“And the titans wouldn’t have!? Is that what you’re saying? That we stood a chance!?”
Celestia stopped in her tracks.
The titans... were a force to be reckoned with, to put it lightly. Four thousand years ago, when Equestria was but a few centuries of age, they had emerged from the Earth with their own armies, much as Cronus had but minutes ago, and waged what had seemed like a hopeless war against the sovereign nation.
Hopeless was, however, the defining characteristic of the war. Celestia and Luna’s armies were vanquished in minutes if they were not careful, and it eventually became clear that conventional warfare was not an option when dealing with these brutes. The general rule “When a titan is spotted, bring in the goddesses!” was put into place quickly. Luna and Celestia had always hated the saying because of the morbid nature behind the innocent rhyme, but it was essentially true. It had been standard battle procedure to evacuate should a titan make itself known and to immediately notify the princesses. Celestia and Luna were more than capable of taking them down on their own, but they had to be careful to ensure they did not use enough firepower to injure anypony nearby.
Which was precisely what Luna had just done.
“Why did you do it, Luna?” Celestia asked tearfully. “We could have defeated him together, just like we did all those millennia ago. Why did you jump ahead like that? We could have prevented this...”
“I-... I didn’t m-mean to, T-Tia. I-it just happened,” Luna shakily replied, barely maintaining her composure. “I w-wanted to save P-Ponyville, b-but-!” Luna gave in to her emotions and collapsed on Celestia, sobbing into her sister’s mane as she hugged her as tightly as was possible. “I’m so sorry, Tia! I’m so, so, sorry! This wasn’t supposed to happen! It shouldn’t be this way!”
Celestia choked up as well. She couldn’t help herself.
“I-I’m sorry, too, sister.” Luna looked up at Celestia questioningly. “I-... I could never leave my one and only sister... the only pony I can never lose to time’s poison. I’ll never say something like that to my sister, my own flesh and blood, ever again. You’re my sister, and nothing can ever change that.”
Luna’s lips trembled ferociously. “D-don’t say that, Tia. You know you don’t have to. Besides, I don’t deserve an apology after... after...!” Luna buried her face in Celestia’s mane once more, wetting it even more. Celestia didn’t care a bit. Her sister’s sanity was slightly more important than a perfect mane.
“It was an accident, little sister. As... grievous, an accident it was, it was still an accident. How could I never forgive my own sister on account of something she did not intend to do?” If Luna heard her, she gave no sign of it.
They sat there like that, for a while. As sisters, one supporting the other when she needed it most.
---------
Celestia’s eyes snapped open. It was approaching dusk.
Or at least, that’s what her internal clock told her. An ugly, grey layer of dust and ash filled the sky, covering the land as it slowly drifted down upon them. It was almost like winter, albeit not quite as... fun.
Celestia looked down at herself. In doing so, a bit of ash fell to her folded up forelegs beneath her. She noticed her forelegs were also already covered in their own layer of dust. She had evidently nodded off at some point after Luna’s sobs had ceased. The alicorn sneezed quite cutely, freeing more of the ash from her mane.
Something stirred to the right of her. Glancing over, she confirmed that a small, slightly blue pile of ash was moving around next to her and on her, Luna’s head not having fallen off of Celestia’s shoulder yet and in what appeared to be a peaceful slumber. Celestia smiled warmly and extended her right wing, brushing the ash off and wrapping Luna in its feathery embrace. The smaller alicorn sighed happily and snuggled closer to her sister.
Celestia was accustomed to such cuteness from her little sister. For the first month after Luna’s return from her banishment, Luna had been afraid to sleep in her own bedroom at the castle, explaining that she heard Nightmare Moon in her thoughts when she was alone, and had requested to be allowed to sleep in Celestia’s room. Celestia found it slightly adorable, in a dark sort of way. It was similar to a foal having a nightmare and being unable to sleep, thus coming to sleep in its parents’ room. This, however, did not take away from the fact that Luna’s reason was far, far more serious, in that it was a real nightmare.
Nevertheless, thus started Celestia becoming accustomed to her sister’s presence once more. She had forgotten how adorable her sister could be at times, and this was proven nearly every night they spent together thereafter, Luna always asking for more room or more blankets or to cuddle or whatever it was. Celestia didn’t care; she had a little sister again.
It had been an even bigger issue for Luna to start sleeping on her own again. She brought it up with Celestia one night as they lay down for bed...
---------
“...Tia, are you okay with me sleeping in here every night?”
