//------------------------------//
// Banishment 
// Story: Celestia's Years Alone 
// by Ruskiem43 
//------------------------------//

	A deep sense of foreboding woke Celestia up. Her eyes shot open and she attempted to leap from her bed, but was too slow. Icy water splashed down on her head, ran down her neck, and soaked her sheets. She sat gasping for air as laughter filled her room. 
“Oh dearest sister, hate me if thou must, but thou were refusing to awaken!” Celestia stared back at her sister, rage in her eyes. Luna chuckled setting the now empty glass onto Celestia’s nightstand. “It is morning! Thou should be pleased, for thy sister has made vittles!” With that statement Luna walked out of Celestia’s room, leaving her to clean up.


Celestia could barely breathe. The fall had knocked the wind from her lungs, and the burning sensation coming from her injured chest left her dizzy. There was nothing else for her to do though. She needed to get up. Putting her hooves beneath her, she rose up on shaking legs.
“Oh dear sister, I am sorry, but you have given me no choice but to use these.” Celestia’s voice still shook slightly, but her decision was made. She turned to the front of the throne room, her horn glowing. With a hiss of steam a hidden compartment opened. Machinery clanged as a large pedestal rose from the floor. Above each of the pedestal’s five arms hovered a gemstone with a sixth hidden in an orb that rested atop of the central pedestal. The Elements of Harmony sat waiting for her.
Before she had time to realize what she was doing, Celestia had taken off and flown up to the elements. One by one they rose up, lifted by her magic. Celestia hesitated for a moment, but only a moment, before release the sixth from its cradle. The six gems surrounded her and began to spin at a blinding speed. With the elements in tow Celestia rose into the night sky.


Any anger Celestia still felt died as she walked into the dining hall. Laid out in front of her usual seat was a fairly impressive spread of food; oat muffins, hay bacon, toast. Celestia’s mouth began to water. Naturally Luna hadn’t bothered to wait for her, and was already diving into a bowl of oats. Celestia noticed that she and Luna were the only ones in the dining hall. Celestia sat down beside her sister, and poured herself a glass of juice.
“This all looks wonderful Luna, but where are the servants?” she asked gesturing to the dozens empty seats. Luna wasn’t the most social of ponies. She had a habit of dismissing her serving staff when there wasn’t much royal work to do so that she could have “some peace and quiet.” Her sister tried to answer her with a mouth full of oats, but found herself coughing uncontrollably. Celestia chuckled, “I would have thought a mare as old as thee would have learned how to eat by now.”
Luna smiled back at her, and cleared her throat. “I sent the servants home after thee went to bed. We don’t really anypony to babysit us. We have thee for that good sister!” Celestia laughed with her sister before stuffing a slice of toast into her mouth. She was about to say something else when she noticed that Luna had stopped eating.
“Is something wrong?” Luna didn’t answer her. Celestia frowned, “Luna, why did you really send the servants home?” Celestia said calmly, barely noticing that she hadn’t used the royal we. Luna opened her mouth to answer, but said nothing. She just bowed her head and look down at the table. Her shoulders began to shake, and Celestia felt her heart sink as she realized that her sister was crying. She rose from her seat, knelt next to Luna, and wrapped a wing around her sobbing sister. Luna leaned her head into her sister’s chest and welcomed Celestia’s embrace.
“They hate me.” Luna chocked out. “They love you, but they cannot stand me.” Celestia was about to tell Luna how ridiculous that was, but Luna kept talking. “I overheard two of our servants in the halls. They were upset that they were assigned to assist me.” Luna briefly broke down sobbing, but found her voice again, “They said that they had wanted to serve Equestria’s true princess, to serve you. I-I got angry. I got really angry. I told them to leave, I told all of them to leave. 
Celestia was mentally fuming, she’d be sure to punish the ponies who had insulted her sister as soon as she could. For now though, she made sure to keep her anger in check as she whispered to her sister. “Luna, you shouldn’t let the words of a few ponies hurt you so. You do a wonderful job as princess.” 
Luna looked up at her sister, eyes a burning red. “These weren’t the words of ‘a few ponies,’ and you know that. Ponies have never respected me the way they do you! I work just as hard as you do, I don’t understand why they still hate me.” With that Luna once again descended into a fit of sobs. Celestia just held her tight, unsure of what to say.


Celestia could see the figure that was once her sister flying just in front of her. Nightmare Moon gathered her magic, and Celestia readied the Elements of Harmony. As Nightmare moon sent a magic blast towards Celestia, a massive beam of energy fired from the elements. The two beams met, and the element’s magic overpowered Nightmare Moon’s. Celestia could hear her sister scream as the blast overtook her. The stream of energy consumed her sister and carried her into the night sky. As it impacted with the moon, a terrible screech filled the night.
Looking up at the moon with tear blurred eyes, Celestia watched as her sister’s visage formed on the surface. Celestia slowly sank until her hooves were once again on the ground. Her magic gave out, and the elements clattered to the ground. Celestia hardly noticed. All her mind was focused on that moon.


I’m so sorry Luna


Celestia lifted Luna’s head with her wing, making her sister look her in the eye. “Luna, it does not matter what the other ponies think of you. I respect you. You don’t just work as hard as I do, you work harder. To be honest, I have no idea how I would run this kingdom without your assistance. Even if I somehow could rule this kingdom alone, I wouldn’t want to. Without you around, all the joy would leave my life. I love you Luna.”