Celestia closed Luna's journal, not entirely sure how to feel. She knew her dear sister had gone through a lot during those years of exile on the moon, but this… This was something else… The anger, the sadness, the loneliness, it would drive any normal pony to the edge of insanity… And to think, her dear little sister had endured this exile for 1000 years…
She walked out of her sister's room, completely dead to the world. She did not hear her chefs announcing dinner, nor see the flash of cameras as she headed out of Canterlot castle, down the street, and into a rather small café. It was about to close for the night, but her being her, they stayed open a little longer. Just for her. After all, she was fairly regular to the simple establishment.
She stared ahead and recited her usual order almost subconsciously, not hearing the words leave her mouth. Before long, a small coffee and a slice of cloud cake rested in front of her. She took up her fork and lazily bit into a small chunk. It failed to comfort her as it usually did.
The cake tasted flavourless in her unfocussed mind, not that she was paying any attention. She was too busy re-reading Luna's journal in her mind, over and over. She set her head in her hooves and closed her eyes, her cake half-finished and her coffee forgotten and cold.
She put her sister through all of that pain. Her. She did. She was solely responsible for some of the worst years of their lives, years and years of loneliness and pain, driving her sister to the edge of her sanity. It was a horrible feeling, and one that she endured daily, but never had it ever been this bad before. To see those feeling put into her sisters own words, conveying every ounce of emotion that her dear sister could ever get through in writing, it… It was horrible. She felt horrible. Heck, she felt worse than the day she had been forced to banish her sister in the first place!
She stood up and skulled he coffee in one gulp, shuddering as the bitter liquid rushed down her throat. She tossed a bag of bits onto the counter as she left, not bothering to count out the right amount. She was surely overpaying, but she didn't care. She simply had too much on her mind. Once again dead to the world, she failed to hear the tinkle of the bell as she headed through the door, or the toll of the clock tower as it tolled 9. She leapt into the air and closed her eyes as the cool night air filtered through her primaries, a feeling nopony could ever describe to somepony who had not done the same. Simply put, it was wonderful.
She landed without a sound in the center of the castle gardens outside the throne room. She stopped and sat on a bench beside a fountain, teasing the fish with a wingtip. Taking in the many fragrances of the garden around her, she paused to stare straight up into the moon, no longer bearing the silhouette of a mare changed.
She lay her head on the hoofrest and closed her eyes once more, drifting off into an uneventful sleep.
Celestia woke to a bright, sunny garden. She smiled and sat up, stretching her wings. Luna must have raised the sun for her, as she certainly hadn't. There was no end to how much she loved her sister. Celestia frowned as the events of the night prior suddenly played through her mind.
She slowly walked towards breakfast, half-heartedly greeting ponies on the way. Stepping into the hall, she was met with a wave of chatter and noise that you could never really filter out. She looked through the crowd of multi coloured ponies until she spotted Luna sitting by herself in the corner, nomming on a hash brown. Celestia walked slowly up to her sister with a determined glare.
Nearing her target, she faltered for but a second before pressing on. None of the guards bothered her, thankfully. When her sister finally looked up from her breakfast, she broke out into a small smile. "Well hello, sister. Wonderful morning, wouldn't you sa-"
*Pomf*
Luna stared at the alabaster alicorn now glomping her barrel. "I… Uh…" Luna started, unsure as to how to proceed. Celestia sniffled, hugging her sister tighter.
"Lulu, I love you so much. NEVER forget that." She smiled.
Luna stared at her sister with a concerned frown plastered on her muzzle, slowly stroking her sister's mane.
"Love you too, Tia." She managed. Celestia buried her face in Luna's side, smiling softly.