A depressed Princess Celestia lay wide awake in her bed as her sister lowered the moon and made way for the elder to raise the sun, the whites of her eyes rather bloodshot and dark circles forming around them. After losing Radius, Celestia fell into a deep, seemingly endless depression though being reunited with her sister Luna some twenty-four years later helped immensely. After so many years, Celestia would normally go about her day and her royal duties without much of an issue but today was different. Today was the very day that her lover Doctor Radius Hoofenschtov was tragically taken in Earth's worst nuclear accident exactly thirty years ago. Every April twenty-sixth, she could not help but let the thoughts of what could have been get her down as she learned of his plan to propose to her.

Celestia had told her younger sister much about the relationship she had with Radius after her separation from Nightmare Moon. Each year when that dreaded spring day came, Celestia would in a way emotionally shut down much to her younger sister's confusion. She would then eventually end up remembering why, some years sooner than others. This year however, Luna made it a point to remember without needing to be reminded. As she continued to lay in her bed after an utterly sleepless night, Celestia used her aura to open a drawer of her nightstand and levitate a small framed photograph of the happy couple that was herself and Radius, both smiling ear to ear. It had become her annual ritual to remove the photo from where she kept it and stare at it as she reminisced about the past and wonder what the present could have been like if Radius had stayed home on the night of April twenty-sixth, 1986.

"Sister, dearest?" Luna greeted sweetly as she slightly opened the door of her elder sister's bedroom. "I brought you a nice hot cup of tea and I made you breakfast in bed. May I come in?"

"Y-you *sniff* m-made me..." Celestia repeated as she used every last bit of strength she could muster to avoid breaking down into a sobbing mess. "Lulu, of c-course you may come in. Th-thank you so much."

Without a moment's hesitation, Princess Luna entered Celestia's room with a tray of pancakes and a piping hot cup of her favorite tea floating in her aura. After setting the tray in the bed and the tea cup on the nightstand, Luna then sat down next to her sister ready and willing to listen to her open up about her woes and vent to her heart's content.

"Tia..." Luna spoke softly. "I understand that this particular day of the year is hard for you...so I would like you to take the day off. I wish to carry the burden of your duties and raise the sun so that you may grieve in peace. Just know that if there is anything you need, and I mean anything at all, do not hesitate to inform me."

Upon hearing that her sister was utterly going out of her way to lighten her mood, Celestia simply did not know what to say. Typically, Luna would be perplexed by Celestia's tardiness but then remember at the last minute the unfortunate significance of this date. Be it that she would be reminded by one of Celestia's most faithful guards or happen to trot in on her bawling with the photograph in her aura, Luna would normally figure it out at the worst possible time. The mere fact that she had the day planned out so she could attend to her emotional needs alone was enough to make Celestia feel a little better.

"L-lu*hic* Luna?" Celestia sobbed as she sprang from the bed sheets and held her sister close. "Don't ev*sniff* please don't ever l-leave me again!"

"As long as I can help it..." Luna began as she hugged Celestia tight. "I will always be by your side! Though, it wasn't I who had much a choice in the matter the last time I left."

The very moment the well meaning sister finished her sentence, she immediately realized that she may have made a poor choice in words as Celestia's sobbing intensified to a point where she began to hyperventilate. At a time like this, bringing up something that caused her sister one thousand years of heartache and regret was most likely not the best course of action and proved to be counterproductive in her efforts to comfort her.

After a solid twenty minutes of bawling into her sister's chest, Celestia finally calmed down enough for the two of them to engage in rational conversation. In order for Luna to properly listen and Celestia to be able to get things off her chest, her dialog being coherent would prove helpful. Letting it out through crying however was a good start.

"Tia, that didn't come out right." Luna said sheepishly as she dried her sister's tears with a tissue. "I'm sorry I brought tha-"

"I don't know what I'd do without you." Celestia interrupted.

"You...Oh my. Thank you, Tia."

