A creeping shadow moved skillfully across the hall. Blending in with furniture and jumping between passing pony’s shadows. Along the way it reached out its tendrils, stealing memories and gathering information about the recent event. It only had one goal, to reach its future host. It would have revenge once and for all. Destroying the elements and their bearers for good. Fortunately, it had a stroke of luck. It could feel the intense negative energy coursing through the halls. Every pony passing by was feeling a strong emotion, many of them dark and powerful.
One pony, in particular, was emitting extreme amounts of sorrow and pain. Even more, this pony, it sensed, had immense power, magical wellsprings larger than any ocean you could imagine. Yes, it was all here, ripe for the taking. When emotions run high, it was easy as pie to manipulate delicate ponies' minds. Easy to lie, easy to deceive. The creature would not miss this opportunity.
Celestia stood in front of her mirror. She wore a black dress, it cascaded down her back in glorious waves of fabric. The dress contained a collar that hugged her neck tightly, a bow directly underneath it. Beneath the bow were three consecutive buttons. To top it off she had replaced her golden horseshoes with silver ones, and her crown with a black veil. It had been a while since she’d ever worn something other than her regalia. However, she wouldn’t be at the funeral as a princess, she would be there as a pony who’d just lost her sister. Taking a deep breath, Celestia tried her best not to burst into tears and ruin the nice dress before the funeral.
To be completely honest, she didn’t really want to attend the funeral, attending the funeral would be accepting the death of her sister. She didn’t want that at all. Celestia was still certain that when she stepped outside, Luna would be there to greet her. They would attend the funeral together and attempt to console the poor family who had lost a close loved one. Or, a favorite idea of hers, she would wake up and find out this was all simply a bad dream. No, get yourself together, Celestia! You have to do this for Luna, she silently berated herself. A knock at the door brought her out of her stupor.
“Princess, are you ready?” A voice asked. Celestia took a deep breath. I can do this, it's just one funeral…Luna’s funeral, she thought.
“Yes, I am ready,” She said. Opening her chamber doors met her with the sight of a few stoic guards and a handful of concerned servants. “Lead the way,” She said calmly. Celestia tried her best to keep her expression as tranquil as possible. She was soon given away as her body began to shake, her wings twitching involuntarily.
“Are you sure you're alright, Princess?” A servant asked.
Celestia sighed, taking a deep breath. In and out. “Yes, I’m okay. Thank you for asking.”
The walk towards the site was unpleasant as it gave Celestia time to think, too much time to think. What could I have done? Could I have stopped her? I’ve failed at being a good sister again. As they arrived at the funeral site Celestia examined the scene around her. It was one of the castle gardens; many flowers had been arranged around the area. Lavender flowers, in particular, were one of Luna’s favorites as they helped ponies sleep. There were multiple rows of chairs, however, only a few were filled. Luna having only been in Equestria again for a year meant that many of the everyday citizens were hesitant to attend. How upsetting, she thought, more ponies should have come to mourn the loss of such an important ruler. The ponies who did attend included the bearers of harmony, Cadence and Shining Armor, and a few guards and servants who had met with Luna once or twice. They all looked at her with grim expressions on their faces. As Celestia approached, Twilight and Cadence got up from their seats and trotted toward her.
“Are you ready to start the ceremony, Princess?” Twilight asked in a somber tone. Celestia slowly nodded her head. Okay, I can do this, I’ll be perfectly fine.
“Stay strong, Auntie,” Cadence added. Celestia, not in a rush to hurry things up, gently strolled to the podium as the other two ponies sat back down. She glanced at the casket, white with the lunar cutie mark painted on the lid. Her heart rate increased and tears slowly began to form in the corners of her eyes. Finally stepping behind the podium, she noticed a photo of Luna smiling and eating some of Celestia’s homemade pancakes. It sparked a familiar memory in her head.
“Slow down, Lulu! You’ll choke if you go any faster!” Celestia reprimanded.
“I’m sorry, Tia, but your cooking is just so good!” Luna yelled into her food. Their parents, having died while they were still at a young age, meant they only had each other. Celestia took care of Luna and in turn, Luna cared for Celestia. They were joined at the hip and couldn't be separated for more than a day. “Everything I cook ends up burnt or inedible! I didn’t even know it was even possible to burn liquid!”
