her head violently,
"We've been hurting them Tia!" she cried, "Haven't they been hurt enough!?" she stomped her right forehoof against the marble floor, all but screaming, "We have no right! THEY are not our subjects! THEY are not our Ponies! And they are not of this world!" Luna wiped a hoof across her nose sniffling loudly, "If they were from this world then PERHAPS we might be justified in thinking we had an obligation to an undiscovered neighbor, but the fact remains they are not. Nothing we do can change that."

Luna smiled through her misty eyes,
"What we CAN do is gently encourage them to learn from our mistakes and perhaps find their OWN sense of balance. We have no right to expect or coerce them into doing what works for us because it probably won't work for them."

Celestia looked at her sister in complete shock,
"What... what do you suggest then?"

"Freedom" Luna said simply.

Celestia frowned,
"They are hardly prisoners Lulu."

"By OUR standards, no, but what about from THEIR point of view?" Luna stopped pacing again, "Humans push boundaries, I've spoken with Chris extensively about this. What WE see as a boundary, THEY see as a gate to be opened. In their minds they have no limits and it is that mentality which has allowed them to prosper so. If we cannot make them conform, and we were wrong for attempting it in the first place, let US compromise with THEM."

Luna paused and finally let the tears fall, "I've come to a decision. I'm going to go on as I believe we should have long ago. As Ponies we HAD to have order forced onto us. The Day Of Sorrow is a perfect example. Had it not been for the Natural Magic of this world interfering, we would have destroyed ourselves. The Humans never had that. PONIES need order forced on them, but Humans would and have rebelled against it because it is not natural for them. It is time we gave up our illusion of control and let things happen as they will. We NEVER had control with any situation regarding the Humans, merely the illusion thereof."

Luna stepped up to Celestia and gently placed her hoof against the black gem once more, "We have to step back, Tia." she said softly, "We can OFFER help and guidance, but we cannot force it on them. It was that line of thinking which led me to think I knew what was best and put the a'dam on Chris. Ponies not Humans, need order forced upon them, which is what I was trying to do because I didn't understand. For all of our strengths, our notion of self regulation, which was forced upon us, has become not only our weakness, but an anathema for the Humans when we tried to force on them. Their world is not chaos as we believed, merely a different type of order we cannot understand. And it is through that new and different order that they will find their equilibrium."

Luna took a deep breath, preparing to deliver the final blow, "As I said, I've come to a decision. I'm going to form a herd and have foals, I'm going to use these long unused filly bits as they were intended and have foals. My womb has lain barren for far too long and it was never meant to be so. Join me or don't, but you and I WILL NOT keep trying to control the Humans. I do not wish to be at odds with you sister, please understand. I am merely looking out for the Humans. We do not owe it to them to guide them, but we do owe them for our errors. You especially for the deaths of so many."

Luna pulled herself up to her full height and placed her hooves on Celestia's shoulders, "I have work to do and a debt to an entire species to make amends with."

Celestia was silent for long minutes as she processed everything Luna had said before she answered, "May..." she looked down and touched the necklace with her left forehoof, her voice wavering and faint, "May I keep the necklace on for a while, while I think." she sighed, "It seems I have more than a bit of that to do."

Luna smiled through her emotion, "Of course you can sister."

And there it is. This has been in the works for a LONG time, but I had to set up the world before I dropped a bomb like this one. Remember to Like if you like the story and feel free to leave comments.