"Lulu, when I...sent you away, I could never forgive myself. Not a day went by without feeling like I'd betrayed you and wondering if there was anything else I could have done to free you from Nightmare Moon. Back in eighty-six when I lost my coltfriend, I was an emotional wreck for a very long time. I never felt so alone before. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that I knew I would see you again soon."

"No, you did nothing wrong, sister. Don't ever think that."

"Luna, I need to tell you something that I've never told another soul as long as I've lived. I need you to promise me that you'll keep this secret."

"Of course. I promise, Tia."

"When you were gone, I had a lot of time to think. You and I have both outlived countless friends and loved ones and that was starting to bother me so badly. The only reason I didn't kill myself was because I knew you would eventually be back."

"What?! You mean to tell me that you contemplated taking your own life?!"

"On several occasions. I counted down the days to when you would be returning and that's what kept me going...and then I met Radius."

"You've told me much about him. I would have loved to meet him."

"He changed my life forever, Luna. I never had any other stallion quite like him."

Celestia had spoken of Radius on many occasions and often described him as one of the few ponies who helped her carry on while she waited those final years for her beloved sister to be freed from Nightmare Moon. Celestia loved and dearly missed everything about him. First being drawn to him by his genius level intellect and admittedly his cuteness she saw in him, she soon got to know him better and learned of his other wonderful qualities. As the two sisters spent breakfast time together, Celestia talked and Luna listened. She described Radius's kindhearted nature, his shyness at first, and even where he got his degree in quantum physics.

"Oh and his stamina..." Celestia sighed as she began to space out.

"His...stamina?" A confused Luna repeated. "You mean like in bed?"

"Our first few times were a bit awkward but after he got the hang of it, he could rut me for hours."

"Oookay, that's a little too much inf-"

"His stallionhood was average but he more than made up for it when he got into it so passionately."

"Ahem. Sister, you know you can tell me anything but there's only so much I want to kn-"

"I was so honored to have been his first. He was a fast learner too. Somehow he just knew how gentle or rough I wanted it on any given night."

"Do snap out of it, Tia."

"Oh my God, I'm getting so heated up just thinking about it...all those things he could do with his horn...afterwards, we'd just lay there and enjoy the warmth of our bodies on each other's."

"Say, Tia, why don't we take a trot outside!? Today's weather is beautiful!"

"Oh! Uh...did I say all those things out loud?"

"Yes. Yes you did. Not to worry though! Come hither! A leisurely stroll around the city in this weather will be good for you! We're going to have to have a talk about those suicidal thoughts you mentioned though. Contrary to what most think, we are able to die at our own hooves, you know."

"I promise you, Lulu, that's all in the past. I have you and many more wonderful friends by my side. I'd never throw such an amazing thing away like that."

The two sisters wasted no time preparing for a pleasant trot together. The sun was shining brightly and the birds were singing sweetly on this wonderful spring day. It would be perfect for a depressed pony and should do wonders lightening her mood. There were plenty of things that could cheer Celestia up and her sister whose presence brought her great joy was determined to make happen.

After a quick shower, Celestia was ready to take on the day with her younger sister by her side. Luna made her final preparations by raising the sun and before long, the two set out to trot down the streets of Canterlot and enjoy the magnificent spring weather. Though Luna had planned to spend time with her sister, neither of them had any idea precisely what they wanted to do. That however could end up being the fun part and the possibilities were endless in a city Like Canterlot. Still, even if they did not find a certain activity to keep them occupied, simply spending the day in each other's company should make for a pleasant day.

"Gooooood morning, Canterlot!" The local DJ Vinyl Scratch greeted as she began her daily broadcast. Celestia and Luna had found their way to Pony Joe's Doughnut Shop where they listened to the radio that sat upon the counter. "Looks like the royal sisters are giving us some fine weather today on this last Tuesday of the month! And like every last Tuesday of each month, we're doing our signature 'Flashback Tuesday' from now until seven o'clock tonight!"

"I rather enjoy this Flashback Tuesday." Luna said as she sipped a large mug of coffee.

"It's actually the perfect day to have it too." Celestia added. "It's one of those things that just makes me feel better."