“I appreciate the compliment but do slow down, you’re making a mess and I don’t want you to suffocate,” Celestia said with a stern expression on her face. Her expression then softened, happy to see her sister enjoying the food, she added more to Luna’s plate. “Here, if you like it so much, eat more.”
“Thank you, Tia!” Luna exclaimed with a huge grin on her face. Celestia giggled.
“Make sure to refuel a lot so you have the energy to run around some more okay?” Celestia said.
“Mmph, okay!” Luna replied with her cheeks stuffed. They both giggled, as they enjoyed their home-cooked meal. Feeling warm and cozy, they both hoped the moment would never end.
Celestia faltered. Everypony had their eyes on her with anticipation. Celestia suddenly felt like she couldn’t breathe; taking in sharp breaths, she struggled to regain control. She heard Cadence tell Twilight that something was wrong. Come on, Celestia! You can do it! she thought. She opened her mouth to speak but all that came out was a small squeak as another memory came rushing back to her.
Celestia heard a faint noise as she was about to settle down for the night. Her door was pushed open and a little blue filly carrying a stuffed animal stuck her muzzle through.
“Luna?” Celestia said, “Shouldn’t you be in bed?” Luna had a few stray tears running down her face as she sniffled.
“I can’t sleep, Tia. I had a bad dream,” Luna said in a shaky voice. Celestia levitated Luna over to her, laying her sister down on the soft comforter.
“It’s okay, Lulu. You can sleep with me tonight,” Celestia reassured, hoping to put the filly’s mind at ease.
“Okay, promise you won’t leave?” Luna asked, drying her tears and snuggling closer to her sister. To the adolescent alicorn, this was the safest spot you could get. Celestia pulled the blanket over the both of them, keeping them snug and secure. She gently stroked Luna’s mane.
“I promise that I will always be here for you, no matter what.”
By now, nothing could stop the torrent of tears that were now waterfalling from Celestia’s eyes. She wasn’t bawling, but she was making audible soft sobs. Try as she might, she couldn’t stop it. The plug had been pulled and now everything was leaking out. Memory after memory came back to her, haltering her sentences and causing her to shake. Luna laughing, Luna galloping, Luna sleeping. Celestia wished that she could just have one more chance with her sister. One more talk, one more hug. All she wanted was to once again hold her sister, wrapping her wings around Luna as they chattered till the guards came to tell her it was time to start her duties.
Cadence walked over and placed a hoof on Celestia’s shoulder.
“I can’t do this, Cadence,” Celestia said as her voice wavered.
“It’s okay, Auntie, I’ll take it from here. You just go sit down and rest,” Cadence said, handing Celestia a tissue. Celestia found an empty seat while Cadence took her place at the podium.
“Thank you, everypony for coming,” Cadence said, “Unfortunately we have lost a very important pony recently. Princess Luna of Equestria. Princess Luna has decided to make a grave mistake that can never be taken back. Sadly, we did not see the signs and by then it was too late. I hope that anypony else who is struggling will seek help.” A few sniffles could be heard from the audience but nothing more. “Princess Luna has done many things for us, most importantly she helped everypony sleep peacefully, free of nightmares and other sinister creatures who roam in the dark. She was our guardian and we will miss her deeply. May she rest in peace.” Everypony clapped except Celestia. She was pacing back and forth down the rows, a distraught expression on her face as she gasped for air. As she fought to keep herself from fainting, Twilight came over to console her.
“It’s going to be okay, princess.” No, no it won’t…
The rest of the ceremony went as expected, many servants came up and expressed words of condolence to Celestia, who had managed to dry most of her tears. I appreciate the gesture but many of them sound forced, she thought, could they not try a little harder?
When it came to the viewing, everypony let Celestia go first out of respect. Luna had been fixed up beautifully, her mane was done up in curls and she was dressed in a royal blue dress. She had a serene expression on her face, calm as she usually was. Closing her eyes, tears once again formed as Celestia gently kissed Luna on the forehead, beneath her horn.
She whispered softly into Luna’s ear, “Farewell, dearest sister.”
Lost in her grief, little did she or anypony know, a creature of nightmares and destruction discreetly slipped into Celestia’s mind.