“Well we’ve been doing this for nearly three months, sister, I think I would have objected by now if I had a problem.” Luna stared indignantly at Celestia. “...Okay, okay, fine. No, it’s not a problem at all. I like it, actually. I missed you so, so much, and it’s just so wonderful to see you again, to hear the sound of your voice again. I’m sure you understand the feeling of which I speak, sister.”
“Of course I do, but don’t you think that it’s... um, odd, for a millennia-old pony to be afraid of sleeping on her own?”
Celestia stared at her sister seriously. “No, Luna, I do not think of it as being ‘odd’ one bit. For starters, nopony has had to endure what happened to you. Nopony knows what it’s like for evil to constantly be nibbling at the back of their minds, always threatening to overwhelm them once more.” Luna’s eyes clouded up a bit. “And besides, we haven’t seen each other for one thousand years, Luna. That’s a long time for ponies to be separated, let alone sisters. There are few ponies that live past one hundred years, yet here we are in our four thousands. Heck, another two-hundred-eight years and I’ll be five thousand! Another six centuries after that and you shall be as well! The only other being that shares that kind of age is Discord, and he hasn’t even been allowed to experience most of it.”
Luna smiled at the mention of Discord. Despite his terrible ways, she’d always found him to be quite a gentleman when he wanted to be, and hilarious in his own way. She liked him as the being he was. It was too bad he was so mean to everypony else. But she also spotted an inconsistency within Celestia’s words. “What about dragons, dear sister? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten them!”
Celestia stuck her tongue out at Luna. “Hey, just because I’m older than you doesn’t mean I have to remember everything!” she replied hotly. Luna giggled. Celestia continued, “My point is, we haven’t seen each other for longer than anypony else has ever lived. I’d say we’re doing fine right now,” she finished. “Why do you bring it up, sister?”
Luna paused and thought carefully before answering. “I... I think I want to sleep in my own room again. Don’t mistake my intentions to be ill, Tia, but I feel like I should. After all, we’re both princesses. Us being sisters doesn’t excuse this... juvenile behavior.”
Celestia mock-gasped. “Here and I thought my sister loved me! Woe is me, oh woe is me! I am sisterless once more.” She swooned dramatically, crashing into her pillow with a resounding thud. Luna giggled at her sister’s melodramatic display. “No, silly Tia! I just think that it’s time we both move on a bit more. As you said, we’re both older than anypony around, so I don’t think it’ll be a problem that I separate myself from you at nighttime.”
Celestia straightened up and laid next to her sister. “Of course, my dear sister. We can make arrangements tomorrow for your room to be prepared for you, it won’t be a problem. But, I demand one thing from you in exchange...” Celestia dropped off dramatically.
Sensing her sister’s intentions and tensing slightly, Luna allowed herself to play along. “And what might that be, dear sister?”
Celestia suddenly reared up, bringing both of her forelegs high over her head. “That thou allowest thyself to be tickled!” She crashed down on Luna, immediately targeting her armpits. Luna bucked and laughed, hardly able to resist the much larger pony bearing down on her. “Ah! T-Tia, stop-heehee!- stop it!”
Celestia moved down to the soft area between Luna’s hips and her ribs before smiling sadistically. “Never!” she shouted as she dove in to attack once more.
Luna kicked and shrieked for a few more moments before taking hold of her sister in a magical glow and tossing her to the side, allowing herself much needed breathing room. “I... think... that’s... enough.” Luna managed in between gasps.
She turned over and looked at Celestia. Celestia had the biggest, sappiest grin that Luna had ever seen. “... I swear, sister, for what should be an omnipotent, all-powerful goddess, you sure like to have fun.” Celestia snorted. “Psh. As if. Just because I’m older and bigger than everypony else doesn’t mean I don’t get to have fun too!”
Luna sighed. “I suppose you’re right.” Celestia turned over to face her sister as well. “So... if you’re going to start sleeping in your room again, does that mean...?”
“Yes, I’ll be sleeping during the daytime once more, as I always used to. They don’t call me the Princess of the Night for nothing, it’s time I start acting like one!” Luna puffed her chest out with apparent bravado.
Celestia giggled. “Alright, little sister, if you insist. We can stay this way longer if you wish, you know. I love talking to you like this. We won’t be allowed nearly as much free time together once we return to our old schedule.”
“I know, and while it saddens me as well, the needs of our subjects are more important than the words you and I exchange during our free time,” Luna supplied, much to Celestia’s distaste.
