In the world-girdling forest, two sisters crouched. The elder-by-moments, who had taken to calling herself Celestia, cradled in her hooves the ashes of her beloved pet, Philomena. The younger-by-moments, who had chosen the name Luna, sat by her sister’s side and held her in an attempt at comfort.
Celestia was heartbroken. In all the world, the young world that stank of life and death in equal parts, Philomena was the first creature she had met apart from her sister who had not withered and died in mere decades. Philomena had become her trusted companion, the one creature she could trust not to abandon her to run beyond the gate of death, that threshold that was so tightly barred against the sisters.
But now, after centuries, she held the ashen corpse of her beloved pet and the sting of betrayal mixed with the familiar pain of loss. She had seen millions of creatures die in her short lifetime, had held many of them in their hooves as she watched their eyes shift focus to look beyond the gate. She had thought herself inured against the mere desperation of watching death. So why did this hurt so very much?
Celestia’s pink mane fell into her eyes, and her tears fell to mix into the rich humus of the soil. Luna leaned into her and stroked her shoulder, murmuring comforting noises. Celestia lowered her hooves, spilling Philomena’s ashes onto the soil in a small mound. She stared at the mound, at the flecks of ash remaining on her hooves, and she wanted to be angry. She wanted to rage at Philomena for her unjust abandonment, at Luna for her inability to make this pain pass, at the forest around them, redolent of death and life, for not caring about the pain of one little immortal.
In a rush, her emotions—her pain, her anger—left her, leaving a hollow void behind. She considered this, and found it good. The absence of feeling was better than the presence of pain. She stood, startling Luna. “We go.”
Luna stood, head cocked at Celestia. “Why?”
“Done crying. We go.”
Luna searched her face, shook her head. “Still crying. Why go?”
Celestia stomped a hoof, which sank deep into the hateful decaying dead humus. “Done crying! Not gonna cry more.” She turned and stormed away into the forest, not caring what direction. It was the same everywhere.
Luna gaped after her, then frowned and followed, catching up with a brief flutter of wings. Not more than a hundred paces later, a fireball erupted in the forest behind them. They both spun to face this terrifying new thing. The fireball dispersed above the canopy, became a smaller vortex of flame, and Luna’s sharper eyes saw to the heart of it first. She looked at Celestia, watched the shifting shadows on her sister’s face as the flaming thing flew closer, watched Celestia’s emotions laid bare on her face, uncertainty and fear shifting to curiosity, then to unfiltered joy as she saw it clearly.
Then the flaming thing was upon them and it hit Celestia, knocking her flat onto her back. When Luna blinked away the afterimages, she smiled, her eyes stinging with reflected happiness. Philomena’s gleaming head, new and bright, was pressed into the soft coat on Celestia’s chest, her brilliant new plumage spread over Celestia like a comforting blanket as they hugged each other and cooed happily.
Author's note: This was originally written for Thirty Minute Ponies Prompt #19, "Pet Detectives". The prompt was "One of the pets is gone."