"I'm going out, Celly!!" Luna practically screamed. She'd been running around the castle all day, waiting for nighttime to approach so that she could travel to Ponyville. Celestia sighed warily. Ever since Luna learned about Nightmare Night, she'd been obsessed with it! And even worse, she couldn't be convinced to do anything but the most stupid way of greeting them!
Calm down, Celly. She's just come back, and still has to adjust. Just let her be. What's the worst that could happen?
I don't know, how about public lynching?! They still haven't forgotten about Nightmare Moon, and she's still going to go out and shout at them in a bat-cloak!!
First of all, it's not shouting. It's just the Royal Canterlot voice! Also, they're all wearing something like the bat-cloak. She'd stick out if she wasn't wearing something similar.
Celestia realized that she was back into her inner-monologuing. She'd been doing that since about, oh, say two hundred years after the rebellion. It grew just a little lonely, being the only immortal around.
Just...keep it calm. You can't hardly stop her anyway...
Celestia was broken from her internal ramblings when her little sister ran straight into the nearest dresser, the dark blue mare looking around ashamedly when one of Celestia’s priceless vases fell to the ground and shattered. The older princess gave Luna a somewhat annoyed look.
“Uh…oops?”
Celestia sighed for the billionth time that night. “Look, Luna, I know this night must probably seem pretty special to you, especially since it didn’t exist while you were still caught up on the moon, but just try and pay attention.”
The princess of the night stared fixedly at her older counterpart. Celestia couldn’t help but hesitate, not wanting to hurt her younger sibling’s feelings too badly.
“Um…I understand that you want to be appreciated by the ponies around you, but you have to keep a straight head on your shoulders. Going around traipsing as Nightmare Moon isn’t going to make people like you. There hasn’t been enough time since her last appearance for such a show of power to not intimidate them. Ponies just aren’t like they used to be…”
The Sun Goddess mentally face-hooved at her lack of skills when it came to dealing with her sister. They'd never been very good at communicating, even though both of them had the best of intentions. Their words always seemed garbled and confused, and at times they took offense for things neither of them meant to say. The Nightmare Moon incident didn't help these matters.
Great, yet another faux pa with your younger sister. Congratulations, you've managed to hurt her forth the bazillionth time in your pathetic life!
Just shut up, Celly. I don't need this on top of everything...
Luna looked somewhat crestfallen. “I know what you mean, sis, but I’ve got to give this a try! I…I don’t have any friends anymore. Everyone…everypony I ever knew… are gone. I can’t bring them back, and if there’s an afterlife, it doesn’t matter. I’m immortal, and I’m never going to see them again!”
Wonderful, not only did you manage to hurt her feelings, but added the low blow of immortality to it. Score: Stupidity, 1, Celly, 0. Just try not to be such a dingus.
By now there were tears flowing from Luna’s eyes, but she suppressed the urge to dash away from her sister. “I know that anyone I befriend here is just going to die anyway. There’s no saving them from Death. There will come a time, their time, for them to follow him into the Nether. After that, there will be no more “hellos”, or “goodbyes”. All there will be are my memories, like there are now.”
Celestia was probably the only pony alive who truly understood what Luna was saying, and it cut her deeply. She didn’t want her little sister to be in such pain, but was there really a way to avoid it? The elder princess started to feel her own tears forming in her eyes when she thought about all of her friends, of the time that she truly loved…The white alicorn quickly cut of the urge to cry. She was the Sun Goddess, and couldn't afford to commit to such weakness.
Are you about to cry, Celly? Don't you dare!!
How can I help it? She's just as alone as I am. And now she understands what I can hardly bear...
Celestia looked deeply into her sister's eyes, which met her gaze evenly. There were tears there, but also a fair amount of confidence and maturity that wasn't there before. Luna spoke up again.
“But just because they are dead and gone doesn’t mean I can’t have friends! Eternity will only be bearable with others around you, people you can support, encourage, to…love. Yes, I don’t just want to be alone. I...I can't be alone! I’ll take my chances with these ponies. They need me, just as I need them.”
The alabaster princess was startled at the depth of Luna’s little speech. Was this proud, grown mare that little filly she had once doted on after their parents died? No, she was standing far to tall and proud to be that foal anymore. Maybe she had begun to underestimate her…
“Luna…it will only bring more heartache when the time comes for them to die. It will only be the same thing, over and over and over. I should know, I’ve spent the last thousand years trying it, over and over and over. It doesn’t end, nor does the sorrow. This…immortality, it isn’t a privilege! We will have to suffer, and for the sake of those we don’t even know.”
The look on the midnight alicorn rent Celestia’s heart. She turned away from her little sister, mulling over the possibilities. Finally, she just gave up. There was really only one way for this to be settled. With yet another heartfelt sigh, Celli turned to look into Luna’s heart-broken eyes.
“Fine, have your wish. But be aware that I have warned you of the consequences. If you start down this path, there’s no coming back! Only misery will follow, and I have no desire to see you in any more pain than you already are in. I've been down that road, even found a stallion I loved. I still miss him, so much! But I know that he's not coming back, and all I have left are those few sweet moments we had together, the times when it was just us. I...try to be careful. And good luck.”
Celestia watched lovingly as her little sister brightened up. She wasn’t particularly surprised when Luna jumped up and threw her in the tightest embrace she had felt in years.
“Oh thank you, thank you sis! I won’t let you down! I just…I gotta go!!”
With that, the moon princess blazed out the room as if she had rocket boosters strapped to her instead of wings. Celestia stared after where she had just been a moment earlier, before turning around to stride towards the simple but elegant bed. After slumping down, she turned to look at her doorway.
“I wish you the best of luck, my little sister.”