"I'll be putting on some records from the seventies, eighties, and if they don't suck like most of them..." Vinyl continued. "...a few hits from the nineties from some of Equestria's and Earth's top artists! We'll be taking requests too. Coming up first, we've got a hot hit from Earth's only Madonna! Lucky star! Don't you sexy ponies go anywhere!"

"I'm so glad you are trying to look on the bright side of things." Luna said before downing the last gulp of her coffee. "Oh, Joseph? Your princess requires another tall one! Make it a quadruple shot espresso and keep them coming!"

"Anything for you, pretty princess." The stallion behind the counter replied with a blush.

"Oh Joe, you charmer. I love it when you call me that." Princess Luna's face followed suit as she too blushed at the compliment.

"Do you two flirt with each other often?" Celestia asked with a snicker.

"Every single time I come in here. Why doth thou inquire?"

"Luna, do you have any idea what yea-"

"Sorry, sorry. Why do you wanna know? Better?"

"Much. And I'm just curious is all."

"Okay then. Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't think he was cute and he's way more down to Earth than those stuffy ponies who follow us around. Now, why don't we get back to what's important today? Things that make you feel better. Now, keep in mind I'm not trying to get you to forget about Radius. I just don't want you to be so sad and feel so alone like you do every year. Happy thoughts, okay?"

"Well...the day I forgave the man responsible, I felt like I shed a thousand pounds off my back. That was a good day."

"You never told me about that!"

"I didn't? Oh wow...Well, I guess now is as good a time as any. It was in 1995, not quite ten years after Radius died."

Princess Celestia slowly trotted down a narrow path in the Canterlot Cemetery on a cool November afternoon in 1995. She would visit the grave where she had a statue erected of her lost lover quite often. Celestia felt that today should be no different as any other time that she would come here to grieve. It was the same every time, she would simply go to the statue to place a bouquet of flowers before it, reminisce and weep for a little while. It was all about to change as she neared the statue where she saw a human walking up to it with a bouquet of his own in his hand and a walking cane in the other.

Celestia knew that Radius had human friends from Earth but she did not recognize this one in particular. The man walked very slowly towards the statue and as Celestia trotted closer, she could see that the man was using all his strength just to stay on his feet and must have been ill or very old. The princess trotted over and stopped when she was standing ten feet behind the man as he knelt down to place the bouquet before the memorial.

"If only I'd have listened to you..." The man who wore a thick winter coat and Russian style hat said. "If I would have listened to you, this wouldn't have happened."

"Excuse me, sir?" Celestia asked as she took a step forward. "I couldn't help overhear what you...um, what did you mean by that?"

Upon hearing her, the man slowly turned around revealing his face with slightly lumpy skin that appeared to be badly burned. His hands twitched very frequently as he tried to come up with an answer to the question asked by the magnificent creature that stood before him. Upon Further observation, Celestia could tell that his hands twitched the way they did because he had very little control over it and it was apparent that the man was very sick.

"I..I.." The man stuttered as he tried to answer. "A-are you...Princess Celestia?"

"Yes, I am." Celestia replied. "Did you know Radius?"

"Yes I...I did. I worked with him at the power plant where he died. I'm...Anatoly Dyatlov."

The man who stood before Celestia was the one who was responsible for the death of her coltfriend nine years earlier. At a mere sixty-four years old, Anatoly Dyatlov was reduced to a pale, sickly, withered away man who's body had been outright fried by the radiation he was exposed to that day. Celestia had never met him before and she would be lying if she said she ever wanted to. Despite having never met him nor even knowing what he looked like before, she always hated him and felt that the five years he had spent in prison was too good for him. He was originally sentenced to ten years but was released early due to health complications.

Celestia just stood there and stared at the man who's name she had cursed since April of 1986. There was plenty of room for anger, hatred or countless other emotions that the royal alicorn could have going through her mind. Of all those feelings she could have towards the trembling man that struggled to stand before her, there was only one that she could find it in her heart to have. Princess Celestia took pity on him.

