To forget

[solequus]

Who: Princess Celestia, Princess Luna
What: A discussion on forgiveness
Where: Princess Celestia's private quarters
When: Evening, sometime earlier this week, before Hoovesweek came out
Warnings: ...Definite elements of mod plotiness. There is an NPC in this log, after all.
Prose or Commentspam: The Princesses care not!

The sun had been set, the royal papers reviewed, signed and sealed, the rounds to other cities and her subjects finished. Now, Princess Luna - the one of this Equestria - had gone to raise the moon, in charge of the land for her due time. This left the sun princess to her own devices at last in the palace, watched as it was by the guards. The guards, of course, knew better than to interrupt what had become Celestia's routine since the arrival of the newponies - not out of fear, but rather because why bother her during her few moments privacy in the day when there was no emergency?

So, of course, first, she had her dinner brought to her chambers, as well as a new edition to her plate since the newponies came - an empty goblet with a grated cover. she made sure to eat before having anything to do with the goblet; a millennium's worth of experience taught her never to do what she planned to do on an empty stomach. Indeed, after quietly closing her curtains and ensuring nopony was near, she proceeded to flip a secret switch under her desk. A panel of wall opened; the succinct stench of rotten eggs began to fill the room as she disappeared into the secret, rock-carved passage with the empty goblet.

Several minutes later, she re-emerged, the goblet half-filled with bubbling, fuming, strangely glowing (and yet at the same time, strangely dull) green-yellow liquid. Quickly she slid the panel shut, and brought the goblet to the fireplace, replacing the grate-top on it so a few fumes could escape, even as she lit a flame. The pungent sulfur fume began to fill her as she sat down in front of the flames and the goblet.

Celestia took deep, deep breaths, letting the fumes into her nostrils. Slowly, she began to relax, closing her eyes. Allowing herself to be carried into the stench, allowing the effects of the deep, ancient magic in the boggy, earthen concoction to open her subconscious farther, wider, so that perhaps, perhaps--

"Princess Celestia?"

The sun alicorn's eyes popped open wide at the interruption. Instantly, the goblet was overturned into the fire, and floating towards a pot of water which quickly filled it up. Horn glowing, the overpowering smell of plum began to fill the room.

"Ah--" she quickly swallowed, regaining her composure. "Yes?"

"Your sister is here to see you." A pause. "Er, one of them. She says it is urgent."

"...I see."

Quickly, Celestia turned and trotted towards the balcony window, opening it back up with a flourish of her magic. She quietly kept herself positioned there, as if she'd been looking out the balcony the whole time. Certainly not because her eyes were dilated or anything from what she was just doing.

...Hopefully, the guard wouldn't come in with her dear sister. She had the feeling her sister would pick up on certain things as it was.

"Please, allow her in."

Comments

[noxequus]

Thankfully, when Luna steps into the room, she's unaccompanied. She also catches sight of that goblet, looking a bit perplexed and a bit upset. Her wings twitch and she makes certain the door is closed, before lowering her head and speaking in a low, almost unsure voice.

"We had said that it was of the utmost importance. Twas not an emergency that should interrupt your private activities. My humblest apologies, sister."

There's a quiet pause, broken only by a skeptical claim, "You had told us that such things were out of vogue by the time we had returned from the moon." It's not until Luna has regathered her composure that she speaks again.

"He is stable again, both physically and in mind, yet the people grow uneasy. They desire a proper judgement... and there is no telling what kind of lies the press will weave to further ignite the fires there."

[solequus]

Well. She got caught.

"...Such things are," Celestia replied as she quietly turned around. "But, some things cannot be entirely disregarded or discarded. Especially magic of older origins, the few powers and places of it left, if they can help yield answers..."

Which, at the moment, it wasn't. She hadn't become entrenched enough into the fumes to even begin to try. Still, she nodded at Luna's next words.

"And a proper judgment there must be. But, you convinced me to stay my hoof, first, so you might find the cause and motive of what happened."

Which, incidentally, she agreed with, once her own initial reaction had subsided. Murder it might have been, appalling as it might have been, to behave too rashly, too quickly, would have not sat well with herself, let alone others, had she acted while feeling in any way angry or vengeful.

That she'd felt that way at all rather unnerved her. Not the angry part, anger was all right. It was the vengeful part which had worried her when it flared up. It brought up some rather uncomfortable things for her. So she quickly shied from thinking on those things further.

"What did you find out?"

[noxequus]

They can yield answers, or they can worsen problems. Those sorts of rituals were what led her down the path she had, after all. She says nothing on the matter, simply turning her head to the side to allow her sister to finish hiding the evidence cleaning up.

"It is as I feared. There was, you stated, a brief time where Donatello's scroll was not on his person. I have reason to believe that he returned to the world that he was from, where he was led to believe that his time here was a lie constructed by those in that world to catch him off-guard." She had only two dreams to glean that knowledge from, but considering what she had seen, Luna was giving Celestia the best description of Panem that she could muster without mentioning the maggots burrowing into Surprise's flesh the first time she had visited.

"He is broken, emotionally, sister. That world is one worse than even the most dreadful of pony nightmares, a place where murder is celebrated and life means nothing. The dreamscape I discovered was the same as the one I had seen several moons before... which means that whatever he feared had indeed come to pass."

Luna sighs, deeply, as she starts to pace back and forth within her sister's quarters. She never quite understood Celestia's tastes in furniture, though if nothing else, it was keeping her focused as the various polished golden surfaces showed the princess her own face as she paced about and explained the situation further.

"I do not believe he thought he was truly on Equestrian soil when he did what he had done, but in the land he was pulled from... where to stay his hoof would mean to be executed, himself."

