Celestia's house was a bit grander than Luna's but still modest by most standards. One thing the sisters had in common was a love of books. Like Luna's; Celestia's house was filled with books: history, philosophy, religion, science, politics, biographies, and even a few "How-to" manuals. It appeared if Celestia was on a mission to become the single most intelligent being on the planet. But unlike Luna's, there was more decoration around the place. Paintings, photos cluttered what wall space there was not being taken up by book shelves. Figurines and sculptures from classical forms to avant-garde stuff. It gave the house an overall cheerier feel to it.

All three sat at the dining room table. Celestia had a cup of green tea, Luna had coffee (sugar, no cream), and Sonata had a chocolate milk Luna had bought for at a gas station she stopped at on the way over. Celestia was in a nice, pale yellow sun dress, her hair tied back, no make-up, and sandals on. It was a marked difference from the stern pants suits she wore to school.

Sonata had on a plain black, scoop neck t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. After they had left Kmart, Luna had gone back home so Sonata could take a shower before going to Celestia's house. Sonata figured the best thing to do was to go "plain Jane" and dress down. She wanted to make a good impression on Celestia (well as good as possible considering) and didn't want to show up all flashy. She wore minimal make-up and her hair down; something she didn't do too often if for no other reason than the sheer length.

Now they were here, things didn't feel that awkward. Celestia had greeted Sonata with a hug. Not an overly affectionate, but not a cold, I'm-only-doing-this-because one either. She offered Sonata some snacks and a drink and genuinely seemed to care about her.

After some small talk between the sisters (for which Sonata had decided it was best to remain silent), Celestia looked at Sonata and asked, "So what are we to do with you?"

"Huh?" Sonata didn't know what to say. The question took her off guard a bit. She knew that she wanted to find a place to live and make some sort of life in this realm; but, honestly had no plan on how to actually go about doing it.

"I figured she could stay with me for a week or so until Sunset Shimmer felt comfortable enough let her stay with her" Luna spoke up. She sounded like she was trying to convince Celestia of something. There was also a touch of nervousness in her voice as well.

"And if she doesn't? It may not look good if Sonata is staying with you. People talk, inferences are made, and neither you nor the school need that."

"She will. Sunset more than anybody knows the power of redemption."

"Yes, but, Sunset is still early on that road herself. She might feel her own second chance might be in jeopardy if she takes in Sonata here."

"True dear sister; but look at how far she's come. It could be argued that it was her that turned the tide against," Luna stopped and shot an awkward glace at Sonata, "well, you know. I think she's ready. Besides, she lives alone. The other girls all live with their parents. Trying to fold Sonata into a situation like that would be extremely difficult."

"Pinkie Pie doesn't. She lives with her older sister; Maud I believe her name is. She could also do it with minimal disruption."

"I guess it'll be up to the girls then who takes her in then." Luna was getting a bit frustrated with her big sister. But then that was nothing new. No one had either irritated her more or done as much for her than Celestia. In fact there was a really good possibility that the only reason she was still alive was because of Celestia. So she gave her sister a large birth and held her tongue.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Asked Sonata. Hearing the two humans talk about her fate as if she wasn't even there made her very angry. It brought back too many bad memories of her filly hood. She deserved to have a say in her own fate.

"Honestly dear, no, you don't" Celestia was blunt but not brutal. "You have 'special needs'. Needs that regular channels can't fix. Also, despite your age, fourteen hundred I believe my sister said, you are a girl. You have the body of a girl, the strength of a girl, and without your magic to manipulate people, you have no coping skills for the life ahead of you. We have faced this problem before. Well, similar problem before. We know how to handle it. All you need to do is to figure out how you best want to proceed in this world. You work on you, we'll work on the situation around you."

Luna took Sonata's hand. "Honey, you are like a child. In a way; your magic was like your parent, protecting and shielding you from this life. That's gone now. You have to learn how to actually deal with people, build relationships. The skills you'll need to finish school, find and keep a job, as well as manage money and all that. That takes a lot of work. More so because you have a reputation. If you allow us to take care of the more practical matters; then that frees you to work on all those other things."

Celestia was worried for her little sister (forty-five and she still considered Luna her "little" sister). She was afraid Luna was seeing too much of herself in Sonata. That or maybe the child she had given up for adoption back during her "troubled" years. The way Luna looked and spoke to Sonata was too motherly, too loving. She wanted to help the girl as well; but Luna seemed to have an attachment that didn't appear healthy. I hope you're not setting yourself up for a heartache dear sister, Celestia thought to herself.

Sonata nodded. It was almost cosmic justice really. She had spent most of her life manipulating others and now here her own fate was completely out of her hands. Cosmic or darkly comic; one of the two. She wasn't sure which.

"The girls are practicing in the outdoor auditorium tomorrow," Celestia spoke. "Around one I believe. We can take Sonata to meet them then and see who will take her in." She looked from Sonata to Luna. "She's going to need some money until we can fix her papers. Are you willing to cover that?"

"Yes. I will," Luna responded.

"Fix my papers?" Sonata asked confused again.

"You'll need a birth certificate, medical records, court documents, all the papers that surround and sum up a life. I'm assuming you don't have any of those," Celestia responded.

"Never needed them before, so you're right. But can you get all that stuff?"

The sisters shoot each other a quick look and then Celestia simply replied. "We know someone." and that was it.

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

Celestia cursed to herself as she listened to the phone dialing. He's going to let me go to voicemail; isn't he?; she thought to herself and cursed some more. Then she heard that arrogant, pompous, upper class voice.

"Well hello Celestia darling. So good to hear from you again. Calling just to chat?"

"Cut the crap Discord. I need papers for a student of mine. Sonata Dusk, female, sixteen. Can you do it?"

"Oh my dear, must you only call when you need something from poor Discord? Ah, you wound me so. But, yes, I can deliver. You should know that by now. Well for a price at least. A small, nominal fee amongst friends."

She could almost here him grinning. "Fine. I need it within the next two weeks; preferably. Call me when you have them."

"Fine, fine; as you wish. Oh and how is dear Luna doing? I do so miss her."

"Better off without you. When you have them Discord, two weeks, bye." Celestia clicked of her phone, wishing she had an old fashioned type so she could slam it down on the reciever. She hated that man but even the devil is useful when you need a fire made.

Author's Notes:

I also love Discord and wanted to use him. The idea of him being a gangster/Mafioso type came to me while coming up with another fan fic. I also wanted to keep the troubled past of Luna in the story as well. But since she wouldn't have been "Nightmare Moon" in this world, I gave her a more realistic troubled backstory. Plus I just wanted a way to cross some t's and dot some i's. I want to give my story as much real world grounding as possible.

Overall, not my favorite chapter. It felt more like a chore to write. But it does give Luna and Celestia a little more depth, gave me a way to have a character I really like make a cameo, and it does help propel the story forward which you want any chapter to do. Hopefully it's not such a chore to read. Peace.