“I… I… I..” Celestia stammered, her words staying deep in her gut. She wanted to tell Fury everything, about how she felt about losing him, about the stresses of being the ruler when he was the rightful heir, but when she tried to speak, nothing would come out. Her eyes drifted from staring into the blue eyes of her brother to a blotch of the forest that let in a spot of sunlight. Where the light had touched the ground, a young sapling had taken root and was flourishing in her sun’s nourishment.
“I.. I don’t want to be alone… again…” she finally said, the words coming out like knives against her tongue.
“Celestia… you’ll never be alone”
“How do you know?” Celestia interrupted, her eyes beginning to water as her true feelings began to show. “How do you know that when you die, everypony else won’t leave me?! What if Twilight decides to go into exile after her friends die, what if Luna turns back to darkness.. what if..” but she was cut off by a hoof pressing against her lips.
“Celestia, that’s crazy… Twilight will look to you when her friends ultimately cross over, and Luna will never turn back to darkness, no matter how strong the temptation. You’ll be fine without me, Equestria will live on without me..”
“Equestria isn’t the one who decided that it had lived long enough and decided to choose its own fate!!” Celestia screamed, rage taking the place of her sadness.
“No, Equestria didn’t make the decision that I did, and I’m sorry you feel that I changed my fate, but what is done is done, and nobody can change that,” Fury said as he stood up. “But, let’s take a look if I stayed an alicorn and lived my full lifespan,” Fury said as sat down next to her. “I would watch Dash age and die as I never appeared to age at all, and then I would watch generation after generation come and go, while I remained, unable to leave with them for another thousand or so years. The world around us would recognize that another alicorn was among them, and I would have the royal treatment I never wanted. The power of the Eternal Guardian would not be passed to Twilight, and thus she would believe her immortality was granted for nothing, and would no doubt turn to darkness, and you would be forced to destroy your most prized pupil… you would be in more pain if I stayed an alicorn Celestia, so that is why I made the decision i did, to not only protect the future, but to protect you..” Fury said before getting up and starting to walk the trail back to Ponyville.
Celestia’s inner fear began to eat away at her sanity, driving a sharp pain through her mind, causing her to let out her true feelings. “You, you call yourself honorable, yet You turn your back on the nation you fought to create, a nation that you are the rightful king of!!! All for what? A mare with a pretty smile and a rainbow mane!” Celestia screamed as she shot to her hooves and flared her wings. Fury stopped mid step, but didn’t turn around to face the fuming princess.
“You claim to be wise, but make a foolish decision to end your life… You once told me me that there would never come a day that you wouldn’t be there…” Celestia said, the words stinging as they left her tongue. “You used to be strong and noble, but now, well, look at yourself… not even a shadow of your former self… all for a few years of love…” she finished, hatred seething in her voice.
Fury finally turned to face his sister, and as he did, she could see the remnants of tears streaming down his cheeks. With a weak voice, he spoke. “No… I’m not the pony I used to be, I’ve changed, as have you Celestia, but, I never dreamt of finding Rainbow… or having the chance to have a son that I will get to know, and cherish alive, not spending years searching for his tombstone!” Fury growled, anger beginning to show in his face. “I chose my fate, hoping that my sisters would approve, happy to see me in peace from a lifetime full of war! But I guess you wish for the old Fury back, the Fury who lived up to his name, a warrior who was ruthless towards his enemies, arrogant to his allies!” Fury yelled, his hooves pounding into the tough forest floor, crunching twigs and sticks into the mulchy earth. Fury took a deep breath, as if he was going to continue with his speech, but decided against it, and walked away, leaving the princess by herself in the Everfree, free to cry in peace over the friendship she had ruined, and the brother she had just potentially lost.