Celestia woke up and looked around. No matter which way she looked, all she could see was pure white and nothing more. Celestia tried to stand up yet found she couldn’t. Immediately, she noticed that Chrysalis wasn’t with her. Trying again to stand, she failed, as something heavy yet soft pushed her back down into the ground beneath her. She looked around to see what was pushing her, yet the princess of the sun saw nothing.

A soft voice caught her attention. “Celestia, my little filly, what's wrong? You look upset.”

“M-Mother? Is that you?”

“Mother? My sister, it is I, Luna,” Luna’s soft voice replied. “Rest now, sister. I will tend to you.”

Celestia again looked around yet once more saw only pure white. Peering into the whiteness for any sign of life, she soon saw a figure sitting over her and keeping her down. Although her vision was badly blurred, she was able to make out the general shape of the pony lying on top of her. Celestia could tell the pony was female. Again, Celestia called, “Mother I need you now more than ever. I have failed you.”

“No, my little filly. You have not failed me. You seek the last three Elements, two of which you already have. The last one you must let the seeker find and use on their own.”

“Tia, our mother isn’t here. You're delusional,” Luna softly replied, still lying on top of her older sister, trying to keep her down on the ground.
“Please, Celestia, just take it slow. You need to rest. I thought I had lost you after that explosion.”

“Mother, I don’t understand. What--”

Celestia felt something warm and fuzzy being dragged over her body as Luna again said to her, “Shh, sister. You’ll be alright. I’ll look after you now. You just rest.”

“Not to worry, my daughter. It will be alright,” Celestia heard her mother say as she felt something very soft pressing up against her cheek, nuzzling her gently. “You must go to Twilight. You must tell her who you really are, and you must bring Sunset home as well as the sirens. You must heal our lands, Celestia. Bring the ones lost to us home.”

“Mother, wait. Please, I can’t do this without you. I need your help to free Chrysalis,” Celestia cried out. “Please don’t leave me again. I can’t rule if all I feel is broken inside.”

“Sister, you can do this. I know you can. You have not failed our parents. You have ruled well and with honor, and I know that if they were still with us, they'd be very proud of you. Now, you must remain still. Give yourself time to recover from what you have been through.”

Trying to stand again, Celestia again was pushed back into the snow, only this time, instead of her mother's voice, she heard her sister's.

“Sister, you are alive, but you must rest. I will tend to Chrysalis. You need not worry about her.”

Celestia slowly stirred. Raising her head up, she saw that she was covered in the same blanket she had used to keep her sister warm. Looking to her left, she saw that Luna was tending to Chrysalis. Calling out to her sister as she watched Luna apply healing balms to the changeling queen's injuries, Celestia said, “L-Luna, I need to g-get back to Twilight.”

Luna looked up from her work and smiled warmly as she replied, applying more healing herbs and balms to Chrysalis's injured body, “You are in no condition to be going anywhere, my sister. You must take rest.”

“But, I--”

“Celestia, don't make me tie you down. Lie down and get some rest. You can see Twilight in a few hours after you have some proper sleep. I just pulled you out of the wreckage of the Crystal Manor. I will not risk losing you again. Now hush and get some sleep.”

Celestia laid her head down into her hooves, musing softly to herself, “Luna, when did you become the big sister. I thought I was supposed to take care of you, not the other way around.”

Closing her eyes, Celestia soon feel fast asleep. Luna, seeing that her sister was fast asleep, turned to Queen Chrysalis, snarling bitterly to her, “Alright, now that my sister is sleeping and getting the rest she needs, you will tell me how to save Twilight, or I swear I’ll leave you here to die.”

“Hmph,” Chrysalis grunted bitterly. “Go ahead. Leave me, if you must. But how do you think your sister will feel about that, Luna Evenstar. I swear, your mind is as dim as the night you're so proud of."

Chrysalis was suddenly interrupted when Luna pressed her hoof into the changeling's throat. As Chrysalis felt Luna apply more pressure, her smug smile vanished, and she said, “L-Luna, what are you doing? You're ch-choking me.”

