I miss her, Lulu!
It's dark. You should be sleeping. Go to bed, Tia. I...just can't, though. Tonight...Is just one of those nights, I suppose. Oh, how I miss her so; I have to ask the question that I continue asking myself once in awhile, why did you leave us? Couldn't you have stayed with us a little longer?
No answer came from the starry sky above her. A sigh escaped the pony, and she stared up at the moon, wondering if there were any answers up there. Celestia was currently located in the center of the castle gardens, remembering past memories, most of which were unpleasant. Her foal-hood had a few happy memories, yes, but they felt so few and far in-between as her mother did her best to help the ponies in the newly made Equestria before leaving the reins to her daughters. It was not a very peaceful time, as tempers were blown, words said that shouldn't have been, and Equestria very nearly fell apart just a mere week after it was formed. However, with Faust's support and guidance, they managed to pull through, just barely. When that happened, she left Equestria, but also left behind her two daughters, who would eventually become the princesses of Equestria. Celestia and Luna, as per their mother's wishes, took over in caring for Equestria as best they could, both waiting for the day when their mother returned. She never had, however.
It's dark. You should be sleeping. Go to bed, Tia. That's what mother would have said. She would have made sure that I was sleeping, too, with a friendly threat of replacing my cake at snack time with bananas. Oh, mother... Celestia groaned, and her ears flattened as she looked down at the ground. There was always that time of the month where she just couldn't help herself, and the emotional strain of having to run a country and the aching pain in her heart for her mother just broke her in. It's just overwhelming, mother. I'm glad that nopony knows that I do this to myself, that nopony knows abou-
"Sister, are you alright?"
...The universe must hate me tonight. Celestia looked up towards the sound of her sister's voice, and saw a concerned looking Luna watching her for a moment. Without replying to her, Celestia looked back down at the ground, hoping that Luna got the hint and left her alone.
She didn't.
Luna sat down next to her sister, with a wing wrapped around her for comfort. It didn't help Celestia much, but she did take some comfort in the fact that her sister was there with her. It still, however, begged the question of why her sister wasn't attending to her duties. She had expected Chrysalis out of all ponies (or changelings, if she wanted to get technical about it) to find her, not her sister. "Lulu...Why are you here? Don't you have your duties to attend to?"
Her sister didn't answer immediately to her question. Instead, she reached up with a hoof, wiping away at the tears on her face. I don't even remember crying... Luna continued to wipe at her sister's face diligently, with neither of them speaking. It was only once Celestia's eyes were moderately dry that Luna spoke.
"My duties can wait, Tia, for you; they are of less importance than the distress my sister is going through. Tia...Are you thinking about mom?"
At that, Celestia gave forced, choked laughter, and turned her head to look at her sister directly in the eyes. "...Was it really that obvious, Lulu?"
"...Sometimes, Tia, when I look out from my balcony on certain nights, I see you alone in the gardens. I never bothered to check on you since it seemed like you were doing something privately, but I'm glad my curiosity got the best of me this time." Luna's hooves wrapped around her sister in a tight embrace, which was hesitantly returned by Celestia. "Not much makes you sad, and the only thing I could possibly think of that you could be sad over is mom."
"I miss her, Lulu! I miss her so much!" Unable to contain herself any longer, Celestia began sobbing onto her sister's shoulder. Luna, having expected as much to happen, began to hum a lullaby that their mother always sang to them whenever they refused to go to sleep, and gently patted Celestia, trying to calm her down. Slowly, Celestia's sobs reduced in force, giving Luna a chance to speak over her crying.
"I miss her too, Tia...You know what she'd say, though. She'd tell us to stop being such a big baby, to take responsibility of guiding Equestria to harmony, and remember her fondly."
"I-I know...I just...Miss her...W-Why did she have to l-leave us?!"
There was a pause as Luna tried to find an answer. Their mother never did leave them a reason as to why she left, so it was all up to speculation as to why she did. "I...Cannot say, Tia. I just know that mother would not want us to cry over her...She'd want us to remember her with happy memories."
After a few quiet minutes, Celestia slowly pulled away from Luna, with a slight frown on her face. "I-It's not that easy, Lulu...It's not easy at all..."
"We do the best we can, Tia. It's all we can do, and at least we have each other. Chrys, too, even though you obviously don't see her as anything more than a friend."
"...W-What? What's that supposed to mean?"
Luna smiled slightly, with a mischievous wink. "If it floats, it can ship!"
There was a moment of silence as Celestia tried to comprehend what her sister just said, then sighed, rising up to her hooves slowly. "I...Don't know what you just said, Lulu, but I think I don't want to know. I should probably starting heading to bed now."
Luna nodded, knowing full well her sister sometimes liked to stay up late. "Get some rest, Tia."
One of Celestia's hooves began rubbing at her eyes, in an attempt to dry them. "I will. Thanks, Lulu; for helping me; I imagine I'd have stayed here the whole night, and would have been cranky in the morning."
Luna rose up, patting gently at her right shoulder, which was absolutely soaked in Celestia's tears. Quite the waterworks you have, sister. "Everypony needs help. Especially a fat flank like you!"
Here we go... Celestia pouted, and lightly bumped her rump against her sister (which nearly shoved Luna completely over). "You take that back, Lulu! I'm not fat!"
After regaining her sense of balance, Luna blew a raspberry at her sister. "Nope! That shove just proved my point!"
Unknown to the two bickering alicorns making their way back to the castle, a pair of eyes were watching them; the owner of those eyes smiled, glad to see them happy and bubbly as ever after that small moment of insecurity. "Stay strong, Tia, Lulu. You might just see me again soon enough." The words were whispered in the wind, and just as quickly, the alicorn that whispered them left Equestria, as she was called elsewhere to tend to.