"Your Majesty..." Anatoly began. "There is nothing I could ever possibly say to you to...express how sorry I am. Your stallion friend was a million times the engineer I ever was and...I just...if I *hic* if I just listened to him, he'd still be here...He was just trying to help and I was so cold towards him."

The longer Celestia stood there and listened to Anatoly speak, the more relaxed she became as every last ounce of hatred and ill will she had bottled up towards him simply melted away. She had always felt that he had gotten away with his negligence that fateful Spring morning but aside from him having such a short term in prison he had certainly paid his debt as his body was completely destroyed and every moment he lived, he was in constant pain.

"I understand how you must feel about me." Anatoly Dyatlov continued as he began to weep. "I just want you to know though, not a day goes by without me feeling deep remorse and regret for what happened. I wish so badly that *sniff* that I could have told him I'm sorry. Since you're here...I would like you to say to me whatever you may have wanted to. If it will put you at ease to get it off your chest, I'm ready for whatever you have to say."

"I forgive you." Celestia said quietly.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."

"I forgive you, Anatoly Dyatlov."

Dyatlov heard what the princess said the second time but he simply did not know what to make of it. He was expecting to hear of how hated he was by so many and that she wished unto him nothing but pain and misery for the rest of his days. The last thing he expected was to be told he was forgiven.

"Y-you...forgive me?" Anatoly said, no longer able to hold his emotions in check. "Oh, bless your heart. I-I don't know what to say."

"Your remorse is genuine and you've been through so much since then." Celestia said. "You've come to pay your respects to Radius and after seeing what the radiation has done to you I just...I simply don't have it in me to hate you. I just can't do it."

After taking a moment to think about what Celestia had just said to him, Anatoly let it all out and wept until he nearly lost the strength to stand on his feet. Anatoly Dyatlov was always one to avoid crying as he was afraid that it was a sign of weakness. The years following the events at the Chernobyl Nuclear Facility however, he had learned that having a soft side did not make someone weak. As the tears continued to flow down his face with Celestia starting to build up some of her own, Anatoly extended one of his wrinkled, withered hands to offer the Princess a hand shake. Celestia did not hesitate to oblige and offer her hoof in return. Both She and Anatoly Dyatlov felt an indescribable weight being lifted off their shoulders that day.

"Sister, I'm so proud of you!" Luna said as she dried a few tears with a nearby napkin. "It take such a wonderful pony to be able to forgive like that. So, what happened next?"

"After we paid our respects, I offered to trot with him back to the train he was catching." Celestia replied. "After only a few steps, he lost the last bit of strength he had left and couldn't walk any further."

"Uh huh. And?"

"I wasn't about to leave the poor man there so I put him on my back and carried him to the train depot."

"Aw jeez..." Donut Joe sniffled as he listened to Celestia's story. "That's just beautiful."

"Joseph, are you putting on the waterworks over there?" Luna teased.

"No! Totally not crying!"

"Aw, that's too bad. I've always liked guys who aren't afraid to show their soft side."

"Totally am crying!"

After a brief pause, both princesses and the pony behind the counter shared a good, hearty laugh together. Though the day was still young being that it was only half past ten in the morning, it was still turning out to be a good day of remembrance of a fallen loved one. The story Celestia had just told about her forgiveness towards Dyatlov was a good step in the recovery process and it seemed like today promised many more to come.

"You know..." Celestia began before taking a sip of her coffee. "I'm really glad he and I went to the cemetery at the same time and had that talk when we did. Otherwise it never would have happened."

"Why is that?" Luna Asked.

"He died three weeks later. His heart had to work so hard just so he could take a step and it just couldn't take it any more."

"Oh wow, I guess that was good timing. Poor guy."

"He didn't deserve to die believing that he was hated by everypony. I'm glad I could make him feel a little better before he passed."

"I can't stress enough how proud of you I am, sister. Not many ponies would be kind enough to...to...Joe? What's wrong with the radio? I wanted to hear some more of those funky, fresh tunes."

"Word is it's some kinda wacky signal from Earth, Lulu." Pony Joe replied as he adjusted the dials on the radio. "It's been going in and out all morning and it's starting to get pretty annoying."