“I’ll do more than choke you, Chrysalis. I'll tear your throat out for what you did to my sister's daughter!” Applying slightly more pressure, Luna continued, “How could you, Chrysalis? Celestia told me you two were friends once good friends. How could you do that to Sunset?” Luna pressed harder. "I've been wanting to do this for a long time. And you know what?" Luna leaned down to glare into Chrysalis's scared eyes. "When I kill you, no one will miss you. Equestria will rejoice."

"W-Wait, Luna!" Chrysalis pleaded. "You can't kill me. I know how to save Twilight. I'm the only one that knows."

Luna didn't say anything for a short while, but soon relented and lifted her hoof from Chrysalis's neck. Just as Chrysalis sighed in relief, Luna pressed into Chrysalis's nearly broken rib cage, turning Chrysalis's sigh into a yelp. Luna snarled, “I want to know how to save Twilight, and I want that information now!”

“How will I know you won't kill me when I tell you?"

"You don't. But if you don't tell me, I can make your life a living Tartarus." Luna pressed harder into Chrysalis's ribs to drive her point home, bringing tears to the changeling's eyes.

"Okay, okay. To save her, you must find Radiant Hope. Her healing powers are able to awaken or heal any pony from the type of magic that Thirteen has used on Twilight.”

“Radiant Hope is gone," Luna interrupted, "How are we supposed to get her to heal Twilight if she is dead?”

“Just because she doesn’t exist in this world any longer doesn’t mean she didn’t leave something behind that can heal Twilight,” Chrysalis coughed out. “Use her tears to help save Twilight. Once she is saved, then you can worry about me. Besides, you have far more pressing issues to worry about than me at the moment.”

“Like what,” Luna looked around while her horn began to glow bright blue. “I see nothing else that we need to worry about.”

“I know about the seeker, or as she will soon be called by your ponies, seer.” Chuckling lightly, Chrysalis continued, “You see, I found a strange creature that I have never seen before, wandering in the frozen north. She was cold and tired. She kept saying, ‘Mother, where are you?’ and ‘Yes, Sparrow, I can see the black horse in front of me.’ Well, her calling me a horse wasn't very nice, and I acted.”

“What did you do, Chrysalis?”

“I didn’t kill the little whelp, if that's what you're worried about. I just used my magic on her, but much to my surprise, she fired some sort of stick with a sharp metal point at me. It hit me in my right foreleg, and believe me, that hurt. A lot. Well, to make this really short, she got away. Where she is now, I don’t know. That was almost two years ago.” Chrysalis mused to herself as she continued, “Right after Sunset disappeared through the mirror, I believe, is when I found her wandering the frozen north. She had scars on her face and looked rather scared.” Chrysalis sighed, continuing, “She had a red and yellow mane and bore her cutie mark on her on her armor. She wasn't very fast, but with my injured leg, I couldn't stop her from escaping.”

“I see.” Luna fired a blue energy bolt into the sky, causing Chrysalis to look up. “Oh, don’t worry, Chrysalis. That wasn’t meant for you. I am just letting my guards know where we are, is all.” Luna smirked as she continued, “You’ll be in chains in the royal--”

“No, she won't, Luna.” Celestia’s voice caught Luna's attention. She turned to face her sister, who was standing behind her. “You're going to let her go. We will take her back to Ponyville and let Doctor Whooves heal her wounds. Then, she is free to go. There has been enough killing and pain for one day. I want see Twilight. But before we go,” Celestia turned her attention towards Chrysalis, “I need to ask you something, Chrysalis.”

“I've already told why I killed your daughter.” Chrysalis saw the pain in Celestia's eyes as the latter recalled her daughter’s death. “I see little reason why I should still answer any more of your questions.”

“This strange creature you claim to have seen. Did she give you her name before she ran off.”

“After she shot me, she apologized, told me her name, then ran off. She called herself Eventide Shimmer.”

Celestia's eyes went wide at recognition of the name she had just heard. Before she could say anything, ten of Luna’s personal shadow pony guards landed near the two royal sisters. It only took a few moments to get everyone onto the chariots that the guards had brought with them. Celestia looked to her sister, then nodded as her sister gave the order. The guards flew high into the air, taking the two royals back to Twilight's castle.

A few hours later, Celestia stood next to Twilight and Doctor Whooves. Spike came in, saying gently, “Princess Celestia, when will Twilight wake up?”

