Celestia sat atop a tall pile of gathered rubble, her back turned to the setting Sun. It wasn't her job to lower it anymore, and she preferred to rest her eyes, even if looking at the sunset wouldn't have hurt them. Her breathing was slow, and tired. Her scars would heal, but they hurt still. She couldn't heal herself, and she wondered why.
Her mane was still short. She'd get it cut a little more properly, but it would stay like that. It had been a while since she'd felt the wind on her neck like that. Not literally centuries, she'd had her mane done up in the past, but it had still been a while. She wouldn't get a choice for months, maybe years even. She supposed she could always wear a scarf if she really felt the need to. She was a little more disappointed about the tail, though she was sure it would eventually look decent too after a talented enough stylist had worked on it. She wondered if it all would lead to new trends among nobility, maybe out of some perceived obligation to not offend her. Or maybe, hopefully not. Maybe she could finally go back to her home at Maretime. Not while Luna was in those conditions though.
She heard the fluttering of wings nearby, and she heard the pony distinctly getting closer. She didn't know who it was until they landed at her side, and then she tried her best to get a look at them without moving her head. She had centuries of experience there, and she managed to see who was there with just her eyes. "Come to gloat, have you?" she asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.
Firecracker chuckled at that. "I have a right to after today. I'm surprised you're not up on a cloud again, to be honest." They sat down too, looking at the distance without turning to Celestia.
"I couldn't get myself up there. I need to be here, I could still be needed." Celestia smiled. "Especially now. Besides, I don't want to go away right now, for a number of reasons." Her smile waned a little as one of her hooves went to her breast, and to the shapeless black mark over it.
Firecracker sighed, and turned slightly at her. "You know, I'm not sure I get you."
"I am quite older than you," Celestia replied. "Maybe you'll get there with age. Maybe not. I am quite older than you'll ever be, after all, so who knows. It's really quite presumptuous of you to assume you should get someone as ancient as I."
"And yet you're still incredibly dumb sometimes." Firecracker turned fully to look at Celestia properly. "It's like there are some parts of life you never got to live, and you're just missing them. Stuff you never got to learn. You had centuries, what did you do with them to end up living less than some ponies do in a single life?" They smiled after saying that, then they opened their wings and flew away.