At that, Luna stops where she is, turning to face her sister once more, wings unfurling slightly. She draws in a deep breath, steeling herself for what she is about to say.

"I claim full responsibility for the incident and all ramifications, should it be warranted. It was my own inability to properly steel Donatello's soul against the stresses of his own world that allowed him to fall into the state he was in."

[solequus]

Of course, hence the stigma of such magics, even when there were some which could be, in some way, useful. It had gone quite far, to the point where few even knew the ancient arcane secrets of pony magic, or shunned them in favor of safer methods of magic and spell making. In this, she blamed two parties. One, of course, was no longer around, even if his portrait hung on her wall.

The other being herself. Perhaps it was better that way, given some of the things which had existed. Perhaps not. Now wasn't the time to debate that.

So, she was silent, listening to what Luna said, letting the ramifications set in. She was no dreamwalker, she she had no such power and didn't know things such as this, really couldn't. It was rather a horrifying thought, to know such a world existed, where actions were or could be forced on people not just ponies, people, in this case and where they were driven to the point of emptiness, to the delight of their overlords. Even more, if those responsible for such sorrows were not merely evil, but driven mad as well by their own actions.

Yet...given her experiences, both known and unknown to anyone but herself? Not surprising. Still horrifying, still enough to make the pit of her stomach turn. But it could never be a surprise that such things were possible. Still, it gives her better perspective.

"No, Luna." At her sister's last words, Celestia turned towards her younger sister, shaking her head. "This was not your fault. I can't blame you for this. And it would be crueler to subject Donatello to a punishment when he is likely already punishing himself for what has happened. Especially in this situation, and the circumstances."

At this, Celestia closed her eyes.

"I'll make sure to relay this to those who might wish to know what is happening with him. I would only ask that you continue to check on him, and help him, until it's certain he will truly be all right."

[noxequus]

For her part, Luna was mostly unaware of the studies her sister partook in her absence... she knew that her sister had to find ways to manage the kingdom in her stead, but to this day remained unaware of how close Celestia was, at times, to walking the same paths she herself had.

It was better that way, for certain. But it was not the time for such things, regardless of the subtle shifts in wing position and general demeanor which speaks volumes between two siblings of over a thousand years.

However, she nods her head, quietly, to Celestia's words, regarding her sister's judgement calmly.

"The citizens of Equestria, both new and old, are likely seeking justice for the senseless actions that transpired on that night. To let him off without any retribution would be seen as abandonment by those native to this world, and shunning by those who have only recently arrived. We cannot simply pardon him completely, and I believe he would feel the same way." Luna gives a meaningful glance over towards her older sister. "Suffering for the wrongs one has committed is a proper part of closure, and is the source of many a nightmare... not just in him, but in all."

Afterwards, she closes her eyes and starts pacing once more, regarding Celestia's statement. "I agree that he should not be punished harshly, as he is his own harshest judge. However, we must give him some punishment that will tell the citizens that we believe he can be rehabilitated, and that he is paying for what he has done." It hurt her to say this about a friend, and yet, Equestria always came first in her mind.

[solequus]

To prevent going down those dark paths, one had to study and understand them and not tread them yourself. Some of the things she had seen, realized, Celestia didn't wish to speak of. Hadn't the heart to tell her sister about, or anyone, really. Some of it was...painful, to say the least, as she quietly turned towards one of her mirrors, staring into it for a moment.

Though she hadn't gone into a full trance, having been interrupted, it still affected her senses, somewhat. She could see things in and on this mirror that her sister did not, or couldn't see as well.

It was a long, long silence, as she thought of her options, before she finally spoke.

"Then...perhaps the best punishment and rehabilitation for Donatello may lie at the scene of the crime itself." She turned again to her sister. "So that those who were hurt most by the crime, may also help in his sentence. He must submit himself to the wishes and desires of those on the farm, within reason, of course."

[noxequus]

Perhaps it was did not, perhaps it was could not... or perhaps she didn't want to. All were equally likely, given her full knowledge of what her sister was doing. Of course, that meant as soon as she left, Celestia would go back to her method of scrying. It also meant that she shouldn't linger, too long.

As of such, she turns and stops once more, connecting the dots that Celestia had laid out for her, figuring out what she truly wished of this punishment. Once she figures that out, she nods once.

"He will not be unaccompanied. There will be another, as well - both to serve as one to watch over him in case he is greeted with violence by others, and as one to ensure he does not flee his punishment. I believe such is best for all parties involved, though the one in charge of his parole would have to maintain a proper illusion so as to not disturb the ponies of Ponyville further."

She watches her sister, looking for a reaction. She knows fully well that the native Luna has the royal duties under control, and she had learned of the disappearance of her younger self not long after she had stepped out of Donatello's dream. Plus, Celestia had always pestered Luna into being more social.

"Are these terms acceptable?"

[solequus]

Well, it was true. Celestia was such a busybody like that.

"I believe the terms are perfect. I shall instruct my guards to inform the condemned of his sentence immediately."

Because there was no way in hay she could personally go with her eyes dilated like that.

[noxequus]

"There is no need. Seeing as I will be the one observing his sentence, I will inform him personally. I do believe I should also instruct your guards to not allow any other visitors in; you are partaking in something that should not be disturbed."

She turns to head out, before glancing over her shoulder at her sister.

"Please, dear sister, refrain from sacrificing any goats in the process of seeking answers for our predicament?"

[solequus]

"Oh now that's just not fair," Celestia pouted teasingly. "That's the best part."

[noxequus]

"...perhaps, but it would be more cathartic to put the Hoovesweek reporters to the task. They have been dying for an interview."

That, Luna, was a terrible pun to leave on. However, it was regardless how she made her exeunt.