Princess Celestia panted from the energy that was spent from her body. She stood in the now-ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters, its once proud stone walls falling apart due to the confrontation that took place. She tried not to look at the black mark where her sister once stood. It already pained her so just to be the one standing.
The Elements now back in their rightful place, Princess Celestia expended what little energy she had left to raise the sun over the horizon--a whole three days later than when it was supposed to. She was glad that she had her citizens evacuated the premises. Had anything happened to them, she wouldn't know what to do.
Spreading her wings and using the will and determination to show that their beloved Princess was still their solid foundation, she took off into the air to inform her subjects that a change of location would be required. She knew that she couldn't live with herself if she had to continue carrying on in their shared home without her other half.
The Citizens of Equestria are forced to uproot their lives, yet they gladly do so. They're thankful for the sun's rays that warmed their fur.
Praise the sun.
A temporary settlement is formed on a mountainside that looks over most of the land. Here, they will rebuild anew and move on with their lives. They will be the ones closest to the celestial body.
Praise the sun.
A new holiday is formed. The Summer Sun Celebration. May the light continue to bless the land of Equestria for centuries to come.
Praise the sun.
Decades pass, and a new castle is built into the mountain. It is only befitting that the loved Princess gets a perch to raise the sun from. It is the closest thing to the sky in the highest city in the land.
Praise the sun.
The original settler ponies have been laid to rest. A new generation emerges. They hear stories of the fabled Nightmare Moon. They sing their happiness that they were not born during such a trying time.
Praise the sun.
Princess Celestia looks up at the craters on the moon that are in the shape of a face. Her heart breaks a little more each time she does. Her citizens rest easy that they have no threat of eternal night, and that they get to see the sun rise.
Praise the sun.
Each Summer Sun Celebration Princess Celestia tries to justify her actions. To see her citizen's smiling faces as they play around in the warm glow. She forces a smile to continue being their strong foundation. They already lost one princess, they shouldn't have to lose another one.
Praise the sun.
Decades come and go. Nightmare Moon is reduced to an old pony's tale. They don't even believe that a "Princess Luna" even existed. She is erased from all history books. Unknown to her citizens, Princess Celestia spends every night looking up at rock in the sky, wondering if there was something else she could have--should have--done. And then she cries. But the citizens sleep well knowing that each day will be like the last. Bright and peaceful.
Praise the Sun.
"Thank Celestia!" It is the first time she has ever heard it. She is taken aback, and gives a small, sad smile to the pony singing her praises. To her horror, it spreads like wildfire.
Praise the Sun.
A new addition is added to the tradition of Nightmare Night. In accordance to the frightful holiday, it is rumored that Nightmare Moon will eat the children should they not offer candy in her name. Princess Celestia weeps that her dear sister has been reduced to something but a frightful caricature. Yet she says nothing, for her ponies' happiness is the only thing that keeps her from going mad with guilt.
Praise the Sun.
Five hundred years. It's been five hundred years since the banishment of Nightmare Moon. History has changed. Princess Celestia saved Equestria from the horrors of an eternal night brought by the monster. There is no Princess Luna. There has only been one monarch of Equestria.
Praise the Sun.
The Royal Castle has always felt empty without her loving sister. Each year she fills its halls with more ponies that are willing to do anything she said, and were glad to be treated as such. They bowed to her as she walked past, and in each of their eyes she could see them singing their praises to her.
Praise the Sun.
While the ponies of Equestria came and went in their lives, Celestia was long-living, nearly immortal. It is her that bears the long-term effects of everything that happens. She used to have a companion to share her burdens with, but she is no longer with her. She doesn't exist to this generation, nor will she for the several next ones. There are no stained glass windows depicting her in the halls of the Castle, no books that mention her by name, and no statues of her to match the countless ones of Princess Celestia.
Praise the Sun.
It is nearing, she could feel it. A millennium of banishment is almost up. She wondered how her dear sister would react. Would she hate her? She knew it would only be fair if she did. While she got to experience the growth of the land and its citizens, the Moon Princess was forced in stasis for all those years. She'd be hurt, confused, and enraged. And Princess Celestia knew that she would have to take it. She just hoped that when the time came, the citizens would be able to understand. Only a hundred years to go.
Praise the Sun.
She had been silently counting the days all this time. Every night, when the moon reached its apex, she added another count. It lined up perfectly with the 1000th Summer Sun Celebration. She didn't know whether to laugh at the irony or cry. A scroll appeared next to her in a puff of green smoke. It was what she had been waiting for. She responded, and all she could do next was hope that her Faithful Student was able to revive the Elements from their resting place.
Praise the Sun.
Princess Celestia watched helplessly as she was imprisoned within her own celestial body. She knew this was her punishment, it was only befitting. Once again, eternal night was being imposed on the citizens of Equestria. She hoped her Faithful Student could use the Elements to free her sister from Nightmare Moon, and not banish her like she had done so many centuries ago. She wanted--needed to see her sister again. But her ponies needed the sun.
Praise the sun.
Reunited once again, the elder sister takes the younger one to the castle that rests on a mountain. The next morning, Princess Celestia officially makes a statement to Equestria that her sister had now returned. And her worst fears are realized. She is rejected, seen only as Nightmare Moon. They only needed one celestial body, and they had no need for the Princess that was not associated with it.
Praise the Sun.
Praise the Sun.
Praise the Sun.