“Ah well. No sense getting mopy about it, I suppose. We did it a millennium ago, we can do it now. In any case, I’m feeling slightly sweaty from our tickling match. What say we take a bath before bed?” Celestia suggested. Luna bounced up happily. “Sure! Last one to the bathroom isn’t a princess!”
Her sister grinned. “Ha! You’re on, shorty!”
---------
Celestia’s reverie was broken by a pitter-patter on the ground in front of her. Looking down, she saw that she had allowed herself to become absorbed in the dream, emotions temporarily overcoming her.
Celestia snorted and raised her left wing to wipe away the tears streaming down her face. Such simpler times... How I miss them.
She glanced over at Luna once more. Aside from having changed position slightly, Luna hadn’t done much during Celestia’s daydream of the past.
Celestia carefully lowered Luna to the ground and stood up to her full height, stretching both of her wings until they trembled before planting both of her forelegs on the ground far in front of her, stretching the length of her body as a cat might.
After having stretched thoroughly and completely, she decided she could avoid it no longer. Celestia’s horn took on a bright glow as she took hold of the massive star in the sky, slowly guiding it along on its orbit around the planet and aiding it in sinking beneath the horizon.
If it had been dark before, she may as well have been blind, now. It was practical pitch-black all around her. She turned to her sister, still sleeping blissfully. “Luna, wake up. It’s time to raise your moon. Come on, little sister!”
Luna grumbled grouchily. “I know, I know. I don’t sleep through moon-rise as often as I used to, you know that.” Luna slowly stood up and replicated her sister’s stretches, before performing the same procedure, albeit in reverse by raising the moon rather than setting it. She turned to Celestia. “So... what now? I’m relatively certain we’ll wake up buried in this ash once more if we continue to sleep out in the open like this, and immortal or not, I'd rather not wake up suffocating in this... stuff.”
Celestia thought for a moment. “Well, there’s not too much in the way of shelter out here in this wasteland.” Luna flinched. “So I’ll just utilize some old spells and get us one built then!”
Celestia focused, and her horn began to glow. Several feet behind Luna, a large section of ground began to glow yellow with Celestia’s magic. It trembled for a moment, then the section began to rise out of the earth, eventually forming a ten foot solid column sticking out of the ground. The front portion of the column then began to glow, and a rectangular portion cut itself out and started to slide out, leaving about a foot-thick wall on all sides. Once the rectangular portion was fully out of the column, Celestia neatly sliced another foot thick segment from it and placed it back over the gaping hole in the column, giving it the same appearance as before. Finally, she cut a half circle from the bottom of the section, creating a large, cave-like entrance.
Luna whistled. “Nice job, sister.” Celestia puffed her chest out. “It’s not too bad, I suppose. It’s not our castle, but it’ll do.” She walked inside and lit her horn for a moment, allowing Luna enough light to enter without risk of bruising her nose on the wall outside. “It’s certainly better than being covered in all that ash.” Luna flinched again. Celestia smiled apologetically. “Sorry.
“In any case, what say we retire for the night? It’s impossible to see out there, and I’m beat. Sound good to you, little sister?” Celestia asked.
“There’s not much else to do, so we may as well. Besides, that... mishap earlier took quite a bit out of me,” Luna conceded. Celestia nodded. “Rest it is, then.”
They both laid down, Celestia scooting over to her sister. They enveloped each other in the other’s wings in order to keep warm, and also out of comfort. Celestia put the light from her horn out. “Good night, dear sister.” “And good night to you, Tia.”
Several minutes passed peacefully. Luna noticed that her sister was shaking after a time. “What’s wrong, Tia?”
“Luna... they’re... they’re really gone. I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it,” Celestia whispered, her voice shaking. “All of our subjects... all of our friends...” she moaned. “E-even... Twilight Sparkle-!” Celestia sniffled. She couldn’t hold it in any longer. She had put on a mask for her sister earlier, but that was not an option any longer. The mask was cracking. The weight that had been bearing down on her finally crushed her, overwhelming her final reservations of dignity.
“Twilight... my faithful student... where are you now? I never even got to tell her how m-much she meant to me... she was so young! So f-full of potential...” Sobs began to wrack Celestia’s body, transferring over to Luna. Luna hugged her sister tighter, listening to her sister openly cry for the first time in over a millennium. Tears graced her eyes as well, but she contained them.
They laid there like that, for a while. As sisters, one supporting the other when she needed it most.