“I don’t know, Spike. If I can’t find some of Radiant Hope's tears, then I fear she will never wake up.”

Spike's face lit up like Hearth's Warming as he squealed out happily, “Why didn't you say before that all we need was tears of hope?” Spike dashed away as fast as his little legs could carry him, returning a few moments later with a tray of twelve crystal vials in his clawed hands. Setting the tray down next to Twilight's bed, he continued “Twilight collected all sorts of water samples and tear samples from all over Equestria. She wanted to do some sort of experiment with them. These twelve vials were placed in her Do Not Use section. She told me that they have healing properties and were not to be used unless she had no choice.”

Gently taking one of the crystal vials in her magic, Celestia pressed the vial against Twilight's lips, pouring the liquid into Twilight's mouth, making sure not to spill a single drop of it. Celestia, Luna and Spike all watched as Twilight's body glowed light blue. Her eyes blinked a few times as she moaned out, “W-Where am I?”

“Shhh, my little pony. You're safe now.” Celestia used her magic to bring Twilight's blanket up close to her neck. “You're home, Twilight. Just rest now,” Celestia said softly, tucking her in. “Your nightmare is over. All you must do now is rest.”

“Princess, will Twilight be alright now?” Spike asked, worried.

“Yes, Spike, I think she will be alright.”

Celestia gently nuzzled Twilight's cheek as Twilight soon fell fast asleep, dreaming of lectures from her mentor. Seeing that her star pupil was fast asleep, Celestia turned to face Chrysalis, saying to her gently, “Now that you have seen the magic of these vials, shall I give you one as well?”

“I would sooner eat snakes than accept your help, Celestia. You killed my daughter.”

“Chrysalis, for the last time, I did not kill your daughter. I tried to save her, and I failed. What happened to Crystalis was tragic, yes, but I didn't kill her.”

Chrysalis looked down. Taking one of the vials in her magic and drinking the liquid, she looked back up, saying as she stood up, “You have shown me kindness today, Celestia, despite the fact that we are enemies. You have spared my life when you could have left me to die at Crystal Ridge. Therefore, according to changeling custom, I will give you time.”

“Time? For what?”

Chrysalis walked out of Twilight's bedchamber, the royal sisters following. A few moments later, the three found themselves standing in front of Twilight's castle. Chrysalis smiled as she shape shifted into a common female pony with a blue mane and green coat. Looking to both of the royal sisters, she said with a sick smile on her face, “I will give you six days and seven nights.” Chrysalis laughed wickedly as she continued, “After the sun sets on the final day, we will be at war, Celestia.” Chrysalis used her magic to teleport away from the two royals, saying as she disappeared, “And this time, I will not stop until you are dead for what you did to my daughter.”

Celestia and Luna both silently headed back inside the castle, and Celestia soon found herself taking rest in front of Twilight's fireplace. Luna looked to her sister, saying to her gently as she pulled a blanket over her sister's body, “You should rest now, sister. I need to go. There are some matters that I must attend to. I will see you again in a few hours.” Celestia nodded, then soon fell fast asleep.

Luna stopped by Twilight's room to check on her one last time. Sticking her head in through the partly open door, she saw Spike placing three blue jewels into Twilight's saddlebag. Wanting to know more, she entered the room, saying softly, “Spike, what are you doing with heart stones?”

"Ah!" Spike yelped, startled. Turning around, he said, “Oh, it's just you Princess. Well, Twilight told me how she defeated the sirens. She's always felt bad about leaving them in the human world without any way to feed themselves, so she created these stones to feed them with positive energy instead of negative energy. I only hope it isn’t too late to get these to them.”

“I see. I would like to suggest something as well, if I may.”

“Sure thing, Princess.”

“Place a few of those vials that we used to help wake her up into her bag. They might come in handy in the human world.”

Spike did as we asked to do, placing three vials of Hope's tears into Twilight's bag. Once done, he set the bag down and took to his own bed. Luna covered him with his blanket before heading out of the castle. As Luna climbed into her chariot, she muttered, “It is time for her to return.”

Next Chapter: Drink Away the Pain Today (Edited and Titled by Icecreammac) Estimated time remaining: 15 Hours, 54 Minutes